City Guide
November Films
Everyone's a Critic: arborweb's culture blog
Ann Arbor District Library. FREE. 327-4555. AADL multipurpose room, 343 S. Fifth Ave., various times.
Nov. 5: “The Adventures of Prince Achmed” (Lotte Reiniger, 1926). Screening of a beautifully restored print of the 1st full-length animated film, an adaptation of the tale from the Arabian Nights about a wicked sorcerer who tricks Prince Achmed into mounting a magical flying horse. With a new orchestral recording of the original Wolfgang Zelller score. Also, Carl Knickerbocker’s A Dog Goes from Here to There and other shorts. Free popcorn. 7-9 p.m.
Nov. 12: “An Untold Triumph: The Story of the 1st & 2nd Filipino Infantry Regiments, U.S. Army” (Noel M. Izon, 2005). Acclaimed PBS documentary about these WW II army units made up of some 7,000 Filipino soldiers.Followed by a discussion led by U-M Community Scholars Program faculty and students. 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Nov. 30: “Which Way Home” (Rebecca Cammisa, 2010). Oscar-nominated documentary about several unaccompanied child migrants as they journey through Mexico to the U.S. on a freight train they call “the Beast.” 7-8:30 p.m.
Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth. $5 suggested donation. 327-0270. 704 Airport Blvd., 8 p.m.
Nov. 20: “Spiritual Cinema.” Screening of a feature film or several shorts TBA with spiritual themes. Followed by discussion.
Jewel Heart Buddhist Center. FREE. 994-3387. Jewel Heart (1129 Oak Valley Dr. between Ann Arbor-Saline Rd. & Ellsworth), 7 p.m.
Nov. 19: Film TBA.
Michigan Theater Foundation. Unless there is a live show in the main theater, 2 or 3 different films are shown, usually twice, almost every night. For complete, updated schedules, see michtheater.org or call 668-TIME. Tickets (unless otherwise noted): $9 (children, students, seniors, & veterans, $7; MTF members, $6.50; Wed., $6). Michigan Theater, times TBA unless otherwise noted.
Oct. 29 & 31 and Nov. 1: “Freakonomics” (various directors, 2010). Documentary based on economist Steven Levitt and journalist Stephen Dubner’s 2005 book that challenges conventional wisdom about why people do what they do.
Oct. 29-Nov. 4: “Waiting for ‘Superman’” (Davis Guggenheim, 2010). Documentary about failing public schools in America.
Nov. 1: “Don’t Look Now” (Nicolas Roeg, 1973). Arty occult thriller about a drowned child’s parents’ horror-laden visit to Venice. 7 p.m.
Nov. 4: “Found Footage Festival.” Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett, directors of the award-winning documentary Dirty Country, cohost a screening of the latest in their popular series of compilations from their impressive collection of strange, outrageous, hilarious, and profoundly stupid videos. Its contents include self-hypnosis videos, a 1986 home movie made during a debauched weekend in Fort Lauderdale, ventriloquism how-to videos, and more. With commentary, jokes, and some comic schtick by the hosts. Tickets $10 in advance at foundfootagefest.com and at the door. 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 5-11: “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” (Daniel Alfredson, 2009). Third in the thriller trilogy based on Stieg Larsson’s popular novels about a badass young revenge artist who this time is on trial for 3 murders. Swedish, subtitles.
Nov. 7: “The Princess Bride” (Rob Reiner, 1987). Sweet, witty, tongue-in-cheek fairy tale about a farm girl kidnapped by a villainous ruler who intends to make her his princess. Mandy Patinkin, Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, Christopher Guest, Wallace Shawn. 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 8: “Badlands” (Terence Malick, 1973). Moody thriller inspired by a 1950s killing spree in the Dakota badlands. Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek. 7 p.m.
Nov. 13: “Like a Virgin” (Lee Hey-young and Lee Hey-jun, 2006). A high school boy joins the wrestling team in the hopes of winning money for his sex change operation. Part of the U-M Center for Korean Studies film series “Coming of Age in Korean High School.” FREE. 2 p.m.
Nov. 14, 15, & 17: “Animal Kingdom” (David Michod, 2010). Crime drama set in Australia about a 17-year-old who navigates his survival within his explosive criminal family.
Nov. 15: “Brazil” (Terry Gilliam, 1986). Unsettling dark comedy set in a futuristic Big Brotherish state, about a hapless computer drone who yearns to break free. Jonathan Pryce, Robert DeNiro, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, Michael Palin. 7 p.m.
Nov. 17: “Murder by Proxy: How America Went Postal” (Emil Chiaberi, 2010). Documentary about the growing phenomenon over the past 30 years of spree killings in the U.S. that focuses on the plight of a 39-year-old veteran letter carrier from Royal Oak. 7 p.m.
Nov. 18: “Cherry” (Jeffrey Fine, 2010). Drama about a freshman who falls for an older woman whose 14-year-old daughter gets a crush on him.
Nov. 19-25: “Tamara Drewe” (Stephen Frears, 2010). Comedy, set in England, about a young news writer--once an ugly duckling--who wreaks havoc when she returns to her small hometown as a sexy swan.
Nov. 19: 17th Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival. First of 2 days of Polish shorts and feature films shown in Polish, with subtitles. $10 (students with ID & seniors, $6) per film. Today’s features: Wonderful Summer (Ryszard Brylski, 2010) Rom com set in a funeral home about a young girl whose dead mother visits her to make sure she finds true love. 7 p.m. Little Rose (Jan Kidawa-Blonski, 2010). Drama set in 1968 about a beautiful young secret agent who seduces a dissident writer to incriminate him. 9 p.m.
Nov. 20: 17th Annual Polish Film Festival. See above. Today’s program begins at noon with FREE screening of documentaries and short films TBA. Today’s features: Miracle Seller (Jaroslaw Szoda & Boleslaw Pawica, 2009). An alcoholic con man agrees to shepherd 2 homeless Russian children to their father in France. 5 p.m. After.Life (Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo, 2010). Thriller about a dead young woman who wakes up in a funeral home and doesn’t believe the funeral director’s reassurances that she’s in transition to the afterlife. Christina Ricci, Liam Neeson. Followed by a discussion with the director. 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 20: “The Art of Power” (Nathanael Sherfield, 2010). Premiere of this suspense thriller about 3 unassuming young adults living in D.C. whose lives become entangled with politicians, business people, and a high-class escort service. Screenplay by U-M grad Adrian Walker.
Nov. 22: “Blue Velvet” (David Lynch, 1986). A severed ear leads to a town’s hidden underside. Kyle MacLachlan, Laura Dern, Dennis Hopper, Isabella Rossellini. 7 p.m.
Nov. 22, 23, & 26: “Mademoiselle Chambon” (Stephane Brize, 2009). A middle age married man falls for his son’s homeroom teacher when he takes her suggestion to become a substitute.
Nov. 24-30: “127 Hours” (Danny Boyle, 2010). A mountain climber resorts to desperate measures when he’s trapped under a boulder. James Franco.
Nov. 26: Warner Bros. cartoons. Kids age 12 & under, FREE.
Nov. 26 & 28-30: “Last Train Home” (Lixin Fan, 2009). Cinema verite about the millions of Chinese migrant workers who embark on a tormenting annual journey to return to their home villages. Mandarin, subtitles.
Nov. 28: “White Christmas” (Michael Curtiz, 1954). Sing-along version of this musical about two nightclub performers who help an old army pal try to make his winter resort popular. Musical score by Irving Berlin. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney. 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 29: “Barton Fink” (Joel Coen, 1991). Faustian fable about a playwright determined to succeed at any cost. John Turturro, John Goodman, Judy Davis. 7 p.m.
Projectorhead. FREE. 615-0445. U-M Angell Hall Auditorium A (except Nov. 13, Lorch Hall auditorium, Tappan at Monroe), 7 p.m.
Nov. 6: “The Exiles” (Kent MacKenzie, 1961). Documentary that chronicles a night in the lives of displaced young Native Americans living in L.A.
Nov. 13: “The Trial” (Orson Welles, 1963). Adaptation of Kafka’s tale about a man arrested for a crime he knows nothing about. Welles called it “the best film I ever made.” Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau.
Nov. 20: “I Am Cuba” (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1964). Ebullient propaganda art film, which languished in the Soviet archives for 30 years. Described as “Battleship Potemkin on acid” and “a wildly schizophrenic celebration of Communist kitsch,” the film mixes Slavic solemnity with Latin sensuality. Consisting of four stories of the Cuban revolution, it veers wildly from scenes of a decadent Havana and bathing beauties to pictures of downtrodden peasants, student revolutionaries, and brutal police.
Temple Beth Emeth. FREE. 665-4744. 2309 Packard, 1 p.m. Snacks. Child care available with advance notice.
Nov. 16: “Bonjour Monsieur Shlomi” (Shemi Zarhin, 2003). Coming-of-age drama about a young genius who’s more interested in taking care of his family than doing well in school.
U-M Center for Chinese Studies. Chinese Documentary Film Series. Mandarin, subtitles. Free. 764-6308. Angell Hall Auditorium A (entrance at the Fishbowl on the east side of the bldg.), 7:10 p.m.
Nov. 13: “Useless” (Jia Zhangke, 2007). Documentary about a haute couture designer about to unveil a new fashion line that expands into an exploration of the burgeoning Chinese clothing industry and its toll on human labor and life.
U-M Center for Japanese Studies. “Re-Viewing Kurosawa.” Every Fri. through Nov. 12. Screenings of several Akira Kurosawa films. Japanese, subtitles. FREE. 764-6307. Lorch Hall auditorium (Tappan at Monroe), 7 p.m.
Nov. 5: “Yojimbo” (Akira Kurosawa, 1961). Samurai spoof about a drifter who comes into a town divided into 2 warring factions and skillfully plays one side against the other.
Nov. 12: “Sanjuro” (Akira Kurosawa, 1962). Sequel to Yojimbo, once again starring a lone samurai employed by 2 warring factions.
U-M International Institute Global Lens 2010 Series. FREE. 764-2268. 1636 SSWB, 1080 South University.
Nov. 9: “Adrift” (Bui Thac Chuyen, 2009). A young wife, ignored by her immature spouse, is caught in a love triangle between her best friend and a handsome stranger during a languorous summer in Hanoi. Vietnamese, subtitles. 3:15 & 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 16: “Becloud” (Alejandro Gerber Bicecci, 2009). 3 boyhood friends reunite in Mexico City to overcome a tragedy that scarred their childhood. Spanish, subtitles. 3 & 5 p.m.
Nov. 23: “Shirley Adams” (Oliver Hermanus, 2009). In the depressed Cape Town neighborhood of Cape Flats, a single mother struggling to care for her paraplegic and suicidal son cautiously accepts the help of an overeager social worker. Spanish, subtitles. 3 & 5 p.m.
Nov. 30: “Gods” (Josue Mendez, 2008). A wealthy Peruvian industrialist’s working-class fiancé plunges into the extravagance of her lavish new life as her future stepchildren self-destruct in a series of desperate attempts to escape their privileged upbringing. Spanish, subtitles. 3 & 5 p.m.
U-M Japanese Animation Film Society. U-M campus admission policy: No one under 18 admitted without an adult. FREE. umichanime.com. MLB, 812 E. Washington at Thayer, 10 a.m.-midnight.
Nov. 13: “Animania.” Monthly anime-a-thon of feature films and episodes from Japanese TV series.
UMMA. FREE. 763-8662. UMMA Helmut Stern Auditorium, 525 S. State, different times.
Nov. 4: “Bilal’s Stand” (Sultan Sharrief, 2008). Semiautobiographical drama about a Detroit high school student forced to choose between carrying on a 60-year-old family business--a taxi stand--and accepting his admission to the U-M, where he had secretly applied. Followed by a talk by U-M grad Sharrief. In conjunction with the U-M LS&A theme semester “What Makes Life Worth Living?” 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 14: “Passing Strange” (Spike Lee, 2009). Theatrical production of the Broadway musical, written by singer-songwriter and performance artist Stew, about a young black artist who leaves L.A. and travels to Europe to find himself. In conjunction with performances by Stew & The Negro Problem (see 18 Thursday listing). 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 18: “Dead Man Walking” (Tim Robbins, 1996). Gripping drama about a death row inmate and the nun who befriends him. Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon. In conjunction with the U-M LS&A theme semester “What Makes Life Worth Living?” 7:30 p.m.
WCBN-FM. FREE admission. 763-3500. Arbor Brewing Company (114 E. Washington), 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 10: “Six-String Samurai” (Lance Mungia, 1998). Comic-book-flavored post-apocalyptic tale about an America that has devolved into a ragtag tribal confederation ruled over by King Elvis Presley. Soundtrack by the Russian American rock ’n’ roll band Red Elvises.
