Spring Awakenings at the Cinema
Comings and Goings at the Movies, Apr. 5
An earthquake rocks New York. J. Cole surprise drops a flaccid Kendrick diss. A gorgeous new Vampire Weekend album (“The Surfer,” holy moly). A solar eclipse on Monday enshrouding a broad swatch of the country in momentary darkness. All signs point to this weekend kicking off a bold spring season where things are constantly moving and shaking. (Is this newsletter a horoscope now, or is this a sign that allergy-driven congestion is cutting off oxygen flow to my brain?) There are some new movies that you can see this weekend that similarly embark on daring adventures: a thwarted romance that manifests throughout the centuries; tomb raiders in rural Italy; a satirical romp through the late-stage capitalist hellscape of contemporary Romania.
Here’s some brief words on those new movies (I do mean brief this time!) and a spotlight of some upcoming repertory series that are coming to independent cinemas in New York. The weather may be warming up, but it’s a great time to spend a few hours in a dark room.
The Beast
Opened April 5 in New York and LA. Expands wider in the coming weeks.
A multi-era epic about how a fear of falling in love results in existential terror, both immediate and generational. Bertrand Bonello’s film spans three different time periods, in which a woman and a man meet, almost fall in love, but a happily ever after remains out of reach. Belle Époque France in 1910: a married pianist (Léa Seydoux) finds herself drawn to a mysterious young man (George MacKay), with the Great Flood soon to arrive. Los Angeles in 2014: an aspiring actress (Seydoux, once again) housesits, goes clubbing, and consults an Internet psychic while being stalked by a violent incel (MacKay, once again). Paris in 2044: in an antiseptic future where people can “purify” their DNA so they no longer have to feel any negative emotions, nor any positive ones, Seydoux’s character encounters MacKay’s, with a feeling of distinct dread: they’ve met in a past life or two.
The Beast is as conceptually intriguing as it is head spinning. Surprisingly, despite the time jumps and deliberate provocations, it’s rather easy to follow thanks to a clear overarching story and thematic arc. Bonello does a great job at stretching his €7 million budget to make the film feel larger than it really is. And it helps to have the talents of Léa Seydoux to clarify the emotional points of the film. In the 2014 segments, George MacKay does an uncanny impression of infamous mass shooter Elliot Rodger. I saw this film some months ago, at the New York Film Festival, and my skin crawls just thinking about this performance. (Elliot Rodger, who killed six people near UC Santa Barbara, was half white and half Asian. George MacKay is of English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. Is this Asian-American erasure?)
Critics have pointed out, admiringly, the varied inspirations for this film, ranging from Cloud Atlas to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind to 2046 to Inland Empire. (I’d add a bit of Assassin’s Creed in there, but with a lot less murder). A movie with such influences is catnip to a certain subset of cinephile, though The Beast isn’t nearly as great as any of those modern classics. All the same, it’s mentally shattering when the pieces all click together. This won't be for everyone, but it will undoubtedly leave an impression.
La Chimera
Opened March 29 and currently in limited release.
Josh O’Connor (who will appear in the upcoming Challengers) stars as an itinerant dowser who, instead of looking for underground water, has the ability to locate ancient graves. He takes up with a group of young tomb raiders who loot the gravesites for valuable Etruscan artifacts. I'm a HUGE fan of Alice Rohrwacher's prior feature, Happy as Lazzaro, a unique artifact of magical neorealism (it’s streaming on Netflix). So it was disappointing that her follow up film, despite being a step forward in her craft, felt too much like a thematic retread of Lazzaro.
Major caveat: this was the last film I saw at Cannes last year, and eleven movies in three days was too much, even for me. Other people have liked this movie a lot more than me.
Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
Opened March 22 and currently in limited release.
To live under late stage capitalism is death by a thousand compromises, with the manager exploiting the knowledge worker exploiting the manual worker. This film tracks a day in the life of Angela, a frazzled production assistant driving around Bucharest, as she auditions victims of work accidents for a corporate safety PSA, records satirical videos with an Andrew Tate Snapchat filter, and sneaks in every bit of sleep that she can… even on the road. Radu Jude’s latest film is as long as its title, but it’s a bit too long in a bad way. Except for the final scene, which is too long in a good way. It's an extremely long static shot where that safety PSA is being filmed, and its duration adds to its power. Too much of the earlier part of the film is spent in long driving scenes, which instills a tedium not just in Angela, but in the viewer. While it fits with the story that Jude is telling, it doesn't make for the best cinematic experience. Still recommend, especially for a cameo from schlock director Uwe Boll, a way too real Zoom call, and the understated outrageousness of that final act that slowly turns heartbreaking.
And for dinner…
While the heroine of this film barely gets time to eat anything, hopefully you’ll have time to check out Oti, a new restaurant in the Lower East Side that puts a creative spin on Romanian cuisine. I haven’t been myself, but a friend went recently and loved it. For a more traditional restaurant, you’ll head to — where else? — Queens, where a cursory Google search turns up a couple places in Sunnyside. One Romanian-American Redditor suggests Romanian Garden, Danubius, and Nita’s Bakery.
Also New To Screens
Haven’t yet seen these but they’re on my list:
Dev Patel directs and stars in Monkey Man, an action film coming to theaters after a very turbulent post-production, possibly due to fears of offending India’s censorious right-wing government. Siddhant Adlakha has a comprehensive timeline on Vulture, and he’s written a separate critique of the film’s failed political critique for Time. I’ll be reading that piece after I see the movie.
I was a big fan of Boys State, a documentary from 2020 about high school boys who convene each summer to build a government from scratch. Things quickly devolve to partisan fights and underhanded tactics, much like our actual government. One quickly wonders if the girls would do any better, and the filmmakers have returned with a follow up, the aptly titled Girls State. It’s now streaming on Apple TV.
And the Australian-Macdeonian filmmaker Goran Stolevski returns to the country of his birth to make Housekeeping for Beginners, a dramedy about a makeshift queer family. It looks really charming, and it’s currently in limited theatrical release.
On the Repertory Front
One of my favorite things about living in New York is that there is always a good movie to see in theaters. Anyone who says otherwise is willfully ignorant. Screen Slate remains an invaluable resource for the NYC filmgoer, but here’s my own spotlight of some repertory series worth your attention. Links to the series pages are in the headers.
The Art of the Benshi, at BAM (April 5 - 7)
Benshi, derived from katsudō benshi or "movie talker," were the captivating narrators of Japan's silent film era. With over 7,000 benshi at their peak, these artists not only introduced films but also provided live narration and portrayed characters, filling theaters and enthralling audiences.
Now, after a century, this singular art form returns, giving contemporary audiences a rare chance to be immersed in an enchanting cinematic tradition. This program includes screenings of classic, newly restored, and rarely seen silent films from Japan and the US, featuring the artistic interpretations of three different benshi, performing individually as well as together. This series, programmed in conjunction with UCLA, offers an extremely rare opportunity to experience a fascinating and often overlooked chapter of movie history.
What’s even more special than watching a silent film with live musical accompaniment? Watching a silent film with a live narrator.
Frank Borzage and Man’s Castle, at MoMA (April 18–24)
Frank Borzage’s 1933 Man’s Castle has long been considered one of the most profound and transporting of Borzage’s spiritual love stories—a cohort that includes 7th Heaven (1927), Street Angel (1928), History Is Made at Might (1935) and The Mortal Storm (1940). But for decades Man’s Castle has been available only in a heavily censored cut created in 1938, when this extremely pre-Code film was reissued to cash in on the back-to-back Oscar wins of its star, Spencer Tracy. Now, thanks to Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Rita Belda, Man’s Castle has been restored to a state quite close to its premiere version, and one can only say that a great film has emerged as something even greater, richer in its emotions and more profound in its philosophy.
I’ve seen two movies directed by Borzage, and they’re among the most memorable films I’ve ever seen from Hollywood’s Golden Age. Here’s a chance to see them on the big screen, as well as his other work. I’m sure they are also great.
Moonrise is a European expressionist film made from a B-movie script. There's so many moments that are just gorgeous and luminous and haunting. It’s a film that feels fatalistic, doomed from the start. Sort of an anti-noir, where true repentance leads to liberation and absolution. Rex Ingram shines in a supporting role, taking what could have been a cliched Magical Negro role and imbuing it with a deep humanity so rarely seen in the films of this era.
History Is Made at Night is a perfect movie title — and may be familiar to fans of the backstage-Broadway TV show Smash — and it’s also perfectly bonkers. Screwball comedy? Disaster thriller? Marriage drama? It’s all of the above! Charles Boyer is the best maître d’ in Paris, and he falls in love with Jean Arthur (my classic Hollywood crush), but she’s trapped in an abusive husband with Colin Clive (best known as Dr. Frankenstein in the 1930’s Frankenstein movies). There is SO much movie in this movie. Matt Zoller Seitz raves: “It switches on a dime between different modes so gracefully (old movies were more daring about this). The climactic action scene is brilliant. The central love story is unaffected and beautiful. They only have a short time together, but they make every moment count.”
Living Cartoons, at BAM (Ends April 25)
When you start creating in a medium where anything is possible, how does your art translate when it becomes bound by physical reality? This series examines the aesthetic choices of artists who began in the world of animation before moving into live-action filmmaking. Spanning classic Hollywood to millennial Japan and beyond, Living Cartoons looks at the daring styles that emerged from this unique creative trajectory, which has resulted in some of the most aesthetically inventive live-action films ever made.
While the live-action portion of this series has concluded, perhaps the list of films that were screened will inspire you next time you’re looking to watch a movie at home. I had no idea that the director of Ghost in the Shell made a Polish cyberpunk picture. But throughout April, BAM is screening those animated films that made these directors famous. Accordingly, each is a classic in their own right, from The Iron Giant to The End of Evangelion.
Academy Museum Branch Selects, at the Paris Theater (April 4 - June 16)
When the Netflix-owned Paris Theater isn’t exhibiting the streaming service’s newest movies, they’ve been showing some stone-cold classics that, ironically, will probably never be available on Netflix. This Spring, they’ve partnered with the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, which is owned by the very Academy that puts on the Oscars, for a fun series where each branch of the Academy programs a movie that exemplifies achievement in their respective fields.
It’s a lineup full of bangers so these are just my personal highlights:
Sound design isn’t just about bullets whizzing in surround sound, as proved by 1933’s King Kong. With the giant ape currently roaring across cinemas nationwide, it would be nice to see the franchise’s origin.
The costume designers highlight how Bette Davis’ gowns in Now, Voyager mirror the emotional journey of her character. I would be at this screening if I were in town; it’s a terrific example of the “woman’s picture” of the era, and features some of the best cinematic cigarette smoking of all time.
Of course, the film best known for its sensual smoking scenes is In the Mood For Love, a selection by the Cinematographer’s branch. It’s an axiom at this point that in any given month, there’s an independent cinema in New York screening a Wong Kar-Wai picture. The Paris is keeping that streak alive.
That rule may soon apply to Edward Yang as well, with the Directors branch choosing his masterful Yi Yi, which will play in May. It’s also playing for one week at the Lincoln Center this month, with the equally brilliant and mournful A Brighter Summer Day. (I wrote about Yang’s films a couple months ago if you want a primer.) If you missed seeing either back in January, you’re out of excuses now.
I wish I were in town to see Ball of Fire, a classic Gary Cooper-Barbara Stanwyck screwball that I’ve long wanted to see. Mystifyingly, it’s never gotten a high definition restoration, so this 35mm screening is a rare opportunity to see this in full detail.
Some advice: I wish I could love the Paris Theater, because they have some great programming, and it’s the only single-screen theater that still operates in this city. But if you’re unlucky to sit behind anyone who’s taller than 5’7”, be ready to constantly move your head around to get a glimpse of the screen. The best seats in Paris are the front row of the balcony! An aisle seat should be decent as well, if the room is full.
KitKat Update
She was absolutely unfazed by the earthquake.
I just saw George MacKay in FEMME. Will have to watch The Beast next. And curious to read that political critique of Monkey Man after I see the movie this week. Lots to unpack I’m sure. Thanks for sharing. Very informative!