Up to now, I’ve been shamefully neglecting the movies at the Cleveland Museum of Art, which are often very interesting and unusual. This week gives me an opportunity to remedy that oversight, because the Cinematheque offerings are underwhelming. Or maybe I should complain that they’re overwhelming.
Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Thursday and Saturday), a Finnish Christmas horror film, looks outrageous. Cult films or cult films in-the-making are usually not my cup of tea. I recommend the trailer, however. Compliance (Thursday and Friday) tells the story of a young Ohio woman who was strip-searched and gang-raped by her boss and fellow employees, while a cop watched and gave directions. As I scroll down the page of reviews at Rotten Tomatoes, I see lots of positive reviews, generally posted by men. I can pretty well predict I would not find this movie entertaining. If it’s trying to teach me that people are overly susceptible to authority, I already know that.
Finally, Little White Lies, on Friday and Saturday, features appealing actors–Marion Cotillard, Francois Cluzet, and Jean Dujardin–but looks predictable and not very interesting.
Red Hook Summer
That leaves us with Wednesday at 6:45 pm at the Cleveland Museum of Art. I’m not sure if you or I will like Spike Lee’s Red Hook Summer. About half of the critics and viewers posting at Rotten Tomatoes didn’t. “Aimless,” “static,” and “unpolished” are a few adjectives appearing in reviews there. On the other hand, half of them liked it. It looks to be a small, personal movie, and therefore of possible interest.