Popcorn & Candy is DCist’s selective and subjective guide to some of the most interesting movies playing around town in the coming week.
Nicole Kidman as Gertrude Bell and Robert Pattison as T.E. Lawrence (Lena Herzog/IFC Films )
Considered the “female Lawrence of Arabia” and perhaps more influential, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926) was a British spy, archaeologist and political figure whose travels helped shape the modern Middle East. The subject of a recent documentary, she would seem a natural subject for a biopic. Alas, although written and directed by the great Werner Herzog, this film sat on the shelf for two years with good reason. Nicole Kidman stars as Bell, with James Franco playing love interest and British Army officer Henry Cadogan and Twilight‘s Robert Pattinson as T. E. Lawrence. I can feel you slowly walking away already, and it gets worse. This sweeping melodrama is full of clunky expository dialogue and ham-handed emotions, and is frankly patronizing both to Bell and the Arab cultures she explored. Stay tuned for a full review from Chicagoist, and meanwhile check out their forgotten slice of talking-animal TV history.
Watch the trailer.
Opens tomorrow at AMC Hoffman, AMC Loews Rio and AMC Owings Mills.
Pierre Niney and Paula Beer (Jean-Claude Moireau – Foz/Music Box Films)
In the aftermath of World War I, a young German woman (Paula Beer) is surprised to find a Frenchman (Pierre Niney) paying respects at the grave of her fiancé Frantz, who died in battle in France. This period piece from director François Ozon (Under the Skin) was inspired by director Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 film Broken Lullaby. It’s a perhaps too respectful pageant of enmity and forgiveness, and while Ozon has proven capable of breathing life even into lesser material like In the House, this unofficial remake feels inert—and then it gets maudlin.
Watch the trailer.
Opens tomorrow at Landmark E Street Cinema and Bow Tie Harbour
(Annapurna Pictures)
The AFI Silver has been revisiting last year’s also-rans: movies you might have missed at the theater but that are worth a second (or first look). And director Todd Solondz’s tale of a wandering dachshund was one of last year’s most wickedly funny comedies. Wiener-Dog follows its adorable subject on a series of misadventures populated by Solondz’s typically alienated humans, and while the director has strained for shock value in the past, for the most part this is an entertaining cavalcade of equal-opportunity misanthropy. Dog lovers may want to leave before the movie’s very end, but keep in mind: it’s just for pretend.
Watch the trailer.
Tuesday, April 11 and Wednesday, April 12 at the AFI Silver.
Jiří Bartoška (Avalon)
The Avalon Theatre hosts Czech that Film, which promises recent cinema from the Czech Republic and, just as importantly, pastries sold by Republic Kolache. The opening night feature is this comedy about an aging veterinarian (Jiří Bartoška) who goes on a journey of self-discovery. Director Radek Bajgar will appear for a post-screening Q&A.
Watch the trailer.
Wednesday, April 12 at the Avalon Theatre.
(First Run Features)
In conjunction with the Sackler exhibit Kung Fu Wildstyle (stay tuned for a review), the National Museum of African American History and Culture is screening the 1983 docudrama that inspired it. The movie follows the path of a young graffiti artist Lee Quinones, but today what may be most striking is its time capsule of a now unrecognizable South Bronx. Featuring appearances by Fab 5 Freddy, Grandmaster Flash and other early hip-hop luminaries. Director Charlie Ahearn will appear at the screening.
Watch the trailer.
Sunday, April 9 at 2 p.m. at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Oprah Winfrey Auditorium. Free, but tickets required – request here UPDATE: THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT.
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Also opening this week, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin plot to rob a band in Going in Style. We’ll have a full review tomorrow.
