I’ve been remiss re the Cinematheque. Sometimes I’m not enthusiastic about any of the films, but I’m writing now, because I can be excited about a couple offerings.
It’s Yasujiro Ozu again, this time 1956’s Early Spring. (Late Spring, Mid-Winter, Fall Equinox–write your own Ozu-of-the -Similar-Title joke.) This one’s a tad steamier than most, using adultery as a theme and starring the estimable Chishu Ryu, like many Ozu films. I haven’t seen this one, but Ozu rarely disappoints. If you like sedate, black-and-white restraint. Saturday at 5:00 pm; Sunday at 8:40 pm.
The Kid with a Bike (Friday, 7:30 pm) also looks good. A Belgian film, made in 2011, it concerns a young boy, abandoned by his family, who’s adopted by a hairdresser. It’s gotten great reviews.
I did see Caesar Must Die a few months ago, an interesting Italian adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, adapted and performed by inmates of a high-security prison. The violent pasts and turbulent psyches of the performers reveal themes of the play, and the amateur prison performers are powerfully good. This is a film as much about prison reform as it is about Shakespeare. It shows Saturday at 7:45 pm and Sunday at 4:30 pm.