By Zee Grega
October 3rd, 2008 @ 10:22 AM
film
- Opening night of Local Sightings at NWFF kicks off Friday night with a program of short local films followed by a party. If you happen to be Carol Marquess, you get to go for free, courtesy of NWFF and Seattle Metblogs.
- SIFF begins a week of politically themed films Friday night with The Parallax View, a conspiracy-theory thriller starring Warren Beatty. The early 1970s view of the Space Needle, scene of an opening segment assassination, is almost reason enough to watch on its own, but the twisted thriller is rather exciting, too.
- Saturday the 4th is an excellent day to spend at SIFF Cinema: the day begins with a 10:00 am showing of 1982’s The Black Stallion, an optically arresting adapation of the classic children’s novel about a boy and the titular horse stranded together on a remote island after a shipwreck. Go back at 1:00 pm for The Meaning of Tea (part of the first annual Northwest Tea Festival, going on all weekend at the Seattle Center’s Northwest Rooms) and return again in the evening for a double bill of Gabriel Over the White House, a hard-charging pre-Hays Code film depicting a US President bent on shaking up the nation, and the brilliant A Face in the Crowd about a charming, cynical man’s rise to political power that remains as on target today as it was on release back in 1957.
- Midnight at the Egyptian: Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke. If there’s anyone left who still thinks cartoons are nothing but kids’ stuff, I strongly recommend you check this film out–it’s as serious, intense, and even scary in parts as any live action film.
- Late night at the Grand Illusion is the odd but excellent Repo Man but stop in earlier to see My Father, My Lord, David Volach’s dramatic contemporary retelling of the story of Abraham and Isaac.
- Fans of Joel and Ethan Coen will want to spend some time at Central Cinema for their screening of Blood Simple, the 1985 neo-noir that marked their directorial debut.
