Another month, another batch of movies! One very exciting program and a bunch of stuff that I generally approve of even if I’m not quite as excited about it. I found someone on Letterboxd who seems to be maintaining lists for each program, which made writing this easier, I tell you what. Thanks, Robby!
You know, I’m gonna skip to the exciting bit: Tramps, Troublemakers, and Trailblazers: Trans Filmmakers. Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay curated this and it looks amazing. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is going to be the one most people have heard of, and it’s great. I’m really interested in Maggots and Men because it’s a historical story, and I’m looking forward to seeing what a trans lens brings to this bit of Soviet history. Drunktown’s Finest caught my eye as well – intersectional! – as did No Ordinary Man since it’s a biopic about a jazz musician, and I have this persistent feeling that I should know more about jazz history.
Back to the top, and Corporate Thrillers. Generally solid, and anyone who hasn’t seen Michael Clayton should. I will probably take the chance to catch up on The Devil’s Advocate, which I’ve been meaning to see anyhow; I’m also interested in seeing my second Tom Tykwer movie, The International. Good cast. I’m on board for The Deal, as well, which is about the Gordon Brown/Tony Blair Labour leadership crisis. That’s pretty damned timely, and I’m a fan of Michael Sheen and David Morrissey. (Since well before The Walking Dead.) Oh yeah – and in May, The Game is added. Awesome.
It’s quite cool to see a showcase of Out-of-Print Criterion Collection Editions, all including their original supplements. I don’t know that I’m gonna rush to see any of these… oh, hm, High Noon. A little Googling tells me that was Criterion edition #7, on laserdisc, which included an “audio essay” that is what we’d call a commentary today. Well that’s interesting. Anyhow, seven classic movies, an abundance of history, plenty to love.
Mary Bronstein’s Adventures in Moviegoing is one of those fun little collections of movies a filmmaker loves. I haven’t seen any of Mary Bronstein’s movies, but I like her taste in films. Smithereens and Night of the Living Dead are great. Huh, is it cheating to put one of your own movies, directed by your husband, on this kind of list? Eh, we’ll allow it (as if we had a say).
Wow, and that’s it for featured programs. OK, it is kind of a lean month.
Well, let’s dig into Exclusive Premieres because it starts with Resurrection by Bi Gan! Thanks, Criterion, I wanted to see that in theaters but I missed it. The trailer is excellent. Flickering Ghosts of Love Gone By also looks pretty interesting – almost hauntological, in fact, with the echoes of the past informing our explorations of the present.
Down to the director spotlights. As is always the case, this is a rich vein. Jacques Tourneur has the first one and if you somehow failed to see Out of the Past already, watch it. For my part, I have not seen either Nightfall or Berlin Express (Robert Ryan!) so my marching orders are clear. I don’t know anything about Emile de Antonio but “Cold War Counterculture” has my attention and yeah, documentaries on the McCarthy hearings? Vietnam? The Weathermen? This all looks good. Letterboxd shows him as directing ten movies, eight of which are included in this collection; nice work, Criterion.
And finally, bits and pieces. In Music Films, there’s a documentary about Dinosaur Jr., which sounds excellent for making me nostalgic for more innocent times. American Independents gives us Mary Bronstein’s Yeast, which may overcome my unreasonable resistance to mumblecore. Sure, Brooklyn, show us how cool you are. And finally, while Criterion doesn’t mention it, Stranger Eyes is from a Singaporean director so maybe I’ll check that out in service of globalization. I do like surveillance films.