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Day 4 @ MSPIFF 2016: 'Schneider Vs. Bax' Reviewed

Jim Jarmusch's The Limits Of Control has been dethroned as the most pleasantly low-key hitman movie of all time, thanks to the Netherlands' Schneider Vs. Bax.

It's the tale of a professional killer who reluctantly takes a job on his birthday (much to the dismay of his dinner-party-throwing wife) to eliminate a boozy, middle-aged writer.

Schneider is oddly music-free, unless you want to consider the sound of wind moving through wetlands grass as its score. And it's also free of any noirish conventions that can come with hitman movies.

In fact, it seems almost shadowless, with most of the action taking place in broad daylight, and with a main interior set that's gleaming white and unadorned.

Writer/director/star Alex van Warmerdam accomplishes something you don't see often, or ever: a twisty, turny hitman flick that's equal parts stone-face stoic and devilishly playful.

Schneider Vs. Bax is playing at 9:35 p.m. at St. Anthony Theatre in Minneapolis, and on Thursday, April 14 at 9:40 p.m. at the same venue.

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Other Highlights For Sunday, April 10

Dragonfly
Dragonfly (credit: Maribeth Romslo & Cara Epstein)

Dragonfly ( Maribeth Romslo & Cara Epstein, USA) Filmed entirely in Minnesota, this indie uses heart and humor to tell the story of a family separated by divorce. WCCO's Jennifer Mayerle profiled Dragonfly and its filmmaker here. (7:10)

Mr. Pig (Diego Luna, USA) Danny Glover and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live, Bridesmaids) star as an estranged father and daughter who embark on a road trip to Mexico to sell a prized pig. (4:00)

My Friend Raffi (Arend Agthe, Germany) In this family-friendly gem, a young boy scours Hamburg after a smuggler steals his beloved, soccer-playing hamster! (12:15)

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For the festival schedule, and a complete listing of all the movies being shown, click here. Ticket information is available here.

Throughout the entirety of the 2016 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, WCCO.com will be spotlighting one notable movie each day, along with other notable screenings. To see WCCO.com's complete coverage on the MSPIFF, click here.

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