Golf Rd., Des Plaines) - Thursday, 2pm (Free Admission) (2016, 65 min, Video Projection) PF Michael Glover Smith's MERCURY IN RETROGRADE (New American) Pop-Up Film Festival at Oakton Community College (Footlik Theater, 1600 E. Showing with Wohlatz’s five-minute 2016 short THREE SENTENCES ABOUT ARGENTINA. She gains some measure of control, and of possibilities, a change that is mirrored in the Spanish language classes, which move from past tense as the start of the film to the future conditional at the end. Xiaobin slowly moves beyond the confines of being an immigrant, not knowing the language, silently chafing at her parents’ control, and uncertain about her own plans for her life. Despite these economies, Wohlatz raises several intersecting themes about language, time, and personal autonomy. Sometimes that leads to overly-loose films that seem to not know what they want to be about here, though, the style works, partly because of the groundwork Wohlatz and Zhang laid in their preparations, partly because the short running time keeps the story uncluttered. It is one of the many international films of recent years that relies on a quiet, unobtrusive observational style-foregoing visual excess in favor of letting the camera capture small moments and gestures in an almost cinema verité manner letting the narrative accumulate elliptically. The film is simple and charming (aided by Zhang’s shy performance). THE FUTURE PERFECT, which takes place in Buenos Aires, is a slightly fictionalized look at the life of 18-year-old Chinese immigrant Xiaobin (played by real-life Chinese immigrant Xiaobin Zhang), as she works, takes Spanish classes, re-connects with her family, and begins an awkward romance with Vijay, a young immigrant from India. German born and raised filmmaker Nele Wohlatz has been living and working in Argentina for several years, and has made all of her still small handful of films in that country, including this, her first narrative feature (just barely, at a trim 65-minutes). NEWLY ADDED Nele Wohlatz’s THE FUTURE PERFECT (New Argentinean) Facets Cinémathèque– Check Venue website for showtimes Also, our apologies for the delay in getting the list out this week. Crucial Viewing and Also Recommended listings include both weeks, so be sure to note the screening date(s) the More Screenings and Events listings are divided by week. It's an extremely interesting film, if not an especially enjoyable one.NOTE: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, this edition of Cine-File covers the two-week period from Friday, November 17 to Thursday, November 30. But I can't help but be fascinated that such a film exists at all, let alone that it was made in the '60s and stars a newly-cast James Bond. It is absolutely understandable why people struggle with "Marnie," especially when you factor in what was allegedly happening off-screen between Hitchcock and Hedren. The story also features a complicated mother-daughter relationship, one in which things are not as they first appear. Viewers are likely to be left feeling extremely ambivalent and frustrated, which is why "Marnie" gets such mixed reactions to this day. Right up until the very end, it's not clear if it's better for them to be together or apart. Both Marnie and Connery's character, Mark, are morally complex - they're not two likable people who we're unquestionably rooting for. "Marnie" explores PTSD, repressed memories, and childhood trauma, as well as a woman's desire to escape her life before emotional entanglements get too deep.
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