Film
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Blowing up Cinema Five films from Italian great Michelangelo Antonioni, co-presented by Northwest Film Forum: Blow-Up, La Notte, L’eclisse, Red Desert, and The Passenger. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Wednesday, March 18, 2015
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Seattle Jewish Film Festival The film festival celebrates its 20th year. Opening night features Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli coproduction. Other notable films featured include, Mr. Kaplan, Summer Vacation, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, and Write Down, I’m an Arab. Venues also include SIFF Cinema Uptown and SJCC-Mercer Island. AMC Pacific Place, 600 Pine StreetSeattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Seattle Jewish Film Festival More than 30 titles are screened, along with related cultural events. Opening night is Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli rom-com about millennials from those two nations falling in love. Pacific Place and other venues. $12 and up Wednesday, March 18, 2015, 7:30pm
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Blowing up Cinema Five films from Italian great Michelangelo Antonioni, co-presented by Northwest Film Forum: Blow-Up, La Notte, L’eclisse, Red Desert, and The Passenger. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Thursday, March 19, 2015
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Seattle Jewish Film Festival The film festival celebrates its 20th year. Opening night features Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli coproduction. Other notable films featured include, Mr. Kaplan, Summer Vacation, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, and Write Down, I’m an Arab. Venues also include SIFF Cinema Uptown and SJCC-Mercer Island. AMC Pacific Place, 600 Pine StreetSeattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Thursday, March 19, 2015
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Cinema Italian Style 2014 was a quiet past year for new Italian movies; the well-reviewed Human Capital, which arrives here in February, didn’t even make the Oscar short list. So maybe it’s time for a repertory glance back at past peninsular glories with this nine-film series, running most Thursdays through March 19. In addition to proven classics like Luchino Visconti’s 1963 The Leopard, it includes new additions to the canon-notably last year’s Oscar winner, The Great Beauty. Beginning the retrospective tonight is Ossessione, Visconti’s 1943 adaptation of the James M. Cain novel The Postman Always Rings Twice, with its timeless themes of adultery and murder. That noir tale was filmed here in 1946 and ‘81, and there’s even a French take from 1939, but Visconti’s version-his first feature-wasn’t seen for decades in the U.S. because he didn’t clear the copyright. (Whether he had Cain’s verbal permission is another matter.) Only in 1977 did it get a stateside release, when critics noted a far more class-conscious treatment than the 1946 Lana Turner-John Garfield version: neorealism layered atop the noir. And another fun fact: This 35 mm print belongs to Martin Scorsese, that champion of film preservation and Italian cinema. BRIAN MILLER Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 $63-$68 series, $8 individual Thursday, March 19, 2015, 7:30 – 8:30pm
Seattle Jewish Film Festival More than 30 titles are screened, along with related cultural events. Opening night is Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli rom-com about millennials from those two nations falling in love. Pacific Place and other venues. $12 and up Thursday, March 19, 2015, 7:30pm
The King and the Mockingbird There’s a tendency for journalists to fixate on a film’s troubled production history. If it took X number of years and Y number of millions to finish, it must be . . . [fill in the blank, usually terrible]. So try to cast aside the tangled history of this charming French animated film, based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale, created (and extensively revised) by director Paul Grimault and screenwriter Jacques Prevert between 1948-79. That patchwork process and recent restoration aren’t seamless. There’s a prewar, almost Disney aspect to the innocent, fugitive lovers (a shepherdess and a chimney sweep); and the monarch in pursuit of them is a comic despot who nonetheless carries a whiff of ‘30s fascism. The silly chase scenes through a 296-floor castle (plus dungeon city) would appeal to kids who don’t get the politics, but they may not appreciate the subtitles. Grown-up viewers will discern how Grimault and Prevert’s late-’70s revisions reflected the tumult of the prior decade. Their impudent talking Mockingbird is a wise-ass revolutionary, like some Gallic Abbie Hoffman; and the king’s giant mechanical robot reflects sci-fi fears of global annihilation. The linework is both storybook and satirical. Not enough that the vainglorious king should live in the world’s tallest castle-it must be served by the most spindly, ridiculous Rube Goldberg elevator ever devised. Meanwhile, down in the dungeons of this totalitarian edifice, the lions and tigers can be dissuaded from eating prisoners-they’ll even waltz together!-if music is played. Art is the last defense against tyranny. BRIAN MILLER Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $6-$11 Thursday, March 19, 2015, 8pm
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Blowing up Cinema Five films from Italian great Michelangelo Antonioni, co-presented by Northwest Film Forum: Blow-Up, La Notte, L’eclisse, Red Desert, and The Passenger. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Friday, March 20, 2015
Insurgent Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort return in this highly anticipated sequel to Divergent. Opens wide $14 and up Friday, March 20, 2015
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Seattle Jewish Film Festival The film festival celebrates its 20th year. Opening night features Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli coproduction. Other notable films featured include, Mr. Kaplan, Summer Vacation, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, and Write Down, I’m an Arab. Venues also include SIFF Cinema Uptown and SJCC-Mercer Island. AMC Pacific Place, 600 Pine StreetSeattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Friday, March 20, 2015
The Gunman Suffering from PTSD and on the run across Europe to clear his name, an ex-soldier is trying to reconnect with his longtime love. With Idris Elba, Sean Penn, and Javier Bardem… but who stars? Opens wide. $14 and up Friday, March 20, 2015
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Friday, March 20, 2015, 7pm
Seattle Jewish Film Festival More than 30 titles are screened, along with related cultural events. Opening night is Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli rom-com about millennials from those two nations falling in love. Pacific Place and other venues. $12 and up Friday, March 20, 2015, 7:30pm
The King and the Mockingbird There’s a tendency for journalists to fixate on a film’s troubled production history. If it took X number of years and Y number of millions to finish, it must be . . . [fill in the blank, usually terrible]. So try to cast aside the tangled history of this charming French animated film, based on a Hans Christian Andersen tale, created (and extensively revised) by director Paul Grimault and screenwriter Jacques Prevert between 1948-79. That patchwork process and recent restoration aren’t seamless. There’s a prewar, almost Disney aspect to the innocent, fugitive lovers (a shepherdess and a chimney sweep); and the monarch in pursuit of them is a comic despot who nonetheless carries a whiff of ‘30s fascism. The silly chase scenes through a 296-floor castle (plus dungeon city) would appeal to kids who don’t get the politics, but they may not appreciate the subtitles. Grown-up viewers will discern how Grimault and Prevert’s late-’70s revisions reflected the tumult of the prior decade. Their impudent talking Mockingbird is a wise-ass revolutionary, like some Gallic Abbie Hoffman; and the king’s giant mechanical robot reflects sci-fi fears of global annihilation. The linework is both storybook and satirical. Not enough that the vainglorious king should live in the world’s tallest castle-it must be served by the most spindly, ridiculous Rube Goldberg elevator ever devised. Meanwhile, down in the dungeons of this totalitarian edifice, the lions and tigers can be dissuaded from eating prisoners-they’ll even waltz together!-if music is played. Art is the last defense against tyranny. BRIAN MILLER Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $6-$11 Friday, March 20, 2015, 8pm
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Blowing up Cinema Five films from Italian great Michelangelo Antonioni, co-presented by Northwest Film Forum: Blow-Up, La Notte, L’eclisse, Red Desert, and The Passenger. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Saturday, March 21, 2015
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Seattle Jewish Film Festival The film festival celebrates its 20th year. Opening night features Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli coproduction. Other notable films featured include, Mr. Kaplan, Summer Vacation, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, and Write Down, I’m an Arab. Venues also include SIFF Cinema Uptown and SJCC-Mercer Island. AMC Pacific Place, 600 Pine StreetSeattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Saturday, March 21, 2015
The King and the Mockingbird A French animated film, based on a Hans Christian Anderson story, that inspired Hayao Miyazaki. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $11 Saturday, March 21, 2015, 3pm
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Saturday, March 21, 2015, 7pm
Seattle Jewish Film Festival More than 30 titles are screened, along with related cultural events. Opening night is Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli rom-com about millennials from those two nations falling in love. Pacific Place and other venues. $12 and up Saturday, March 21, 2015, 7:30pm
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Blowing up Cinema Five films from Italian great Michelangelo Antonioni, co-presented by Northwest Film Forum: Blow-Up, La Notte, L’eclisse, Red Desert, and The Passenger. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Sunday, March 22, 2015
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Seattle Jewish Film Festival The film festival celebrates its 20th year. Opening night features Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli coproduction. Other notable films featured include, Mr. Kaplan, Summer Vacation, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, and Write Down, I’m an Arab. Venues also include SIFF Cinema Uptown and SJCC-Mercer Island. AMC Pacific Place, 600 Pine StreetSeattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Sunday, March 22, 2015
The King and the Mockingbird A French animated film, based on a Hans Christian Anderson story, that inspired Hayao Miyazaki. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $11 Sunday, March 22, 2015, 3pm
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Sunday, March 22, 2015, 7pm
Seattle Jewish Film Festival More than 30 titles are screened, along with related cultural events. Opening night is Hanna’s Journey, a German-Israeli rom-com about millennials from those two nations falling in love. Pacific Place and other venues. $12 and up Sunday, March 22, 2015, 7:30pm
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Blowing up Cinema Five films from Italian great Michelangelo Antonioni, co-presented by Northwest Film Forum: Blow-Up, La Notte, L’eclisse, Red Desert, and The Passenger. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Monday, March 23, 2015
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Monday, March 23, 2015, 7pm
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Blowing up Cinema Five films from Italian great Michelangelo Antonioni, co-presented by Northwest Film Forum: Blow-Up, La Notte, L’eclisse, Red Desert, and The Passenger. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98101 See website for details. Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 7pm
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 7pm
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Thursday, March 26, 2015, 7pm
A Little Chaos Alan Rickman directs himself and Kate Winslet in this period drama, set in the gardens of Versailles, overseen by King Louis XIV (Rickman). We’re sold. Theaters TBD $12 and up Friday, March 27, 2015
Get Hard Will Ferrell gets nailed for fraud and calls on Kevin Hart to prep him for life in jail. Opens wide $12 and up Friday, March 27, 2015
Home Jim Parsons, Rihanna, Steve Martin, and Jennifer Lopez lend their voices to this animated children’s film. Opens wide $12 and up Friday, March 27, 2015
Serena Everyone’s favorite onscreen couple, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, are together again in this Depression-era film, long delayed after its filming by director Susanne Bier (Open Hearts). Guild 45th, landmarktheatres.com Guild 45th, 2115 N. 45th St., Seattle, WA, 98103 $10 and up Friday, March 27, 2015
Emerald City Comicon Get out your Lumpy Space Princess costume because you won’t want to miss this year’s celebrity guests, including John Barrowman, Julie Benz, LeVar Burton, Charisma Carpenter, and Stan Lee. emeraldcitycomicon.com Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Pl., Seattle, WA 98101 $35 Friday, March 27, 2015, 10am – 7pm
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Friday, March 27, 2015, 7pm
Emerald City Comicon Get out your Lumpy Space Princess costume because you won’t want to miss this year’s celebrity guests, including John Barrowman, Julie Benz, LeVar Burton, Charisma Carpenter, and Stan Lee. emeraldcitycomicon.com Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Pl., Seattle, WA 98101 $45 Saturday, March 28, 2015, 10am – 7pm
Films for One to Eight Projectors Experimental cinema from Roger Beebe. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $11 Saturday, March 28, 2015, 5pm
Also Like Life: The Films of Hou Hsiao-hsien Running at two venues, this five-film selection reprises the last HHH retro in Seattle, 15 years ago, when the Grand Illusion and Northwest Film Forum were a joint enterprise. This reunion includes the Taiwanese timepieces Good Men, Good Women and Dust in the Wind, the gorgeous colonial-era Flowers of Shanghai (no less infused with memory and regret), and the more playful, contemporary Millennium Mambo. The series begins with Hou’s autobiographical 1985 A Time to Live, a Time to Die, which follows protagonist Ah-hsiao (nicknamed Ah-ha) from late-’40s boyhood to the cusp of maturity. His family flees the mainland before the revolution, meaning that Ah-ha will grow up in an essentially foreign culture, uprooted from tradition. Hou treats this immigrant coming-of-age story with solemn detachment; the kids aren’t cute and the pathos isn’t overdone. His young hero experiences considerable sadness and loss, but the movie hasn’t got an ounce of sentimentality. The family’s struggles, defeats, and setbacks are usually framed in still, quiet long shots, with the important action often taking place in the background. Hou refuses to provide false drama to Ah-ha’s gradual slide into ‘60s delinquency. Instead, he simply and movingly recalls the daily rhythms of a bygone era, without nostalgia or counterfeit emotion, in each well-composed shot. (The series runs trough Saturday, March 28.) (Repeats 7 p.m. Mon. at NWFF.) BRIAN MILLER Grand Illusion Cinema, 1403 N.E. 50th St, Seattle, WA 98105 $5-$9 Saturday, March 28, 2015, 7pm
Emerald City Comicon Get out your Lumpy Space Princess costume because you won’t want to miss this year’s celebrity guests, including John Barrowman, Julie Benz, LeVar Burton, Charisma Carpenter, and Stan Lee. emeraldcitycomicon.com Washington State Convention Center, 800 Convention Pl., Seattle, WA 98101 $35 Sunday, March 29, 2015, 10am – 5pm
Sabbatical A professor comes back to his hometown after his mom has a stroke. Director Brandon Colvin will be in attendance. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $11 Sunday, March 29, 2015, 6pm
Desert Dancer In Iran’s politically conservative climate, Afshin Ghaffarian risks it all to start a dance company in his home country. Venue TBA, See website for details. Friday, April 3, 2015
Furious 7 Paul Walker appears in his final role, having died midway through filming. Vin Diesel sheds gasoline tears. Various locations, See website for details. Friday, April 3, 2015
