New York City may get all the new releases first, but there’s a lot more to the film culture here than just what’s in the mainstream theaters! Every week we bring you the top 5 cinematic events to check out.
1. Neighboring Sounds (O som au redor) (Museum of the Moving Image)
As part of the Museum of Moving Image’s series Curators Choice: The Best of 2012, locals have the chance to catch this little-known debut from Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho. A private security firm sets up cameras to police a middle-class neighborhood in Recife but ends up observing the mini psychodramas of the residents, as well as the low-income neighborhood they border. (Saturday, January 19 at 6 p.m.)
2. Valhalla Rising (Nitehawk Cinema)
Many of us know director Nicolas Winding Refn for 2011’s grisly Drive and his other collaborations with Ryan Gosling, but Brooklyn’s Nitehawk Cinema is shedding light on a recent but underappreciated release from Refn: Valhalla Rising, which stars Mads Mikkelsen as One-Eye, an enslaved Norse warrior in 1000 A.D. If his journey to his poetic death isn’t compelling enough, the music collective Black Lodge will also be in attendance. These musicians re-score films and then perform their work live during the screening. (Fri-Sat, January 18-19 at 12:25 a.m.)
3. Diary of a Shinjuku Thief (MOMA)
Nagisa Oshima’s 1968 Japanese New Wave film is based in Tokyo’s shopping Shinjuku shopping district. There, a book thief named Birdie is caught red-handed by shopgirl Umeko, who joins him in stealing books. Warning: As the two’s adventures delve into the truly criminal, film turns very surreal and contains some disturbing content. (Thursday, January 17 at 6:30 p.m.)
4. Face/Off (92YTribeca)
Why rent John Woo’s ridiculous thriller on Netflix when you could watch it with a room of other bad movie lovers? Or, like me, this could be your first chance to suspend all disbelief and embrace the ludicrous concept of John Travolta switching faces with supervillain Nicolas Cage to go undercover and disable his terrorist plot. Also, Nicolas Cage is in fine crazy form here. Part of 92Y’s L.A. Law series. (Friday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m.)
5. Special Effect (Museum of the Moving Image)
The 1979 Russian film Stalker presented a being who guided people into a place called “the Zone,” where the laws of physics no longer apply and your greatest desires can come true. Inspired by this film, video and performance artist Peter Burr has contributed with other visual artists to present Special Effect. This successful Kickstarter campaign-turned-“live television show from the future” features 20 30-second works, original music and animation, and a live performance from Burr that utilizes a Kinect camera and lasers. (Friday, January 18 at 7 p.m.)
3 thoughts on “NYC Top 5 (Week of 1/14/13-1/20/13)”
FACE/OFF is one of my favorites. So sublimely ridiculous in a way Nic Cage now intentionally playacts at. I still have a screener of NEIGHBORING SOUNDS I need to watch, and VALHALLA RISING is the Refn film I most love. In fact, since DRIVE means less to me with every viewing and I didn’t get on with BRONSON as even the sum of its parts, it may be the only one of his I’ve seen that I love.
I despised Bronson with a passion. But I’ve had a polar opposite experience with Drive. Each passing viewing I’m taking away more and more from it.
Anyway, this weekly post makes me want to live in NYC. Great job Natalie.
I’m ashamed to say I still haven’t seen Face/Off. This may have to be my Friday night. (Also, I’m delighted that I unintentionally hit all your movie sweet spots in this post.)