DCist’s highly subjective and hardly comprehensive guide to the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week.
Major Release: 3:10 to Yuma
Mark your calendars. Labor Day is past, summer is over, and it’s time for all the Oscar contenders to step into the ring. First out of the gate is 3:10 to Yuma, the second filmed version of an Elmore Leonard short story about a Civil War veteran (played here by Christian Bale) who volunteers to transport a notorious outlaw (Russell Crowe) to trial. The original, made 50 years ago starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, isn’t seen much anymore, despite being fairly popular in its day. Director James Mangold is fresh off his lauded Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, Russell Crowe seems to pick his roles based purely on their chances of getting him another Oscar nomination, and Bale already has one nomination-worthy performance under his belt this year in Rescue Dawn. Yuma has been receiving good early notices as a gritty, morally ambiguous western in the mold of Unforgiven, and taking all that into account it’s probably safe to say it’s the first official Oscar bait of the fall. Now we just need to see if it lives up to the hype.
View the trailer.
Opens this Friday at a theater near you.
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Special Event(s): Indian Visions Film Festival and DC Meets Delhi.
There is not just one, but two Indian Film Festivals coming to D.C. this week. Why organizers decided to essentially compete with each other rather than either joining forces to make one larger festival, or coordinating so that those interested in their offerings wouldn’t have to choose between them, is a mystery, but the upside is that there is a whole host of Indian cinema options for area audiences. Starting first is the smaller of the two, the Indian Visions Film Festival, which will be screening nine features starting tomorrow, mostly at E Street aside from the festival opening at Mazza Gallery with Rituparno Ghosh’s Dosar, followed by a reception at Indique Heights Restaurant.
DC Meets Delhi, presented by the University of the District of Columbia, opens on Friday. This one runs a little longer, through the end of next week, and has a more extensive selection of films, including more shorts and documentaries. DC Meets Delhi also isn’t strictly Indian films (though the bulk of them are), as the festival opens with a screening of the African film Sankofa, and also includes a showcase for local filmmakers on Saturday.
Indian Visions, September 6-9 at E Street Cinema, Mazza Gallery Cinema. Purchase tickets here.
DC Meets Delhi, at the University of the District of Columbia September 7-13. Purchase tickets here.
