antiplex

coming up at boston's independent moviehouses - the brattle, harvard film archive, mfa and coolidge

Repertory Series: Disturbed Suburbs All That Heaven Allows at 5:30 (1955) dir Douglas Sirk w/Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson [89 min] Douglas Sirk, the legendary purveyor of mid-century melodrama, directs this story of a middle-aged widow (Wyman) with two grown children who falls for Rock Hudson’s younger man (who wouldn’t). The only problem is that Jane is a member of the country club set and Rock is a gardener. Despite their differences, the two start a romance but will upper class suburban morals get in the way of them finding happiness. Many of Sirk’s films were belittled at their release but over time they have aged into perfectly preserved pockets of ‘50s social norms and their consequences. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-suburbs-all.jpg final showing

Special Event! Cinemental Presents: Trans Entities, The Nasty Love Of Papí and Wil at 9:30 (2007) dir Morty Diamond [58 min] Trans Entities is a unique, sexy, thought provoking and above all touching portrait of a real transgender couple, Papi’ and Wil, who open themselves up to the camera like you have never seen before. They are a perverted, loving, polyamorous couple who identify as Trans Entities, a word they have coined to describe their gender identity. This film is 4 parts BDSM, polyamory, sexuality and gender documentary and 3 parts hot sex scenes. They discuss their gender expression, the perils and joy of poly love, and you see them negotiating a role play scene. The film gives the viewer an engagingly raw look into Papi and Wil's uninhibited, joyous and exploratory life. Tickets for CineMental are $10. Please Note: This film contains explicit sexual images. No one under 18 will be admitted. James Nadeau and Aliza Shapiro, who have been involved with programming for the Boston Gay and Lesbia one day only

Viva Pedro! FLOWER OF MY SECRET at 9:30 (1995) dir Pedro Almodovar Marisa Paredes, Joaquin Cortes [103 min] Double Feature w/LIVE FLESH Paredes is terrific in this portrait of a successful romance writer on the verge of a breakdown. With a mostly absent military-man husband and a stagnant career weighing on her back, she’ll try anything to change her life. Prime Douglas Sirk tribute by the modern master of melodrama. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-almodovar-flower.jpg final showing

Viva Pedro! LIVE FLESH at 2:45 (1997) dir Pedro Almodovar Javier Bardem, Francesca Neri, Liberto Rabal, Angela Molina, Jose Sencho [103 min] Double Feature w/FLOWER OF MY SECRET When he is sent to prison, Victor (Rabal) unknowingly becomes a catalyst for a young cop (Bardem), the seasoned partner, his philandering wife, and the diplomat’s daughter who put him there. Years later he emerges, still young, to discover their lives transformed while his has grown stagnant. Haunted by anger, Victor seeks revenge. A typically tragic-comic tale of revenge, redemption, hope and the ways of fate from Almodovar. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-almodovar-live.jpg final showing

Repertory Series: All About Bette A Stolen Life at 9:15 (1946) dir Curtis Bernhardt w/Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Walter Brennan [109 min] Double Feature w/THE WHALES OF AUGUST Kate (Davis) and her twin sister Patricia (also played by Davis) both fall for the charming Bill Emerson (Ford) while on a boat trip home to New England. Patricia steals Bill away from her sister, sending Kate into a deep depression. While Bill is away on a trip, Kate and Patricia are involved in a sailing accident. Patricia is drowned, but Kate washes ashore alive. She is mistaken for Patricia, which allows her to steal back the man of her dreams. Not available on DVD http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-davis-stolen.jpg final showing

Repertory Series: All About Bette The Whales of August at 7:15 (1987) dir Lindsay Anderson w/Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, Mary Steenburgen [90 min] Double Feature w/A STOLEN LIFE The last great role for several screen legends, THE WHALES OF AUGUST is a rarely screened and subtly composed gem. It is the simplest of stories, two aging sisters, long at odds, gather at their family’s house in Maine for perhaps one last summer. There is a possible romance and the failing health of one sister, but this is an elegiac, modest film. Anderson’s casting of so many aging stars allows the audience to palpably share the nostalgia of the film’s characters. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-davis-whales.jpg final showing

Repertory Series: All About Bette A Stolen Life at 9:15 (1946) dir Curtis Bernhardt w/Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Dane Clark, Walter Brennan [109 min] Double Feature w/THE WHALES OF AUGUST Kate (Davis) and her twin sister Patricia (also played by Davis) both fall for the charming Bill Emerson (Ford) while on a boat trip home to New England. Patricia steals Bill away from her sister, sending Kate into a deep depression. While Bill is away on a trip, Kate and Patricia are involved in a sailing accident. Patricia is drowned, but Kate washes ashore alive. She is mistaken for Patricia, which allows her to steal back the man of her dreams. Not available on DVD http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-davis-stolen.jpg showing through monday

Repertory Series: All About Bette The Whales of August at 7:15 (1987) dir Lindsay Anderson w/Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, Vincent Price, Ann Sothern, Mary Steenburgen [90 min] Double Feature w/A STOLEN LIFE The last great role for several screen legends, THE WHALES OF AUGUST is a rarely screened and subtly composed gem. It is the simplest of stories, two aging sisters, long at odds, gather at their family’s house in Maine for perhaps one last summer. There is a possible romance and the failing health of one sister, but this is an elegiac, modest film. Anderson’s casting of so many aging stars allows the audience to palpably share the nostalgia of the film’s characters. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-davis-whales.jpg showing through monday

Repertory Series: Disturbed Suburbs JUNO at 9:30 (2007) dir Jason Reitman w/Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney [96 min] Quirky 16-year-old Juno (Page) finds herself pregnant after a one-time encounter with her best friend Paulie Bleeker (Cera). After initially choosing to have an abortion, Juno changes her mind and instead finds a wanting family in the Pennysaver to whom to give her unborn child to. Vanessa (Garner) and Mark (Bateman) Loring are the picture of normal, Vanessa especially contrasting with Juno’s sharp wit and pragmatic personality. As her belly grows so do her relationships with Paulie and the Lorings, revealing that things in suburbia are not always the way that they seem. Forget the Oscar hype and the backlash, this cleverly written film featuring one of our favorite young actresses and a great supporting cast (especially Simmons and Janney as Juno’s parents) is a well-crafted gem. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-subu final showing

Viva Pedro! LAW OF DESIRE at 7:30 (1987) dir Pedro Almodovar Eusebio Poncela, Carmen Maura, Antonio Banderas [102 min] Double Feature w/MATADOR Almodovar’s early formula has always been pretty obvious: take the melodrama of Douglas Sirk, pump up the camp, sex and comedy and come up with some of the freshest filmmaking of the past quarter century. The Almodovar formula is in full force as this tale of the life and loves of Pablo, a successful film director, which swings from crime thriller to romance to X-rated soap opera. Considered by many to be the pinnacle of early Almodovar, don’t miss this rare screening! http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-almodovar-law.jpg final showing

Viva Pedro! MATADOR at 9:45 (1986) dir Pedro Almodovar Antonio Banderas, Nacho Martinez, Assumpta Serna [110 min] Double Feature w/LAW OF DESIRE A young and hunky Antonio Banderas co-stars in this insistently raffish, blackly humorous, surrealist sex comedy about the impossibility of love between two people obsessed with killing – and the innocent man stuck in the middle. http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/series/2008/images/julaug-almodovar-matador.jpg final showing