Wayne and Stewart
The sure thing at the Cinematheque this weekend is probably, once again, the classic film: 1962’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by legendary director John Ford, starring John Wayne, James Stewart and Lee Marvin. It treats serious themes about law and morality and truth and mythology. It’s the last project that Wayne and Ford did together. If you’ve never seen a John Ford Western, you should definitely come on Friday at 7:00 pm to hear an introduction by Grafton Nunes (Cleveland Institute of Art President), or come on Saturday at 5:00. See reviews here.
Teddy Bear, a new Danish film, has had a positive critical response. It promises to be a sweet story about a bodybuilder (played by Kim Kold, a real bodybuilder) looking for love (Friday at 9:40; Saturday 7:25). Twenty Days without War, a much darker film (Thursday, 6:45; Sunday, 8:55), follows a Soviet Army veteran on leave in his hometown in 1942 and highlights the effects of war at home. It was banned in the Soviet Union for a decade. Both of these sound good, don’t they?
From the poster advertising “Possession”
The Cinematheque’s description of our other choice, Possession, includes the words bloody, traumatic, self-mutilation, killings, hysterical, head-banging, derangement, and, last but not least, sex with a tentacled monster. Forewarned is forearmed. Thursday at 8:45 and Saturday at 9:20.