Capital Projections: International edition
Capital Projections is The DC Line’s selective and subjective guide to some of the most interesting arthouse and repertory screenings in the coming week.
MRS. FANG
In the middle of one of the busiest seasons for area film festivals, the coming week gives area moviegoers the chance to sample cinematic wares from China, Palestinian territories and Latin America — as well as a selection of new and frightening horror movies. These dense programs can pack a lot of movies into a very little time; in the case of the DC Chinese Film Festival, now in its fourth year, you can choose from 37 features and shorts in a span of just four days. With area film coverage shrinking, it’s nearly impossible for the curious cinephile to navigate so many options, but anyone looking for a harrowing documentary experience can count on the festival’s closing night. Director Wang Bing observes the final days of Fang Xiuying, a 67-year-old matriarch suffering from Alzheimer’s. This is an unflinching look at the woman’s last days as she remains silent, her face frozen while her extended family surrounds her with expressions of concern and sorrow. For minutes at a time, Bing trains the camera on Mrs. Fang’s death bed, but the film also patiently observes her family as they go on fishing expeditions in her village, trying to go on with their lives. The director’s long takes speak of a respect for life as well as death, which makes this a rare and unsettling film.
Watch a clip.
Sunday, Sept. 30, at 8:30 p.m. at E Street Landmark Cinema. $24.99 (includes red carpet and awards ceremony, which begins at 6 p.m.).
WAJIB
Now in its eighth year, the DC Palestinian Film and Arts Festival runs from Oct. 2 through 7 with an expanded schedule of programs that includes art workshops, comedy and film, including this father-son drama that was the official Palestinian selection for last year’s Academy Awards. Writer-director Annemarie Jacir follows Shadi (Saleh Bakri, who will appear at the screening), who left his hometown of Nazareth to live in Italy. He’s back home to prepare for his sister’s Christmastime wedding, but he butts heads with his father (Mohammad Bakri), who looks askance at his son’s man bun and flamboyant wardrobe. Much of Wajib (the title translates to “duty”) takes place in a car as Shadi and his father drive around the city to hand out wedding invitations in person, as is the custom. With dry humor, Jacir lovingly observes this fraught relationship, and while some of the interactions outside the car seem typical of any family drama, the film is most exquisite in its quiet observation of the men and their sometimes-silent respect and affection.
Watch the trailer.
Thursday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. at Landmark E Street Cinema. $12.
GOLDEN JOB
While the festival circuit brings arthouse fodder to area theaters, a handful of suburban multiplexes regularly program more commercial fare from Asia — like Hong Kong action movies. Directed by prolific actor Kar Lok Chin, this heist movie follows a group of mercenaries who have known each other since childhood and share a loyal brotherhood. But when a plan to steal expensive medicine for underprivileged children unexpectedly turns into a theft of gold bars, that loyalty is put to the test. Golden Job begins in a whirlwind that briefly suggests a Hong Kong version of Mission Impossible (perhaps more so than legendary action director John Woo’s unfairly maligned entry in that franchise), but despite a few charismatic leads, the sprawling cast and excessive CGI lead to an increasingly bloody mess.
Watch the trailer.
Opens today at Regal Rockville Center.
LA CASA LOBO
The AFI Silver’s Latin American Film Festival wraps up this weekend with the stop-motion animation of Chilean director Cristóbal León, who will appear at Friday night’s screening. The nightmarish fantasy follows Maria, who hides in a shack with two pigs while she’s on the run from a demonic German cult. Hand-painted frames and papier-mâché figures constantly shift in this unsettling landscape, but much like the work of avant-garde animators the Brothers Quay, such wild invention doesn’t fully translate into a compelling narrative. The result is a slow, 75-minute fever dream, with enough rough textures to create mesmerizing passages but not enough story to come together as a whole.
Watch the trailer.
Friday, Sept. 28, at 7:30 p.m. (with director Cristóbal León in attendance) and Saturday, Sept. 29, at 10 p.m. at the AFI Silver. $15.
HAL
With such beloved films as Harold and Maude, Shampoo and Being There, the late director Hal Ashby was one of the defining voices in the renaissance of American cinema in the ‘70s. Through archival footage, interviews with Ashby’s peers and, of course, clips from throughout his career, director Amy Scott pays loving homage to the filmmaker’s humanistic work. However, she doesn’t pull punches on the failings — like his drug abuse — that made him less than reliable and ultimately led to his downfall.
Watch the trailer.
Opens today at E Street Landmark Cinema.
BEYOND THE DOOR III
It’s the Washington Psychotronic Film Society’s favorite time of year, and the group starts off October with this 1989 horror movie that’s a sequel in name only. The terror unfolds as a group of American college students meet up with their professor (Bo Svenson, who would later appear in a few Quentin Tarantino films as well as an episode of Murder, She Wrote) in Yugoslavia to witness a pagan ritual. The movie is also known as Amok Train, a reference to the transportation that leads the students to their doom.
Watch the trailer.
Monday, Oct. 1, at 8 p.m. at Smoke and Barrel. Free.
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