Friday, Oct. 31

Hiroshima Mon AmourThe great French director Alain Resnais died in March, after 60 years of filmmaking. His very last feature, Life of Reilly, just played the New York Film Festival and will eventually reach one of our repertory houses. In the meantime, his 1959 feature debut, written by Marguerite Duras, has been given a spiffy new 4K digital restoration, meaning that the voluptuous black-and-white cinematography of Sacha Vierny will be that much more exquisite. Hiroshima is both a dreamy meditation on that destroyed city and the ruins of love. In never-ending, overlapping flashbacks, we learn how the postwar affair between a Japanese architect and a visiting French actress (Eiji Okada and Emmanuelle Riva of the recent Amour) is informed by her prior World War II romance with a German soldier. Duras’ poetic dialogue and voiceovers can seem a bit pretentious to modern ears, but this beautiful, timeless film was a revelation to its original U.S. audiences. Resnais and fellow travelers in the nouvelle vague swept through American arthouses—along with the new postwar cinema from Japan and Italy—just as the old Hollywood genres and formulas were growing stale. There’s a frankness here about female desire, and an insoluble dramatic situation (who can ever reconcile present and past? who can ever explain an affair?), that beguiled viewers then as today. (Through Thurs.) SIFF Cinema Uptown (and SIFF Film Center), 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., 324-9996. $7–$12. See siff.net for showtimes.

Brian Miller

BAM Biennial: Knock on WoodAgain, there’s a very materials-focused emphasis to this biannual group show. Clay and fiber art were featured in 2012 and 2010, respectively; now it’s the chisel-and-mallet set’s turn to display their creations. Some of the three dozen artists featured you know or have seen before at BAM (or local galleries), like Rick Araluce, Whiting Tennis, and W. Scott Trimble. The juried selection offers every variety of woodworking from the Northwest, ranging from indigenous Native American carvings to smartly modern furniture that might fit into your SLU condo. In addition to a juried award, which bestows a future solo show and a $5,000 prize (the winner to be announced this week), there’s a popular balloting system whereby visitors can select their own favorite pieces. Unlike the Frye’s current crowdsourced #SocialMedium show, here you cast your voting on regular old scraps of paper—appropriate, of course, since they were originally made of the same material the artists are using. (Through March 29.) Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way N.E., 425-519-0770, bellevue arts.org. $5–$10. 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Brian Miller

Ghost Game VIII: 13 WitchesThe Cabiri love a good ghost story, especially when there’s flying involved. For this ongoing Halloween-themed show, they use their considerable talents as dancers and aerialists to illuminate a baker’s-dozen scary tales. Performed in cabaret style, with a dessert menu from Dilettante Chocolates, the company will slither and swing through the audience, while we shiver in delight. Tonight’s performance includes a costume competition, so you can dress for the occasion.

Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, 4408 Delridge Way S.W., cabiri.org. $30–$100. 8 p.m. (Repeats Sat.)

Sandra Kurtz

Saturday, Nov. 1

lewisblack.com

Lewis BlackThoughtful playwright or ranting stage performer: Black comes in two modes, like an on/off switch hissing smoke and sparks, about to catch fire. Seattle’s had the pleasure of experiencing both positions, since his marital comedy One Slight Hitch was performed at ACT two years ago, and he tours his more topical comedy material through town almost annually. What’s he—in his angry, exaggerated stage persona—upset about today? Where to begin? It’s almost easier to assess what’s not making him irate. Still, since the midterm elections are nigh, let’s focus on Black’s new pet peeve, the subject of an ACLU campaign right now that’s called, quite appropriately, Fuck Voter Suppression. In it, he tries to keep cool as a lawyer explains what’s happening in North Carolina, Florida, Wisconsin, and Texas. “Why stop people from voting early?” Black fumes. “What’s next, a poll tax? No fucking way! Elected officials shouldn’t get to choose who gets to elect their officials!” We here in mail-in-voting Washington can feel safe from Black’s scorn, but next Tuesday’s election results will probably give him a whole new source of outrage. The Paramount, 911 Pine St., 877-784-4849, stgpresents.org. $21–$46. 8 p.m.

Brian Miller

N-E-X D-O-C-SFall is the season when serious documentary contenders begin to show their hand for the Oscar nomination shortlist, e.g., this week’s Citizenfour. But a whole lot of worthwhile nonfiction filmmaking is being done without benefit of theatrical releases, HBO backing, or national publicity. This five-night, five-title documentary series samples the global zeitgeist, ranging from Ukrainian protesters to Portuguese architecture. Somewhere in the middle is the Appalachian poverty belt visited in Surviving Cliffside (5 p.m. Sun.), which director Jon Matthews, a former ACLU lawyer, will introduce. Matthews once attended summer camp in the West Virginia community of Cliffside, where his drug-addicted, petty-thievin’ cousin E.J. now resides with his wife and two young daughters (one recently recovered from leukemia). Cliffside is something of a freak show, like Werner Herzog-meets-Honey Boo Boo, but Matthews doesn’t condescend to his country cousins—even while accompanying E.J. on drug runs and shoplifting errands. And if the little cancer-survivor girl wants to compete in pee-wee beauty pageants, fine; Matthews doesn’t poke fun at the sequins and glitter. Poverty and drug use are the real pathologies here, and when Matthews interviews a sad, spastic junkie trying to dance himself awake—i.e., stay out of a drug coma—you feel those crushing burdens upon the rural populace. The series begins tonight with Jessica Oreck’s exploration of Eastern European folklore, The Vanquishing of the Witch Baba Yaga. (Through Wed.) Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 267-5380, nwfilmforum.org. $6–$12. 5 p.m.

Brian Miller