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Art films around town on the first weekend of March
By Marian on March 4, 2011 at 12:33 PM
The Oscars are over, we've turned the page on the calendar, and Houston's art film scene has a burst of pre-spring energy! I'm glad to pass along a few recommendations.
One of the most acclaimed French films of recent months, Claire Denis's White Material, opens at the Landmark River Oaks 3 today (Friday, March 3). Starring the extraordinary Isabelle Huppert and Denis stalwart Isaach de Bankole, this film takes Denis back to her upbringing in Africa. She previously addressed this terrain in her debut feature, Chocolat (1988) –not the "other" French Chocolat, by Lasse Halstrom— both of which I recommend highly. A bit of trivia: for years she has directed features that consistently challenge and provoke, but earlier in her career, Denis's credits included a stint in Houston working on Wim Wenders's Paris, Texas, shot in the early 1980s. Keep in mind that a film's opening weekend box office is very important to distributors and often determines how long the theater will hold it, so I encourage everyone to head to the River Oaks and see White Material soon.
Also tonight, Aurora Picture Show and the Menil Collection pair up to present a free showcase of rarely-seen segments of Andy Warhol's tv appearances, curated by the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. Weather permitting, a good time will be had by all at this free event, to be held at Menil Park on Sul Ross beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer was more of a pariah when Alex Gibney's film Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer first came out. Now he's a familiar face on CNN and is hoping everyone will join him in moving on. Not sure that will happen, but this was one last year's best documentaries, and on the short list for an Oscar nomination. You have two options to see it at 14 Pews on Sunday, March 6, at 4 and 7 p.m.
Over at Rice University, the the annual Asian American Film Festival, presented by the Chao Center for Asian Studies, returns to Rice Media Center, March 7-12. The selection of features and documentaries considering a range of personal and political subject matter. Their closing night –Saturday, March 12 — will have filmmaker Gerry Balasta presenting The Mountain Thief, from The Philippines. This fascinating-sounding film, made with students from an acting workshop in a community where many residents get by collecting garbage, brings to mind the documentary Waste Land, about a comparable community in Brazil.
Houston joined the ever-expanding international itinerary of Jewish Film Festivals seven years ago. The 2011 edition launches on Wednesday, March 9 at the Jewish Community Center on S. Braeswood. The opener is a coup, a film that opens today in NY: Human Resource Manager directed by Eran Riklis, whose well-regarded previous films Syrian Bride and The Lemon Tree screened at past editions of HJFF. This film was a personal favorite of mine when I saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall.
Screenings continue at the JCC through Sunday, March 20. On Thursday there's a special 10 a.m. screening of I Love You Mommy, which poses the question "Can a Chinese girl find happiness with a Long Island Jewish family", and in the evening the fest expands to two other venues, Holocaust Museum Houston, presenting the fascinating documentary Against the Tide about how Americans back home began to receive information about what was happening in Germany during World War II, and Discovery Green, where Holy Rollers (it's rated R) screens. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, this feature is based on a true story about young Hassidic Jews in Brooklyn who become involved with trafficking illegal drugs. Both of these screenings begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston joins up as a venue on the weekend, with screenings planned for March 12-13 and 19-20 including a special appearance by a local favorite filmmaker, documentarian Erik Anjou, with The Klezmatics: On Holy Ground. While attending the HJFF, make your opinions count by filling out audience choice award ballots!
Marian Luntz