Film Descriptions
Thru July 2 at Regent Square Theater
Adoration
"A profound and provocative exploration of cultural inheritance" – NYTimes.
Watch a trailer.
–
Pgh City Paper.
Celebrated Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, Ararat) returns to explore his favorite themes – family dynamics,
communication, technology, history – in his new film. The story revolves around Simon, a teenager who, since his parents' death, has lived
with his well-meaning uncle (played by solid young actor, Scott Speedman). Simon’s high-school French class is asked to translate an old news
article about a suicide bomber. This gets him digging into his own murky past, and he merges his family history with the story of the terrorist.
When he reads his version to the class, the kids take it as truth and spread the story far and wide. Urgent and simmering with ideas, Adoration
emerges as a haunting, poignant drama. (Atom Egoyan; Canada/France; 2009; 90 min)
thru July 2 at Regent Square Theater
Outrage
"Calm, riveting, and provocative" – Philadelphia Inquirer.
–
Pgh Post-Gazette.
From fearless documentary filmmaker Kirby Dick (This Film is Not Yet Rated) comes a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of
closeted politicians who actively campaign against the lesbian and gay community to which they covertly belong. Outrage reveals the
hidden lives of some of the most powerful policymakers in the US, and the damage done by keeping secrets. It presents analysis from many
prominent members of the gay community, such as Congressman Barney Frank, former New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey, activist Larry Kramer,
and controversial blogger Mike Rogers – whose blog has spearheaded the movement to out closeted, anti-gay-rights politicians.
This bold film is sure to stir debate, and perhaps make an impact on the continuing same-sex civil rights battle. (Kirby Dick; USA;
2009; 87 min)
Screening via digital projection.
thru July 2 at Harris Theater
July 3–9 at Regent Square Theater
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
"A hymn to the human spirit, played loud in power chords." – Cinematical.
Watch a trailer (11 Mb).
"The most stirring release of the year thus far [The New Yorker]" could be this documentary, about a 30-year-old Canadian metal band
led by two lifelong friends in their 50s. Another director would have focused on the potential mockery inherent in this true tale. Yes, there's
a visit to Stonehenge. But suggesting Anvil is ripping off This is Spinal Tap is like suggesting that bacon is ripping off Sizzlean.
Anvil is the real deal. This hilarious and heartwarming film shows – in precise detail – the tiny but crucial difference
between obscurity and complete obscurity. The Story of Anvil isn't about metal; it's about hope. (Sacha Gervasi; USA; 2009; 90 min)
Thurs July 2 at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
The Goonies
Join us on the PCA lawn for this free show at dusk. A group of kids embark on a wild adventure after finding a pirate treasure map. With Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen. (Richard Donner; USA; 1985; 114 min)
Sun July 5 at Regent Square Theater
Waiting for Guffman
Hilarious take on community theater from This Is Spinal Tap creators. Fred Willard, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara and Parker Posey star. Introduced by Kathy Staresinic. (Christopher Guest; USA; 1996; 94 min)
Part 5 of 13 in our Summer Sunday Nights series: Favorite Comedies. The staff at PF/PCA agreed what we all need is a summer of
fun – real laugh-out loud comedies. After much discussion of favorites, the list was narrowed to 13 titles, all-American comedies
made between 1934 and 1999. These knee-slappers will be introduced each Sunday night throughout the summer by the employee who lobbied
hardest for that film.
July 5–9 at Harris Theater
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Since we're showing great American comedies all summer, we wanted to give a nod to one of the funniest British comedies ever made. In Monty Python's irreverent spoof, King Arthur (Graham Chapman) clip-clops along on his invisible steed and gathers his brave knights (or Eric Idle’s Sir Robin, not so brave) to search far and wide for the sacred object. They encounter such wonders as the imperturbably limbless Black Knight (John Cleese), the bunny version of the Trojan Horse, and insufferable Frenchmen. Your cheeks will hurt from laughing. (Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones; UK; 1975; 91 min)
6:30pm, Tue July 7 at Melwood Classroom Theater
Documentary Salon
Free, monthly discussion series. More at pghdocsalon.
This month, One Extraordinary Street presented by the filmmaker Laura Magone. This documentary tells the story of a small street in the
river town of Monongahela, PA. Immigrants came to the town for work and formed a community in the small Park Avenue neighborhood, allowed for extraordinary successes of their
children and grandchildren. Featuring: Joe Montana (Hall of Fame quarterback); Gen. Carl E. Vuono (31st U.S. Army Chief of Staff); Dr. Fred Cox, D.C. (inventor of the Nerf Football, and all-time leading scorer for the Minnesota Vikings); Dr. Deirdre Bair, Ph.D. (acclaimed biographer and Winner of the National Book Award); Jim Jimirro (founder of the Disney Channel). Magone premiered this film in 2008. She is now looking for input on any technical issues. and on how to tighten it up for film festival entry.
Opens July 10 at Harris Theater
O'Horten
"Warm and gently humorous ... liberally sprinkled with moments of delightful, surreal comedy. Owe is Buster Keaton-like perfection." – Variety.
Watch a trailer.
After 40 long, hardworking years, O'Horten retires from his comfortable routine as a train engineer. With a new-found freedom and lack of
structure the eccentric O'Horten (the 'O' stands for the commonly used Norwegian first name "Odd") finds it difficult to adapt to his unruly
routine as a pensioner. Little does he know that his uneventful existence is about to take an invigoratingly quirky turn, as he discovers
life has much more in store for him. Gently crafted by director Hamer (Kitchen Stories) this deadpan comedy is both sincere and
absurd. Yet the universal story of a man remaking his life – one stop at a time – is a rare, gratifying cinema experience.
With subtitles. (Bent Hamer; Norway; 2008; 91 min)
Opens July 10 at Regent Square Theater
Moon
"If there's still an audience for old-school, ideas-driven allegorical science fiction, it will undoubtedly find much to cheer for [here]." – Box
Office Magazine
Watch a trailer.
Set on a lunar base in the near future, Moon is an intimate character study couched in a Twilight Zone mystery. It stars Sam Rockwell in a tour-de-force
performance as astronaut Sam Bell, living on the far side of the moon where he mines helium. It's a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows
no live communication. The closest thing to interaction is with Gerty, the mono-toned computer (played by Kevin Spacey). His contract is almost up and he'll
soon reunite with his wife and young daughter on Earth. But suddenly, Sam begins to have migraines that lead him to crash his lunar rover. When recovering,
he meets a younger, angrier version of himself who claims to be fulfilling the same three-year contract. (Duncan Jones; UK; 2009; 97 min)
Sun July 12 at Regent Square Theater
It's A Gift
One of W.C. Fields's most brilliant comedies, about trying to escape his nagging family. Introduced by Eric Mattimore. (Norman Z. MacLeod; USA; 1937; 73 min)
Part 6 of 13 in our Summer Sunday Nights series: Favorite Comedies. The staff at PF/PCA agreed what we all need is a summer of
fun – real laugh-out loud comedies. After much discussion of favorites, the list was narrowed to 13 titles, all-American comedies
made between 1934 and 1999. These knee-slappers will be introduced each Sunday night throughout the summer by the employee who lobbied
hardest for that film.
Tue July 14 at Melwood Screening Room
Film Kitchen
This monthly series highlights regional independent film and video work. Featured in July: summer shorts by Justin Crimone, Nils Hanczar and Marina Pfenning. Presented on the 2nd Tuesday of every month, it’s co-sponsored by City Paper, WYEP-FM, Tandoor Grill, DH Creative, and Rock Light.
Thu July 17 at Harris Theater
Gallery Crawl short films
As part of the Cultural District's July gallery crawl, Pittsburgh Filmmakers will present a program of local film shorts running from 6:30 – 9:30pm at the Harris Theater. The gallery at the Harris will feature photos exploring the idea of place by Adam Paul Amrhein, John Foster Cartwright, Bryan Conley, and Laura Jean Kahl, all alumni of the Pittsburgh Filmmakers School.
July 17–19 at Melwood Screening Room
Three Monkeys
"A gripping experience of manipulation and retribution" – Ed Scheid, Box Office.
Watch a trailer.
Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's extraordinary new film is further evidence he's one of the finest filmmakers working today. (He won Best Director at
Cannes last year.) The story of a politician who's involved in a car accident and then asks his driver to take the rap and a short jail sentence, in
return for a tempting financial reward. It's just the first of many lies; inevitably, the driver's wife and son are also affected, and soon all four
are trapped in a tangled web of fear, desire, doubt and guilt. Almost Dostoyevskian, this astute film has a dark sense of moral, psychological and
dramatic irony. This film had just just two screenings ar the 2008 Three Rivers Film Festival. With subtitles. (Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Turkey; 2008; 109 min)
July 19–23 at Harris Theater
Objectified
"Witty, engaging and exquisitely crafted." – Variety.
Watch a trailer.
The buzz has already started. It's the new film from director Gary Hustwit, whose Helvetica became a cult favorite. This is the equally fascinating and unlikely story behind the objects that contribute delight or frustration to our lives everyday. It's about industrial design. The film show us the creative processes of some of the world’s most influential designers, and shows us who we are – and want to be – from the stuff we surround ourselves with. Do you find yourself oohing and aahing over curvy office chairs, sleek teapots, or vintage typewriters? Do you appreciate the aerodynamics of badminton shuttlecocks as well as potato peelers? Then this film is for you. (Gary Hustwit; USA; 2009; 75 min)
Sun July 19 at Regent Square Theater
A Shot in the Dark
In the second of the Clouseau (Peter Sellers) series, we meet Dreyfus and Cato. Introduced by Loretta Stanish. (Blake Edwards; USA; 1964; 101 min)
Part 7 of 13 in our Summer Sunday Nights series: Favorite Comedies. The staff at PF/PCA agreed what we all need is a summer of
fun – real laugh-out loud comedies. After much discussion of favorites, the list was narrowed to 13 titles, all-American comedies
made between 1934 and 1999. These knee-slappers will be introduced each Sunday night throughout the summer by the employee who lobbied
hardest for that film.
July 24–26 at Melwood Screening Room
Big Man Japan
" ... very funny in an insidious way." – Roger Ebert.
Watch a trailer.
Recalling classic Japanese monster movies populated with lots of baddies and heroes, and reveling in juvenile humor, Big Man Japan is an outrageously wacky summer film. Mr. Daisato, is a low-level employee of the Japanese Monster Defense Bureau. Each day he must get pumped full of electricity which causes him to grow several stories high, and gives him the appearance of a gigantic, Eraserhead-coiffed sumo wrestler wearing huge purple briefs. But locals blame him for destroying property and getting fat. So when a truly vicious bad guy hits Japan, it's anyone's guess whether or not Daisato will be up for the job. Director Matsumoto, a superstar comedian in his native land, showers Big Man Japan with color and verve, satirizing talking head-style documentaries, sponsor placements, and the ephemeral nature of popular culture. With subtitles. (Hitoshi Matsumoto; Japan; 2007; 113 min)
Opens July 24 at Regent Square Theater
Amarcord – new print
This beautiful restoration of Fellini's most rambunctious, accessible film is full of vibrant colors, bawdy humor and bittersweet nostalgia. The Oscar winner is a loose collection of Fellini’s boyhood memories framed by the seasons. Set in the small coastal village of Rimini during fascism, Amarcord – the maestro's most personal film – satirizes his youth and turns daily life into a circus of adolescent shenanigans, family rituals, male fantasies, and political subterfuge. Also features a Nina Rota score you’ll be humming for days. With subtitles. (Federico Fellini; Italy; 1973; 123 min)
opens July 24 at Harris Theater
Silent Light
"Extraordinary ... powerfully affecting." – J.Hoberman, Village Voice.
Watch a trailer.
Finally in distribution, Silent Light has been on a dozen Top Ten critics' lists and tied with Persepolis in 2007 as Best Film
at Cannes. Set in a Mennonite community in northern Mexico it tells the story of a man whose faith in God is put to the test when he falls for
another woman. From the opening time-lapse sunrise each sequence is carefully constructed with breathtaking beauty. Whether it's the movement
of a harvester plowing through a field, or the lingering shot of a flower after a lyrical sequence of kids in a pond, this film offers a rare
cinematic experience. In Plautdietsch (the language of Prussian Mennonites) with subtitles. (Carlos Reygadas; Mexico/France/Netherlands;
2007; 136 min)
Sun July 26 at Regent Square Theater
The Great Race
This epic slapstick comedy about competitors stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. Introduced by John Cantine. (Blake Edwards; USA; 1965; 160 min)
Part 8 of 13 in our Summer Sunday Nights series: Favorite Comedies. The staff at PF/PCA agreed what we all need is a summer of
fun – real laugh-out loud comedies. After much discussion of favorites, the list was narrowed to 13 titles, all-American comedies
made between 1934 and 1999. These knee-slappers will be introduced each Sunday night throughout the summer by the employee who lobbied
hardest for that film.
Opens July 31 at Regent Square Theater
Séraphine
A "sublime drama" – David Edelstein, New York.
Watch a trailer. Read the
NYTimes review.
The designation of "outsider" artists has come to classify untrained masters who often (like Henry Darger) remain unknown while alive, or those
whose mental illness existed alongside a significant artistic career. In this astonishing new film about French painter Séraphine Louis, we visit
another outsider. In 1914, she's working as a maid and cook by day, and painting with expressionistic fury by night. Her oracular, phantasmagoric
work is ignored until discovered by a respected art collector and dealer of "primitivists." Just as Séraphine’s paintings are hailed
as exceptional, her precarious mental state (like Munch and Van Gogh) slips. The breathtaking film – and winner of 7 Césars
– boasts a mesmerizing performance by Yolande Moreau in the title role. With subtitles. (Martin Provost; France; 2009; 122 min)
Opens August 14 at Regent Square Theater
Tulpan
"An amazing accomplishment" – Village Voice.
Watch a trailer.
Documentarian Sergey Dvortsevoy won the Prix Un Certain Regard for this, his first narrative feature film – an astonishing ethnographic drama. The combination of keen observation, compelling fiction, and sly humor is immensely charming. We follow a young nomad as he returns from military service with hopes of becoming a shepherd, even though he has little or no herding skills. Then, his overtures to a beautiful neighbor, Tulpan, are rebuffed because of his big ears, despite evidence that they are smaller than England's Prince Charles. The film also offers many breathtaking images: the bleak beauty of Kazakhstan's steppes with its windswept landscape and endless sky, a bandaged-up camel in a motorcycle sidecar, and one of the most remarkable animal birth scenes ever captured on film. With subtitles. (Sergey Dvortsevoy; 2008; Kazakhstan/Germany/Russia/Poland; 2008; 100 min)
Opens August 21 at Regent Square Theater
Revanche
"Intense and emotional" – LATimes.
Watch a trailer.
A nominee for best foreign-language film at this year's Oscars. Two couples – one from the city, the other from the countryside – are bound
together by fate in this taut thriller, that elegantly spins together primal elements of guilt, revenge, faith and redemption. With great performances,
not only by the four protagonists but by the letter-perfect 83-year-old Hannes Thanheiser. (Goetz Spielmann; Austria; 2009; 121 min)