this week in film and television

BEFORE TOMORROW

Inuit drama completes Fast Runner trilogy

BEFORE TOMORROW (Marie-Hélène Cousineau & Madeline Piujuq Ivalu, 2008)
Film Forum
209 West Houston St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
December 2-15
212-727-8110
www.filmforum.org
www.isuma.tv/fastrunnertrilogy
The Fast Runner Trilogy concludes with Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu’s BEFORE TOMORROW, following Zacharias Kunuk’s ATANARJUAT THE FAST RUNNER (2001) and Kunuk and Norman Cohn’s THE JOURNALS OF KNUD RASMUSSEN (2006). The series, produced by Arnait Video Productions (Women’s Video Workshop of Igloolik), examines the history of the Inuit culture and people in Canada. In BEFORE TOMORROW, Piujuq Ivalu stars as Ningiuq, a community elder who shares a close bond with her twelve-year-old grandson, Maniq (played by her real-life grandson, Paul-Dylan Ivalu). After Kukik (Tumasie Sivuarapik) tells stories about his first contact with white people – including how the strangers traded sewing needles for sex – the group separates into two factions, with one responsible for drying that season’s catch. Maniq chooses to go with his grandmother to help her with the drying, but when they return, what they find sets them off on a harrowing journey, a nightmare that Ningiuq prays will end soon. Based on the Danish novel FØR MORGENDAGEN by Jørn Riel, BEFORE TOMORROW, set in 1840, is gorgeously photographed by Cohn and Félix Lajeunesse, filled with breathtaking vistas, but the simple narrative is too often obvious and heavy-handed (including the sappy music by Kate and Anna McGarrigle), although the film’s slow, meditative pace is welcoming and involving. A film festival favorite around the world, BEFORE TOMORROW will screen at Film Forum for two weeks, then will be available as a pay-what-you-can Video on Demand download beginning February 1; THE FAST RUNNER can be downloaded now, with THE JOURNALS OF KNUD RASMUSSEN scheduled for January 1.

4 YEARS, 3 DAYS AND 2 DECADES LATER

: Cristi (Dragos Bucur) is on one helluva boring stakeout in Romanian black comedy

POLICE, ADJECTIVE (Corneliu Porumboiu, 2009)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Sunday, December 6, 7:00
Tickets: $10
www.icrny.org
www.ifcfilms.com

The first half of Corneliu Porumboiu’s POLICE, ADJECTIVE is as dreadfully boring as detective Cristi’s (Dragos Bucur) assignment, tailing a student, Victor (Radu Costin), who enjoys a joint with two of his friends every day after school. While Cristi wants to nail the kid’s supplier, the cop’s boss has him on a tight deadline, insisting he arrest Victor if the investigation continues to go nowhere, but Cristi strongly disagrees with putting the teenager away for up to seven years for a crime he believes will soon be abolished by the government. However, the film picks up considerably as Cristi seeks help from various contacts, getting caught up in red tape and public servants who would really rather not be bothered. And when he get called in by the chief (Vlad Ivanov from 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS, and 2 DAYS) and gets a long lecture in linguistics, well, you won’t be able to control yourself from laughing out loud. Porumboiu (12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST) keeps the pace very slow and very steady, but hang in there, because the end is a riot. POLICE, ADJECTIVE won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, screened at the New York Film Festival, and is Romania’s official entry for the Foreign Language Film Academy Award.

POLICE, ADJECTIVE, which opens in New York on December 23, is showing at Tribeca Cinemas as part of the fourth annual Romanian Film Festival. Romanian cinema has seen an international resurgence in recent years, highlighted by the success of such outstanding films as Cristian Mungiu’s 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS and 2 DAYS and Cristi Puiu’s THE DEATH OF MISTER LAZARESCU. The festival includes such works as Harun Farocki and Andrei Ujică’s VIDEOGRAMS OF A REVOLUTION, Thomas Ciulei’s THE FLOWER BRIDGE, Peter Strickland’s KATALIN VARGA, Horaţiu Mălăele’s SILENT WEDDING, and Adrian Sitaru’s HOOKED, among other U.S. premieres and “Waving at the Revolution” retrospective screenings. Directors, producers, and actors will be on hand for several postscreening Q&A sessions; star Vlad Ivanov will participate in a Q&A following the closing-night screening of POLICE, ADJECTIVE on December 6. In addition, Ivanov and fellow actors Horatiu Malaele and Andi Vasluianu will appear at the Romanian Cultural Institute on Third Ave. and 38th St. on December 7 at 8:30 for a special “Actors of the New Romanian Wave” free happy hour event.

FIRST SATURDAYS: LIGHT UP THE SEASON

James Tissot, detail, “Jesus Goes Up Alone onto a Mountain to Pray,” opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper, 1886−94

Brooklyn Museum of Art
200 Eastern Parkway
Saturday, December 5, free after 5:00 (some events require advance free tickets available an hour or two before showtime)
718-638-5000
www.brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum’s monthly First Saturdays program welcomes in the holiday season with a flurry of free activity tonight, much of which surrounds the James Tissot exhibition “The Life of Christ,” including a rare screening of LA VIE DU CHRIST (THE LIFE OF CHRIST) (Alice Guy Blaché, 1906), a concert of liturgic music by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and a Young Voices gallery talk about the Tissot show. In addition, Pete Fornatale will discuss his new book, BACK TO THE GARDEN: THE STORY OF WOODSTOCK, in conjunction with the “Who Shot Rock & Roll” photography exhibit; there will be live performances by a trio of Dutch groups, Michael Varekamp’s Caribbean jazz ensemble, EveNi, and Lee-Ursus Alexander, in honor of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s travels to New York; the Hands-On Art workshop will teach participants how to make a stained-glass window; Beatlemania continues with a screening of Richard Lester’s 1964 classic comedy A HARD DAY’S NIGHT; and Soul Summit hosts the hot and sweaty dance party. There really is nothing quite like First Saturdays, an energizing mix of art, music, film, literature, dance, and more, held the first Saturday of every month to an ever-growing crowd.

THE RED BOOK DIALOGUES

C.G. Jung (1875-1961); Page 105 from the Red Book; 1914-1930; Pigments on paper; Courtesy of the Foundation of the Works of C.G. Jung

C. G. Jung, page 105 from THE RED BOOK, pigments on paper, 1914-30 (courtesy of the Foundation of the Works of C. G. Jung)

Rubin Museum of Art
150 West 17th St. at Seventh Ave.
Tickets: $15-$25 ($7 student rate for some programs)
Through January 24
212-620-5000
www.rmanyc.org/redbook

In conjunction with the intriguing exhibit “The Red Book of C. G. Jung,” the Rubin Museum is continuing its special Red Book Dialogues series, as artists of all kinds sit down with psychoanalysts and discuss a specific folio from Jung’s unpublished tome, which is on view in the gallery right outside the auditorium. The series has already featured programs with Gloria Vanderbilt, Albert Maysles, Alice Walker, and David Byrne; up next are such figures as performance artist Marina Abramovic on December 3, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik on December 7, theater director Andre Gregory on December 9, filmmaker Jonathan Demme on January 11, composer John Adams on January 13, and poet Tracy K. Smith on January 24.

THE CONTENDERS: THE HURT LOCKER

: Iraq War drama puts viewers in the middle of the action

THE HURT LOCKER (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

MoMA Film
Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53rd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Tuesday, December 1, 7:30
Tickets: $10, in person only, may be applied to museum admission within thirty days, same-day screenings free with museum admission, available at Film and Media Desk
212-708-9400
www.moma.org/visit/calendar/films/1006
www.thehurtlocker-movie.com

Based on embedded journalist Mark Boal’s experiences in Iraq, THE HURT LOCKER follows a three-member Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit as they are called in to defuse a series of dangerous situations involving various kinds of bombs, including IEDs and other life-threatening explosive devices. Team leader Will James (Jeremy Renner) is an expert bomb defuser and maverick who doesn’t follow protocol and likes to live on the edge. Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) is a greenhorn who just wants to survive the last forty days of their rotation. And Sgt. J. T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) likes to go by the book and take no unnecessary chances, which puts him in constant conflict with the unpredictable James. Recalling the second half of Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam drama FULL METAL JACKET (1987), THE HURT LOCKER unfolds in a series of harrowing set pieces in which the EOD unit is called in to either safely detonate or defuse explosive devices while under the eyes of local Iraqis, any of whom could potentially be the bomber or a sniper. Director Kathryn Bigelow (BLUE STEEL, POINT BREAK) masterfully builds suspense scene after scene, beginning with the edge-of-your-seat opener through to the gripping conclusion. The experiences of the EOD unit serve as a microcosm for modern warfare in general and the U.S. involvement in the Middle East specifically, placing viewers in the midst of a tense, bitter, psychologically and emotionally draining battle that can never be won. The outstanding cast also features Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Evangeline Lilly in small roles; many of the Iraqis were played by actual war refugees. Shot in Jordan not far from the Iraq border, THE HURT LOCKER is a remarkable story, one of the best war films of the decade.

This special screening at MoMA, part of the Contenders, 2009 series, will be followed by a discussion with Bigelow, Boal, and Renner. Upcoming films in the series include Marc Webb’s (500) DAYS OF SUMMER on December 2, Wes Anderson’s FANTASTIC MR. FOX on December 7, DISTRICT 9 on December 12, and Quentin Tarantino’s glorious INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS on December 17, which will be followed by a discussion with Tarantino and Elvis Mitchell.

MR. MAGOO’S CHRISTMAS CAROL

Mr. Magoo gets taught a lesson on Christmas Eve

REVISITING THE JULE STYNE / BOB MERRILL MR. MAGOO’S CHRISTMAS CAROL
Paley Center
25 West 52nd St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Tuesday, December 1, $20, 6:00
www.paleycenter.org
www.mrmagooschristmascarol.com

MR. MAGOO’S CHRISTMAS CAROL has always been one of our favorite holiday programs, along with, of course, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS and SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO TOWN. The first animated Christmas special – it premiered on NBC in December 1962 — Mr. Magoo’s version of Charles Dickens’s classic seasonal tale features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and a great lineup of celebrity voices, including Morey Amsterdam, Paul Frees, Jack Cassidy, Royal Dano, and the great Jim Backus (Thurston Howell III!) as the near-sighted Magoo. The Paley Center will honor the fifty-two-minute film with a screening on December 1 at 6:00, followed by a panel discussion with animator Darrell Van Citters, who has just released MISTER MAGOO’S CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE MAKING OF THE FIRST ANIMATED CHRISTMAS SPECIAL, and Judy Levitow, daughter of director Abe Levitow, moderated by casting director Jack Doulin. And as an extra treat, each attendee will go home with a DVD of the charming original show.

NINJA ASSASSIN

Rain seeks revenge in bloody martial arts thriller

Rain pours it on in bloody martial arts thriller

NINJA ASSASSIN (James McTeigue, 2009)
Opens Wednesday, November 25
www.ninja-assassin-movie.warnerbros.com

South Korean singing sensation Rain goes all Black Mamba in this action-packed revenge thriller chock-full of highly stylized beheadings, beautifully sliced-off limbs, and extreme bloodlettings, courtesy of director James McTeigue (V FOR VENDETTA) and MATRIX producers Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers. When Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris), a Europol agent based in Berlin, thinks she has found a connection between a series of assassinations and murderous ninja clans long believed to be the stuff of legend and rumor, her career – and life – are soon in jeopardy. Even her boss, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), seems to give up on her as he is ordered by powerful higher-ups to drop the case, but she is already in too deep, on the run with mysterious ninja Raizo (Rain). The confusing plot mixes a BATMAN BEGINS-like origin story with KILL BILL-type violence as McTeigue cuts between Raizo’s brutal life as an orphan training to be a cold-blooded killer in the Ozunu clan (run by Japanese martial arts master and ENTER THE NINJA star Sho Kosugi) and his modern-day struggle to survive, being hunted by the clan he betrayed. Rain takes quite a beating in the film, reminiscent of what Jim Caviezel went through in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, but Raizo is not so set on turning the other cheek. A lot of NINJA ASSASSIN makes no sense, and the ninjas move so fast during some of the fight scenes that you can’t really tell just what the hell is going on, but, hey, it’s a ninja movie. What did you expect?