march 30 - june 7, 2018 - music box theatre...march 30 - june 7, 2018 film calendar chicago’s...

MARCH 30 - JUNE 7, 2018

FILM CALENDAR

Chicago’s Year-Round Film Festival

3733 N. Southport Avenue, Chicago www.musicboxtheatre.com 773.871.6607

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY50th Anniversary in 70MM, May 18-29

READY PLAYER ONEIN 70MM

OPENS MARCH 29

THE RIDEROPENS

APRIL 27

CHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVAL

MAY 4-10

MOTHER’S DAY WITH MOMMIE DEAREST

MAY 13 AT 2PM

NT LIVE: HAMLET

MAY 30 AT 7PM

3

FEATURE FILMSREADY PLAYER ONE ON 70MM1945BACK TO BURGUNDYTHE ENDLESSTHE RIDERGRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMIGHOST STORIES2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY ON 70MM THE GUARDIANSFILMWORKER

COMMENTARY

SERIESCLASSIC MATINEES CHICAGO FILM SOCIETYSILENT CINEMAFROM STAGE TO SCREENMIDNIGHTS

SPECIAL EVENTSCINEYOUTH FESTIVAL SENSE8 FINAL EPISODEAN EVENING WITH ERROL MORRISVALLEY OF THE DOLLSCHICAGO CRITICS FILM FESTIVALMOTHER’S DAY MOMMIE DEARESTMUSIC BOX MOVIES AT THE PARKCONCERT FOR GEORGESTANLEY KUBRICK: FILMWORKER SERIESDEPAUL PREMIERE FILM FESTJUGGERNAUT FILM FESTIVALMICHAEL CURTIZ: A RETROSPECTIVE

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Brian Andreotti, Director of Programming

Ryan Oestreich, General Manager

Buck LePard, Senior Operations Manager

Stephanie Berlin, Public Relations Manager

Claire Alden, Group Sales and Membership Manager

Julian Antos, Technical Director and Assistant Programmer

Kyle Westphal, Programming Associate

VOLUME 36 ISSUE 149Copyright 2018 Southport Music Box Corp.

MusicBoxTheatre.com

Published by Newcity Custom PublishingNewcitynetwork.com

For information, email advertising@newcity.com or call 312.243.8786

Cover Image from the film 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY MAY 18-29 at Music Box Theatre.See page 13 for more information.

Music Box Theatre 3733 North Southport musicboxtheatre.com773-871-6604 showtimes 773-871-6607 office

WelcomeTO THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE!

OPENS MARCH 29APRIL 6-12OPENS APRIL 13 APRIL 20-26OPENS APRIL 27OPENS APRIL 27OPENS MAY 11 MAY 18-29OPENS MAY 25OPENS JUNE 1

APRIL 20-22APRIL 21APRIL 24MAY 2MAY 4-10MAY 13MAY 16-SEPTEMBER 19MAY 16JUNE 1-7JUNE 1JUNE 2-3COMING IN JUNE

Two by Rohmerwith

Sophie Renoirand

Haydée Politoff

Film Studies Center presents

L’ami de mon ami (1987)with Sophie Renoir

April 26, 7pm

La collectionneuse (1967)with Haydée Politoff

May 5, 7pm

Logan Center for the Arts915 E. 60th St.

filmstudiescenter.uchicago.edu

Features and Special Events 5

READY PLAYER ONE

FEATUREFILM

OPENS MARCH 29

DIRECTED BY: Steven SpielbergSTARRING: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance140 mins, 70mm

From filmmaker Steven Spielberg comes the science fiction action adventure READY PLAYER ONE, based on Ernest Cline’s bestseller of the same name, which has become a worldwide phenomenon.

The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.

IN70MM!

FEATURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

6 Features and Special Events 7Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

1945

APRIL 6-12 FEATUREFILM

DIRECTED BY: Ferenc TörökSTARRING: Péter Rudolf, Bence Tasnádi, Tamás Szabó Kimme 91 mins, DCP, In Hungarian with English subtitles

On a summer day in 1945, an Orthodox man and his grown son return to a village in Hungary while the villagers prepare for the wedding of the town clerk’s son. The townspeople – suspicious, remorseful, fearful, and cunning – expect the worst and behave accordingly.

Director Ferenc Török paints a complex picture of a society trying to come to terms with the recent horrors they’ve experienced, perpetrated, or just tolerated for personal gain. A superb ensemble cast, lustrous black and white cinematography, and historically detailed art direction contribute to an eloquent drama that reiterates Thomas Wolfe’s famed sentiment: you can’t go home again.

“Gripping… A fresh, intelligent cinematic approach with subtlety and nuance.”

–Variety

“Stunningly beautiful… Much more than a war film, it’s a pure film experience”

–Miami Herald

BACK TO BURGUNDY

FEATUREFILM

OPENS APRIL 13

Opening Weekend - Director Q&A

THE ENDLESS

FEATUREFILM

DIRECTED BY: Justin Benson, Aaron MoorheadSTARRING: Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Callie Hernandez112 mins, DCP

Following their Lovecraftian modern cult classic SPRING, acclaimed filmmakers Moorhead and Benson return with this mind-bending thriller that follows two brothers who receive a cryptic video message inspiring them to revisit the UFO death cult they escaped a decade earlier. Hoping to find the closure that they couldn’t as young men, they’re forced to reconsider the cult’s beliefs when confronted with unexplainable phenomena surrounding the camp. As the members prepare for the coming of a mysterious event, the brothers race to unravel the seemingly impossible truth before their lives become permanently entangled with the cult.

APRIL 20-26

“[A] rich banquet of mind-bending weirdness.”

–The Hollywood Reporter

“A demanding, rewarding picture with moments of unusual terror and awe”

–Screen International

FEATURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

SAVE THE DATEAPRIL 20-22

Music Box Theatre 3733 N Southport Ave

A three-day film festival celebrating work by young filmmakers

from around the world.

chicagofilmfestival.com/cineyouth/chicagofilmfestival

@CineYouth#CineYouth

CINEMA/CHICAGO PRESENTS

FESTIVAL®

Sponsored by:

“A vibrant and tender family saga”

–Le Parisien

A Music

Box Films

Release

DIRECTED BY: Cédric KlapischSTARRING: Pio Marmaï, Ana Girardot, François Civil, Jean-Marc Roulot113 mins, DCP, English, French and Spanish with English subtitles

Three siblings reunite at their home in picturesque Burgundy to save the family vineyard in this tender tale of a new generation finding its own unique blend from acclaimed director Cédric Klapisch.

Jean, the black sheep of the family, unexpectedly returns home after a decade to reconnect with his hospitalized father. He’s welcomed by his sister Juliette, who took over the vineyard after their father fell ill, and Jeremie, who married into one of the region’s more prestigious wine families. Their father passes shortly after Jean’s return, leaving them with the estate and a looming inheritance tax of half a million dollars. As four seasons and two harvests go by, the siblings have to reinvent their relationship as they work to preserve the land that ties them together.

8 Features and Special Events 9Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

THE RIDER

OPENS APRIL 27 FEATUREFILM

DIRECTED BY: Chloé ZhaoSTARRING: Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau103 mins, DCP

Based on his true story, THE RIDER stars breakout Brady Jandreau as a once rising star of the rodeo circuit warned that his competition days are over after a tragic riding accident. Back home, Brady finds himself wondering what he has to live for when he can no longer do what gives him a sense of purpose: to ride and compete. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and tries to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.

“A work of heartbreaking beauty.”

–Village Voice

“A wholly unique slice-of-life drama.”

–IndieWire

Official

Selection -

Cannes Film

Festival 2017

SENSE8 FINAL EPISODE

Saturday, April 21 at 7:30pm(Lana Wachowski, 2018, 151 mins, DCP)

Presented by EMILY’s List Netflix, in conjunction with Lana and Karin Wachowski, is hosting a sneak preview of the last episode of their groundbreaking program, as part of a benefit supporting the work of EMILY’s List. The program includes a screening of the feature-length, final episode of Sense8, followed by a Q&A with directors and selected cast.

VIP tickets will allow a special meet-and-greet with to-be-announced cast for the hour prior to screening.

APRIL 21 SPECIALEVENT

OPENS APRIL 27 FEATUREFILM

GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI

“If you want a rock-n-roll, sexy, feel good, empowering film, pull

up to the theater in your most audacious outfit and get ready for the Grace Jones experience.”

–The Huffington Post

“A sumptuous sensory treat.” –The Hollywood Reporter

DIRECTED BY: Sophie Fiennes115 mins, DCP

An electrifying journey through the public and private worlds of mega-icon Grace Jones. A larger-than-life entertainer, an androgynous glam-pop diva, an unpredictable media presence – Grace Jones is all these things and more. Taking us home with her to Jamaica, into the studio, and backstage at gigs around the world, the film reveals Jones as lover, daughter, mother, and businesswoman. But the stage is the fixed point to which the film returns, with eye-popping performances of “Slave to the Rhythm,” “Love is the Drug,” and more. Jones has said watching the film “will be like seeing me almost naked” and, indeed, Sophie Fiennes’ treatment is every bit as definition-defying as its subject, untamed by either age or life itself.

READ STEVE PROKOPY’S COMMENTARY ON PAGE 18

APRIL 24

AN EVENING WITH ERROL MORRISPresented by the Chicago Humanities Festival

Tuesday, April 24 at 7pm

Through his now classic documentary investigations such as THE THIN BLUE LINE and THE FOG OF WAR, Errol Morris established himself as a filmmaker committed to seeking the truth, whether proving the innocence of a wrongfully committed man or interrogating Robert McNamara, the architect of the Vietnam War. Morris comes to CHF with his new book THE ASHTRAY – inspired by a philosophical debate over the nature of reality – to share his worldview and urge all of us to establish and support the truth, against what he sees as current threats to its very existence.

SPECIALEVENT

FEATURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

10 Features and Special Events 11Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

VALLEY OF THE DOLLSFilm Screening and Book Signing

with co-author of Patty Duke’s Memoir

MAY 2

Wednesday, May 2 at 7pm(Mark Robson, 1967, 125 mins, DCP)

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, the 1967 camp classic returns to the Music Box for the first time since 2010 when Oscar winner Patty Duke was here in-person. Before her death in 2016, the beloved, multiple award-winning actress discussed the film and other highlights of her unparalleled career with Bill Jankowski, and the two co-authored the recently released memoir, IN THE PRESENCE OF GREATNESS - MY SIXTY YEAR JOURNEY AS AN ACTRESS. After the film, Jankowski will discuss his warm friendship with the actress, share behind-the-scenes details from Duke’s career and sign copies of the book.

Richard Knight Jr., founder and president of the Queer Film Society (a partial beneficiary of the event), hosts the evening. Copies of the book will be available for purchase.

SPECIALEVENT

FEATURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

GHOST STORIES

FEATUREFILM

DIRECTED BY: Jeremy Dyson, Andy NymanSTARRING: Martin Freeman, Andy Nyman, Paul Whitehouse97 mins, DCP

Experience three spine-tingling tales of terror to haunt your dreams. A debunker of the paranormal, Prof. Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman) has devoted his life to exposing fraudulent supernatural shenanigans on his television show. His skepticism is put to the test, however, when he receives a file of three chilling, inexplicable cases: a night watchman (Paul Whitehouse) haunted by disturbing visions as he patrols an abandoned asylum; a young man (BLACK MIRROR’s Alex Lawther) involved in a hellish car accident deep in the woods; and a wealthy former banker (SHERLOCK’s Martin Freeman) visited by the poltergeist spirit of his unborn child. Even scarier: each of these macabre stories seems to have a sinister connection to Professor Goodman’s own life. Will they make a believer of him yet?

OPENS MAY 11

“A witty and well-crafted love letter to old-school horror tropes.”

–The Hollywood Reporter

Official Selection - SXSW Film Festival

12 Features and Special Events 13Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

CONCERT FOR GEORGECelebrating the Life and Music of George Harrison

MAY 16 SPECIALEVENT

Wednesday, May 16 at 7:20pm(David Leland, 2003, 100 mins, DCP)

On November 29, 2002, one year after the passing of George Harrison, Olivia Harrison and longtime friend Eric Clapton organized a performance tribute in his honor. Held at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the momentous evening featured George’s songs, and music he loved, performed by a lineup that included Joe Brown, Jeff Lynne, Paul McCartney, Monty Python, Tom Petty, Billy Preston, Ravi Shankar, Ringo Starr and many more.

Encore

Presentation!

MOTHER’S DAY WITH MOMMIE DEAREST

Sunday, May 13 at 2pm(Frank Perry, 1981, 129 mins, DCP)

MOMMIE DEAREST, the beloved 1981 camp classic returns with a special Mother’s Day screening. The festivities, hosted by Dick O’Day feature special guests Joan Crawford (portrayed by David Cerda, Playwright/Artistic Director of Hell in a Handbag Productions and lead singer of The Joans rock-n-roll band) and Joan’s assistant and chief flunky Carol Ann (portrayed by Ed Jones of Hell in a Handbag Productions and The Joans rock-n-roll band). The event kicks off with a mother-daughter costume contest featuring MOMMIE DEAREST-themed prizes followed by the Mount Everest of Mother’s Day movies (complete with interactive screening guide). Based on the national bestseller, the notorious box office bomb stars Faye Dunaway in her infamous, over-the-top performance as ultimate movie star Joan Crawford and details the battle of wills with her adopted daughter Christina. Mother’s Day mimosas will be available in the Music Box Lounge.

Please note that this event is NOT suitable for children under 17 years of age.

MAY 13 SPECIALEVENT

FEATURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY on 70MM

MAY 18-29

50th Anniversary - May 18-29 (Stanley Kubrick, 1968, 142 mins, 70mm)

In honor of the 50th Anniversary of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), the Music Box Theatre will present Stanley Kubrick’s iconic masterpiece in a brand-new 70MM print! This new print was created from a true photochemical restoration, printed off of the original camera negative. The print will be sharper and contain better color imagery than ever before.

SPECIALEVENT

Brand New70MM Print!

MUSIC BOX THEATRE MOVIES AT THE PARK

MAY 16 - SEPTEMBER 19

Every Other Wednesday, May 16 - September 19 at 7:30pm

Gather your friends and family and come enjoy the Park at Wrigley’s free summer movie series brought to you by Chicago’s premier venue for independent and classic films, the Music Box Theatre.

Kicking off Wednesday, May 16 and running every other Wednesday through September, join us as we screen classic films including A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, BACK TO THE FUTURE, HOME ALONE, TWISTER and more. Gates open at 6:00, screening starts at 7:30. Visit ParkatWrigley.com for the full line up of films.

No cost for Music Box Theatre Movies at the Park at Wrigley. Join us for free.

SPECIALEVENT

14 Features and Special Events 15Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

STANLEY KUBRICK: THE FILMWORKER SERIES

JUNE 1-7

June 1-7

The new documentary FILMWORKER follows the last quarter-century of director Stanley Kubrick’s peerless film career through the eyes of his right-hand man, Leon Vitali. In conjunction with the release of FILMWORKER on June 1, the Music Box will screen the four films that Kubrick and Vitali collaborated on during their over-twenty years together: BARRY LYNDON, THE SHINING, FULL METAL JACKET and EYES WIDE SHUT.

SPECIALEVENT

All on 35MM!

THE GUARDIANS

OPENS MAY 25 FEATUREFILM

“A sober, quietly affecting wartime drama.”

–The Hollywood ReporterDIRECTED BY: Xavier BeauvoisSTARRING: Nathalie Baye, Iris Bry, Laura Smet135 mins, DCP, In French with English subtitles

An affecting human drama of love, loss, and resilience unfolds against the backdrop of World War I. The women of the Paridier farm, under the deft hand of Hortense, the family’s matriarch, must grapple with the workload while the men are off at the front. Hortense reluctantly brings on an outsider, the hard-scrabble teenage orphan, Francine, to help her daughter. New tools allow the women to triumph over the land, newfound independence is acquired, yet emotions are stirred especially when the men return on short leaves. Acclaimed filmmaker Xavier Beauvois (OF GODS AND MEN) revels in the mysteries and beauties of the French countryside, yet keeps his focus on the intricate drama that plays out against the upheaval of the Great War.

A Music Box Films Release

FEATURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

OPENS JUNE 1 FEATUREFILM

FILMWORKERDIRECTED BY: Tony ZierraFEATURING: Leon Vitali, Stanley Kubrick, Ryan O’Neal, R. Lee Ermy93 mins, DCP

After starring as Lord Bullingdon in BARRY LYNDON, Leon Vitali gave up his acting career to toil in obscurity as Stanley Kubrick’s devoted aide-de-camp. For more than two decades, Leon played a crucial role behind-the-scenes helping Kubrick make and maintain his legendary body of work. The complex, interdependent relationship between Leon and Kubrick was founded on devotion, sacrifice and the grueling, joyful reality of the creative process. This candid, often funny, and sometimes shocking documentary offers a singular perspective on a creative genius.

“An arresting cinemaniac documentary. Pure candy for Kubrick buffs.”

–Variety

“Revealing. A fascinating portrait of Stanley Kubrick’s devoted aide de

camp. Honors the hard-working, often unacknowledged craftsmen in the film industry.”

–The Hollywood Reporter

READ RAY PRIDE’S COMMENTARY ON PAGE 20

16 Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

Hosted by Gates McFaddenfrom “Star Trek: TNG”

for tickets, visit www.Otherworldtheatre.org

FEATURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

MICHAEL CURTIZ: A RETROSPECTIVE

Although he is best known for the immortal CASABLANCA, Michael Curtiz directed over 150 films in a career that spanned half a century. He operated at peak efficiency at Warner Bros. where he turned out between two to seven features every year from 1926 to 1952, making film noirs, swashbucklers, melodramas, comedies, westerns, horror films, musicals, and patriotic paeans to his adopted country.

NOIR CITY maestro Alan K. Rode will joining the Music Box on June 9 & 10 to screen several Curtiz landmarks and discuss his new book, MICHAEL CURTIZ: A LIFE IN FILM. Additional matinees will continue throughout June.

SPECIALEVENT

COMING IN JUNE

BUY YOUR COPY TODAY AT THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE

musicboxfi lms.com@musicboxfi lms

“A MIX OF UNDERDOG SPORTS DRAMA AND

POLITICAL THRILLER.”—GARY GOLDSTEIN

LOS ANGELES TIMES

18 Commentary 19Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

COMMENTARY

The story behind the making of writer/director Chloé Zhao’s second feature, THE RIDER, is almost as intriguing as the finished film. While doing research for her previous feature, 2015’s SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME, she went to a ranch where a lanky rodeo rider named Brady Jandreau worked teaching people how to ride horses. Jandreau was such a striking, quietly intense young man that Zhao was determined to put him in a future film. But when he had a riding accident that left him with a near-fatal head injury (requiring a plate in his head), Zhao became resolute that her next script would center on this man, whom she would also hire to play a thinly veiled version of himself.

The resulting film is an utterly captivating work that could have easily gone wrong in so many places. Not only does Jandreau play saddle bronc rider Brady Blackburn, who opens the film having just checked himself out of the hospital against doctor’s orders with several dozen staples along one side of his partially shaven head, but his real-life father Tim (playing Wayne Blackburn) and Asperger’s-affected sister Lilly (also named Lilly in the movie) are on hand as his family members. It seems like a safe bet to assume that all of the actors featured in THE RIDER are first-timers, but thanks to Zhao’s patience and gentle direction, no one embarrasses themselves as a performer. In fact, the bottled-up emotions of many of the characters seem absolutely authentic in a world where men are frequently told to “Cowboy up” whenever their bodies or feelings are injured.

Filmed in the stunning and meditative environs of the Badlands of South Dakota, THE RIDER opens on Brady’s first morning back from the hospital, and although we don’t know what exactly has happened to him at first, it becomes clear that he should still be in a doctor’s care and that he believes that being home is the first necessary step toward recovering from his injuries. His doctors have told him that the severity of his injury is so bad that he should never ride a horse

COWBOY DOWN The Uniquely American Life of THE RIDER By Steve Prokopy

again, let alone take part in a rodeo. The idea of never riding again is so unthinkable to Brady that he treats his doctor’s orders like a suggestion rather than a life-or-death pronouncement, because a world without riding and competing doesn’t exist.

Zhao doesn’t feel the need to rely too much on exposition to explain Brady’s past or contem-plate his current state of mind. His mother died when he was young, and his father is a gruff son of a bitch who has had issues with drinking and gambling. And while sister Lilly is highly func-tional in the confines of the family ranch, it’s clear that she is always going to need looking after well into adulthood. Brady exiting rodeoing doesn’t just mean he can’t do what he loves most; it means that the family has no steady income from his winnings, and the first sign of financial trouble comes when Wayne is forced to sell Brady’s favorite horse, breaking the son’s heart for the first of many times post-accident.

Cinematographer Joshua James Richards shoots the location’s open fields beautifully but always finds a way to make things appear dark and foreboding, giving Brady enough space to be contemplative as he wrestles with what his identity is without rodeo. We get hints of what his direction might be when we see him act as a horse trainer for a friend (his horse whispering powers are quite strong). In another sequence, he’s training a young man to ride a bronco like a professional. But complications from his head injury crop up from time to time—in the form of nausea and one hand seizing closed to the point where he has to pry his fingers open—making even those career options less likely. He takes a job at a local supermarket and tells the many who recognize him that it’s just temporary while he recovers, and while he may believe this at first, each time he says it to someone, he seems to believe it less.

In a broader sense, THE RIDER is also about a particular type of masculinity, one that is so deeply intertwined with pride and a fear of losing even the slightest bit of manhood, that cowboys would rather endanger their lives than appear any less tough. Brady drinks and boasts and lies about his prognosis with his other rodeo buddies, but his inability to open up to them about his true fears and newly developed shortcomings is the film’s biggest tragedy. He has an enormous heart, as is evidenced by his frequent visits to his friend Lane, a now-paralyzed former rodeo star, whose condition should act as a warning to Brady. But both men seem to feed off of each other’s kindness, and Brady may even see Lane (who can only communicate with sign language) as a driving force toward his own recovery and getting back on a bronc.

Since its premiere as part of the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival (where it also won the special CICAE Award), THE RIDER has enjoyed a robust life and won many awards on the festival circuit. It was also nominated for four Film Independent Spirit Awards (includ-ing Best Feature and Best Director) earlier this year, so its status as a critical darling is firmly established. But all of that aside, the piece works because Zhao has the open eyes and big heart of a humanitarian, and she refuses to ignore inspiration in any form when it strikes her squarely between the eyes. Brady, his family, and their world are all uniquely American, while also maintaining a universality that will likely seem familiar to many cultures around the world.

Steve Prokopy is the Chief Film Critic for the Chicago-based arts outlet Third Coast Review (www.ThirdCoastReview.com), where he contributes film reviews and filmmaker & actor interviews. For 20 years, he was the Chicago Editor for Ain’t It Cool News, writing under the name “Capone.”

THE RIDER OPENS APRIL 27. SEE PAGE 9 FOR DETAILS.

20 Commentary 21Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

FEATURES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

Movies are movies and films are films, oui? The means to make an all-American Adderall-free-for-all like READY PLAYER ONE—sound, image, rinse, repeat—are worlds away from the concentrated serenity with sudden turnabouts of a seemingly modest gem like Xavier Beauvois’ eighth feature, the stirringly beautiful French historical drama THE GUARDIANS (Les gardiennes). Yet in opposition to boys, place women; in contrast to souped-up sound, substitute a succession of silences and gentle melodies. Beauvois’ craft is translucent, restrained and in the end, deeply moving, using all the classical elements of filmmaking to craft an elegant movie.

France is in its second year of war in 1915, the men fight and women mind the land. The Paridier farm is tended by a mother and her daughter as well as a young woman who grew up in the care of the state. The work is hard and repetitious. Beautiful sunrise, beautiful sunset, tilling the fields with horse-drawn plows between. Misty days and sunny days alike: work. Beauvois presents their days and bits of their dreams in precise images: they are figures in widescreen painterly settings of agriculture before mechanization, but the beauty Beauvois captures escapes them. Beauvois cites paintings by van Gogh under the influence of Millet more important to his film than other movies. “I did hold myself back because I did not want each scene to be a painting,” the painstaking director told Cineuropa. “But I did slip in an exact tableau by Degas of a girl washing her back. I did study many paintings but it is important to remember that in France at that time, agriculture made up 80% of the economic activity. As a result, painters who were people interested in such work produced a huge number of paintings about the countryside and rural work. It would have been too easy to overdo this and it was a trap I did not want to fall into.”

Plant the wheat, grind the wheat. Seasons accelerate. The war is far away, with only a few glimpses of battle, largely dreamt by the characters. Snow flocks the land. The war will end in a couple of years, won’t it? It’s all very straightforward, including the acting by Nathalie Baye, her real-life daughter Laura Smet and first-time actress Iris Bry, capturing the bond of communal strength that holds the women. Beauvois captures Bry as the bright center of THE GUARDIANS:

COMMENTARY

DAYS OF LEAVENThe Women Mind the Land in THE GUARDIANS By Ray Pride

“When I saw Iris, I realized that I was standing in front of a bomb,” he has said. “All I did was give her the room she deserved. She was able to turn Francine into the embodiment of women at the beginning of the twentieth century.”

Beauvois works with many of the same collaborators each time, including his wife, Marie-Julie Maille, who is his editor, and since 1995, cinematographer Caroline Champetier. Let’s take a pause for the cinematic history of Champetier, whose collaborations, along with Beauvois’ OF GODS AND MEN, informs THE GUARDIANS: Jean-Luc Godard (KEEP YOUR RIGHT UP, HELAS POUR MOI), Jacques Rivette (GANG OF FOUR, LE PONT DU NORD), Arnaud Desplechin (LE SENTINELLE), Jacques Doillon (PONETTE), Benoît Jacquot (A SINGLE GIRL), Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub (CLASS RELATIONS), Chantal Akerman (ALL ONE NIGHT), André Téchiné (ALICE ET MARTIN), Leos Carax (HOLY MOTORS) and Philippe Garrel (NIGHT WIND, which Beauvois co-wrote). The light of the countryside in Beauvois’ effortless depiction, natural light captured digitally, draws on the skill that comes from collaborators like Champetier with their own tradition. Not so much a tradition of “quality” than the quality of tradition, which also encompasses a spare, gently melodic score by Michel Legrand (THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG). The men will return; these days of leaven will not.

Ray Pride is film critic of Newcity, editor of MovieCityNews.com and a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine. He is also a photographer: his book of words and images of Chicago “Ghost Signs” is forthcoming.

APRIL 6 - 12

164 N State • siskelfilmcenter.org

GENE SISKEL FILM CENTER

ITZHAK ZAMAAPRIL 13 - 19

On the go with Itzhak Perlman! WITH DIRECTOR

LUCRECIA MARTEL IN PERSON 4/15 & 4/16

THE GUARDIANS OPENS ON MAY 25. SEE PAGE 14 FOR DETAILS.

22 Music Box Theatre March-June 2018 Matinees 23

CLASSIC MATINEES

MUSIC BOX STAFF PICKS!The Music Box Matinee programming has been turned over to our excellent house staff! Come see classic films selected by the folks who sell the tickets, make the popcorn, mix the drinks, project the movies, and keep the Music Box running.

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (Jonathan Demme, 1991, 118 mins, 35mm)

Picked by Stephanie, Publicity Manager

Stephanie says: I first saw SILENCE OF THE LAMBS when I was too young, and remember being terribly frightened. As my interest in cinema developed, I could appreciate the complexity of Jonathan Demme’s psychological thriller. Under the veneer of a police procedural is a deep dive in the darkest corners of the human mind and a subversion of classic gender dynamics, anchored by two iconic performances by Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster.

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971, 118 mins, 35mm)

Picked by Peter, Front of House

Peter says: Seeing PAPER MOON a couple of years ago, I was drawn to every emotional exchange—it’s one of my favorite films to both subvert and reaffirm the powerful suggestion of blood in matters of love and estrangement. I haven’t seen THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, but I’m familiar with its reputation as a staple of American cinema, as well as Bogdanovich’s close relationships with the significant figures therein—from Orson Welles to John Cassavetes to Wes Anderson. After reading Roger Ebert’s review, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW just seemed like the right pick for a weekend matinee.

LEGALLY BLONDE (Robert Luketic, 2001, 96 mins, 35mm)

Picked by Brooke, Front of House

Brooke says: LEGALLY BLONDE is secretly a feminist goldmine while genuinely still being a very, very fun movie. It’s not just a nostalgic throwback to the early 2000s, but a showcase for an amazing, flawed, confident, ridiculous female character who reminds us we can do anything we set our mind to. We all have a little Elle Woods inside of us!

April 29

May 19 & 20

May 26 & 27

May 12 & 13

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS AT 11:30am

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Presented on 35MM!

PHENOMENA AKA CREEPERS (Dario Argento, 1985, 82 mins, 35mm)

Picked by Matt, Front of House

Matt says: The lush Swiss countryside, a black-gloved killer, schoolgirls wearing Armani, Jennifer Connelly communicating telepathically with insects, and Donald Pleasence with a pet chimpanzee!? PHENOMENA is Argento’s most bizarre giallo. Just when you thought it couldn’t get even better, Goblin and Iron Maiden handle the score!

24 Music Box Theatre March-June 2018 Matinees 25

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A SCENE AT THE SEAMonday, April 30 at 7pm (Takeshi Kitano, 1991, 101 mins, 35mm)In Japanese with English subtitles

Best known in the US for violent thrillers like SONATINE, Takeshi Kitano launched his own production company with this gentle, haunting masterpiece. A SCENE AT THE SEA tells the story of a deaf trash collector (Claude Maki) who finds a broken surfboard on his garbage route. He repairs it and, encouraged by his girlfriend (Hiroko Ôshima), begins surfing every day, eventually entering in competitions. Driven by the music of frequent Miyazaki collaborator Joe Hisaishi, A SCENE AT THE SEA is a film “with a minimalist eloquence that… suggests all the joys and difficulties of life” (Chicago Reader).

Print courtesy of the Japan Foundation

70MM SHORTS SHOWCASE IIMonday, May 28 at 6pm

Back by popular demand and weirder and wilder than ever, the Chicago Film Society presents a 70mm shorts program of ride films, travelogues, trailers, and rare clips, most making their first appearance in Chicago. CFS has combed the world for films that use 70mm’s wide, clear frame to enchant, delight, and terrify. Lineup available at ChicagoFilmSociety.org, though there will be some surprises on the night of the screening!

THE CHICAGO FILM SOCIETY PRESENTSThe Chicago Film Society hosts monthly presentations featuring classic films, underseen rarities, cult movies, short subjects, trailer reels and more, all on glorious celluloid. For more information, visit www.chicagofilmsociety.org.

Music Box MemberBecoming a member at the Music Box is a great way to support the quality programming at the independently owned and operated historic movie theatre, lounge and garden. This includes our holiday classics, talk backs, film festivals, visits from directors, producers, and actors, as well as our regular midnight, matinee,

and feature presentations.

register online at musicboxtheatre.com or visit our box office!

• Discounted tickets

• Members-only screenings

• Advanced purchase for special screenings

• Restaurant discounts

• Deals on Music Box Films DVD’s

• Bottomless popcorn

• Discounted house wines

j o i n t o d ay

Silent Cinema 2726 Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

SILENT CINEMAClassic silent films the way they were meant to be seen! Featuring a live musical score on the famous Music Box organ by Dennis Scott, Music Box House Organist.

A MILLION BID(Michael Curtiz, 1927, 65 mins, 35mm)Saturday, April 21 at 11:30am Co-presented by Chicago Film Society

Shortly after acquiring the ailing Vitagraph studio, Warner Bros. set about remaking their 1914 melodrama A MILLION BID for contract starlet Dolores Costello. Warner assigned the film to Hungarian émigré Curtiz, who needed a low-key follow-up to his ostentatious American debut THE THIRD DEGREE. Costello loves a young surgeon, but is betrothed to a wealthy jerk (Warner Oland) who ponied up a million

bucks for the privilege. Oland eventually forces himself upon Costello aboard his yacht, but a violent storm interrupts his plunder, causing the rapacious millionaire to develop amnesia in the aftermath. High seas hokum of the highest order!

Print courtesy of the Library of Congress

WOMAN OF TOKYO(Yasujiro Ozu, 1933, 47 mins, 35mm)Saturday, May 5 at 11:30am Co-presented by The Chicago Critics Film Festival and Chicago Film Society

Although the Japanese film industry converted to sound a few years prior, silent cinema continued to present opportunities for experimentation and refinement for Ozu. Two pairs of adult siblings attempt to eke out a living in Tokyo: a university student shares an apartment with the sister who pays for his education through office work while his girlfriend lives with her policeman

brother. When the cop learns that the typist may be supplementing her income with disreputable side gigs, he inadvertently ruins one life and another in turn. This staunchly feminist tragedy envisions gender roles as pernicious traps for men and women alike.

Plus: Short Film A STRAIGHTFORWARD BOY [Surviving Fragment] (Yasujiro Ozu, 1929, 14 mins, 35mm)

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28 Stage to Screen 29Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

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JULIUS CAESARPRESENTED BY NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE

Directed by: Nicholas HytnerThursday, April 26 at 7pm

Ben Whishaw (THE DANISH GIRL, SKYFALL) and Michelle Fairley (GAME OF THRONES) play Brutus and Cassius, David Calder (THE LOST CITY OF Z) plays Caesar and David Morrissey (THE WALKING DEAD) is Mark Antony.

Caesar returns in triumph to Rome and the people pour out of their homes to celebrate. Alarmed by the autocrat’s popularity, the educated élite conspire to bring him down. After his assassination, civil war erupts on the streets of the capitol.

Nicholas Hytner’s production will thrust the audience into the street party that greets Caesar’s return, the congress that witnesses his murder, the rally that assembles for his funeral and the chaos that explodes in its wake.

“A pulse-quickening political tragedy.” – Evening Standard

“Visceral and politically urgent.” – The Guardian

HAMLETENCORE PRESENTATIONPRESENTED BY NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE

Directed by: Lyndsey TurnerWednesday, May 30 at 7pm

Academy Award-nominee Benedict Cumber-batch (BBC’s SHERLOCK, THE IMITATION GAME) takes on the title role of Shakespeare’s great tragedy.

Now seen by over 750,000 people world-wide, the original 2015 NT Live broadcast returns to cinemas.

As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge his father’s death but paralyzed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threaten-ing both his sanity and the security of the state. Directed by Lyndsey Turner and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions..

“Benedict Cumberbatch is a blazing five-star Hamlet.” – Daily Telegraph

“One of the most visually and atmospherically stunning productions I’ve ever seen, of anything, ever.” – Time Out

LADY WINDERMERE’S FANPRESENTED BY MORE2SCREEN

Directed by: Kathy BurkeTuesday, May 8 at 7pm

“You gave me this fan today; it was your birthday present. If that woman crosses my threshold, I shall strike her across the face with it.” — Oscar Wilde

A new production of Oscar Wilde’s social comedy, recorded at the Vaudeville Theatre in London’s West End. Director Kathy Burke brings together a talented comedic cast including Jennifer Saunders (ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS), marking her return to the West End stage for the first time in over twenty years.

The day of Lady Windermere’s birthday party, and all is perfectly in order. Until her friend Lord Darlington plants a seed of suspicion. Is her husband having an affair? And will the other woman really attend the party? First performed in 1892, LADY WINDERMERE’S FAN explores the ambiguity of upper class morality and the fragile position of women in society in the late Victorian era in one of Wilde’s most popular and witty plays.

“Dazzles… A roster of excellent performances” – The Independent

“Dripping charm and diamonds… Unexpectedly moving” – The Guardian

The Music Box proudly presents the greatest in filmed theatrical productions from around the world!

FROM STAGE TO SCREEN

30 Midnights 31Music Box Theatre March-June 2018

UP IN SMOKE(Lou Adler, 1978, 86 mins, DCP)

The drug-addled duo are on a road trip throughout Cali-fornia; that is to say, a road trip they hope will culminate in find-ing some quality weed. Instead, a series of mishaps result in their respective deportations to Mexico. Desperate to get back to the states so they can perform in their band’s gig later that night, Cheech and Chong unwittingly agree to drive a very unique car across the border — rather than steel and vari-ous metal bits, the vehicle is constructed entirely out of marijuana.

DARK CITY(Alex Proyas, 1998, 100 mins, 35mm)

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens alone in a strange hotel to find that he is wanted for a series of brutal murders. The problem is that he can’t remember wheth-er he committed the murders or not, and must unravel the twisted riddle of his identity. As he edges closer to solving

the mystery, he stumbles upon a fiendish underworld controlled by a group of ominous beings collectively known as the Strangers.

MOD FUCK EXPLOSION Co-presented by the Chicago Underground Film Festival and The Front Row(Jon Moritsugu, 1994, 67 mins, 16mm)

One part arthouse and one part schlock, the films of Jon Moritsugu are all parts entertaining. MOD FUCK EXPLOSION, his third independent fea-ture (following MY DEGENERATION and HIPPY PORN) is a surreal ode to teen angst, WEST SIDE STORY meets QUADROPHENIA on cheap drugs and an even

cheaper budget. Long time Moritsugu muse Amy Davis stars as London, a sullen emo girl with a crush on a juvenile delinquent named M16. The couple’s romance is soon interrupted by a turf war between the mods and a gang of Asian-American bikers. This sleazy, out of sync, 16mm opus, set to a punk rock soundtrack, is a classic of mid-90s underground filmmaking that anyone with taste won’t want to miss!

CONTINUING SERIES

UP IN SMOKE (Lou Adler, 1978, 86 mins, DCP)

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (Jim Sharman, 1975, 100 mins, 35mm)

DARK CITY (Alex Proyas, 1998, 100 mins, 35mm)

MOD FUCK EXPLOSION (Jon Moritsugu, 1994, 67 mins, 16mm)

MIDNIGHTS

FASCINATION (Jean Rollin, 1979, 80 mins, DCP)

BASKET CASE (Frank Henenlotter, 1982, 91 mins, DCP)

ICHI THE KILLER (Takashi Miike, 2001, 129 mins, DCP)

THE ROOM (Tommy Wiseau, 2003, 99 mins, 35mm)

March 30 & 31

April 6 & 7

April 13 & 14

April 20

April 20

April 21

April 27 & 28

May 11 & 12

FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS AT MIDNIGHT

BASKET CASE(Frank Henenlotter, 1982, 91 mins, DCP)

The feature debut of director Frank Henenlotter (BRAIN DAMAGE, FRANKENHOOKER), 1982’s BASKET CASE is perhaps his most revered – a riotous and blood-spattered midnight movie experience, now immortalized in a lavish new 4K restoration by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Duane Bradley is a pretty ordinary guy. His formerly conjoined twin Belial, on the other hand, is a deformed, fleshy lump whom

he carries around in a wicker basket. Arriving in the Big Apple and taking up a room at the seedy Hotel Broslin, the pair set about hunting down and butchering the surgeons responsible for their separation. But tensions flare up when Duane starts

spending time with a pretty blonde secretary, and Belial’s homicidal tendencies reach bloody new extremes.

ICHI THE KILLER (Takashi Miike, 2001, 129 mins, DCP)

Takashi Miike’s ICHI THE KILLER has endured as one of the most influential pieces of genre filmmaking of the last two decades, and now it returns in a stunning all-new 4k restoration ap-proved by Miike himself. This visceral, bloody, and often hilarious film follows Kakihara (Tadan-obu Asano), a notoriously sadistic yakuza enforc-er whose search for his boss’ killer brings him into the orbit of a demented costumed assassin known as Ichi (Nao Ōmori).

20th Anniversary!

40th

Anniversary!

New 4K

Restoration!

New 4K

Restoration!