Federico Fellini’s last film, The Voice of the Moon  (1990), shows this Saturday at 5:15 pm at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. Crazily, this movie was never released in the U.S. It’s so odd that Americans had no way to see this film by one of the great directors till now, even though it got superlative reviews and won tons of awards. It looks to be a surreal, Fellini-esque (go figure), comic exploration of modern society and metaphysics, in which three lunatics (literally) capture the moon. Roberto Benigni stars.
James Franco, unrecognizable
Other offerings this weekend are similarly intriguing. No, starring the always appealing Gael Garcia Bernal, is the only film I’ve already seen. It depicts the real-life ad campaign to oust Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1988. It’s fascinating, disturbing, and often funny. Those adjectives probably also apply to Spring Breakers, starring Selena Gomez and a creepy James Franco, complete with cornrows and gold teeth. All the film’s performances have been praised. No screens Friday (tonight) at 7:30 pm; Spring Breakers is tonight and tomorrow at 9:50 pm.
A Serbian comedy called The Parade rounds out the weekend. Macho veteran soldiers from Yugoslavia’s former republics are compelled, despite their homophobia, to provide security for a gay pride parade. It sounds like it will provide some politically incorrect laughs, tonight at 5:15 pm and Saturday at 7:35 pm.