Spring Arts Preview: Film Picks

| Print Post This | Like (0) | Comments (0)

IT'S NEARLY SPRING, when a young man's fancy - and plenty of young women's as well - turns to thoughts of films. (Because, frankly, they're a bargain compared to what the young man will spend on Valentine's Day gifts for the young woman.) An international array of flickers is coming our way over the next few months, as well as many delightful homegrown treats, and
you don't have to either break the bank or learn the language to enjoy what's onscreen.

If you want to keep the Valentine's spirit for a little longer, the AFI Silver is offering "Screen Valentines: Great Movie Romances" through March 5. "Moulin Rouge" is more of a valentine to color than anything else, so if you want an actual romantic comedy, opt for something timeless like "Breakfast at Tiffany's" or "Say Anything." (No danger of remaking these today - Lloyd Dobler blasting "In Your Eyes" outside a window while holding up his iPod isn't exactly an iconic image.)

For a more twisted, NC-17 take on romance, wait until mid-April for "In the Realm of the Senses," Nagisa Oshima's 1976 true-story-based tale of a obsessive couple keeping the miseries of war at bay in their own violent way in 1930s Japan. And while it's not romantic, Oshima's 1983 English-language debut "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" is more mainstream, featuring David Bowie in a dramatic turn as a WWII POW and soundtrack by Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also plays the POW camp commandant).

If you're looking for a more upbeat AFI lineup, the Silver begins a two-month tribute to Charlton Heston on April 11, including a 50th-anniversary screening of "Ben-Hur" and a showing of "The Ten Commandments" around Easter. And yes, those "damn dirty apes" are likely to make an appearance as well.

If you want to get a jump on your Oscar pool (or are just short on movie funds), the National Archives has free screenings Feb. 18 to 22 of the nominees for Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject and live-action and animated short films. The docu highlight should be the as-it's-happening home-video Hurricane Katrina memoir "Trouble the Water," while the top animated shorts include the dryly riotous "This Way Up," about two morticians who must literally go to great depths to safely deliver a coffin to its final resting place.

An IMAX movie may sound like a rough ride if you've done your drinking early that day, but the Johnson Theater will have the D.C. premiere of the documentary "Van Gogh: Brush With Genius" on St. Patrick's night. The film follows the artist (who's one of three characters/viewpoints) as he traverses the countrysides of France and the Netherlands, presumably encountering some cornfields and the occasional starry night along the way.

The National Museum of African Art has two more films left on its Black History Month weekly series. "Favela Rising" (Feb. 26) documents how a former drug dealer used Afro-Reggae music to unite his Rio slum against both the local gangs and the equally violent local police. Cousines" (Feb. 19) is a semi-comedy about a Haitian girl who's forced to choose between her poor True Love and a suave, wealthy expat played by Jimmy Jean-Louis - and if you've seen him on "Heroes" you know "The Haitian" is quite the persuader, even when he's not erasing someone's memories.

Finally, for a swanky movie night check out Buster Keaton's 1927 silent comedy masterpiece "The General" at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall (April 4). The NSO performs the score live, though it's Keaton's death-defying stunts that should attract the audience's attention. And yes, that's a real train plunging off a real burning bridge at the climax. Good thing they got that in one take.

Written by Express contributor Paul Stelter
Photo courtesy Everett Collection