Movie Blog: This Weekend's Best Bets
While you're out enjoying the spring-like weather this weekend, consider popping by one of the events listed below. They include a DVD and estate sale, as well as back-by-popular demand screenings of Godard's latest, Goodbye to Language.
And if you don't want to leave the couch until its 80 degrees outside, one of my top five films from last year just landed on Netflix.
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Friday-Saturday, March 13-14: Goodbye To Language (Walker Art Center)
This 3D movie is like none you've ever seen, so be prepared. Jean-Luc Godard, the titan of New Wave French cinema, plays with the technology, layering texts and images, tearing apart eyeballs in the process. He's like a child with a new toy in that he takes the technology and makes it fit into his innovative, unmistakable style. Like other recent films from the Swiss octogenarian, Goodbye to Language, is dense, laden with visual and literary references, and it doesn't wait for you to catch your breath. Luckily, its runtime is a slim 70 minutes. The Walker Art Center says the film is back this weekend by popular demand, so if you wish to witness its thrilling 3D glory, now's the time.
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Saturday, March 14: Trylon DVD And Movie Book Estate Sale (Trylon Microcinema)
For those who missed the Criterion Collection spring sale earlier in the week, this might be of some consolation. The Trylon says one of its regulars, John Bloomfield, died last year, and wanted this entire DVD and movie book collection to be sold for the microcinema's benefit. The theater says that Bloomfield had hundreds of rare DVDs (including many Criterions), some of which are still sealed. So if you're down to pick up some movies and help a local theater, stop by and check it out. The goes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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New On Netflix: Force Majeure (Netflix Streaming)
Bergman comes to mind when watching Force Majeure, and not just because the film is Swedish. There's a similar existential torment that comes to light from watching the cracks open in this fictional marriage. The movie's about a beautiful, near picture-perfect family on vacation in the Alps, but there's a single moment of panic and cowardice that threatens to separate husband and wife. Watching the relationship go into freefall one can't help but ask questions about how humans should act towards themselves and their loved ones when lives are on the line. The central question is: Can a man be forgiven for leaving his family and running in the face of an avalanche?
On a totally different note, this movie also boasts one of last year's best beards. Take a look.
