Quad Cinema

Bidder 70 tells a uniquely American story. Only in the United States would the president auction off protected wilderness to energy and mining companies to help the government turn a profit. Only in the U.S. would a college student show up to the... More »

Bidder 70 tells a uniquely American story. Only in the United States would the president auction off protected wilderness to energy and mining companies to help the government turn a profit. Only in the U.S. would a college student show up to the auction and outbid the companies, then be taken to court and ultimately thrown in federal prison for falsifying his bids. That president was George W. Bush, of course. The wilderness was in Utah. And the college kid, Tim DeChristopher, proves a fascinating subject for Beth and George Gage's new documentary. Grown up and dressed alternately in a suit and tie or hiking boots and shorts-- his natural attire-- DeChristopher uses his first act of civil disobedience to set into motion a larger organization, Peaceful Uprising, which is committed to nonviolent protest and environmental activism. Never mind that the land auction was later invalidated and 100,000 acres preserved; DeChristopher sees it as symptomatic of the ways in which capitalism paralyzes environmental progress. He also offers an unusual sight: a white man in a tie, behind a bullhorn, shouting for peace. Images of activists and protesters have become a more frequent sight in recent media, and Bidder 70 has its requisite share of hippies painting banners, but DeChristopher's ability to move with intellectual seriousness and a light heart between festivals and courtrooms complicates the popular idea of The Man and what his brand of power can achieve. « Less

(1:00 PM), 7:10 PM

Boomer comedies and teen party flicks aren't the only movies buoyed by their soundtracks. Jeff L. Lieberman's new doc, Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria, is punctuated with the holy music of the small clusters of Igbo people who have converted to... More »

Boomer comedies and teen party flicks aren't the only movies buoyed by their soundtracks. Jeff L. Lieberman's new doc, Re-Emerging: The Jews of Nigeria, is punctuated with the holy music of the small clusters of Igbo people who have converted to Judaism--mash-ups of Hebrew scripture and African rhythms that thrill the ear with the discovery of the new. (Seeing kosher meals prepared from local staples like cassava and yam is a similarly expansive experience.) Centered on the spiritual journey of Shmuel (formerly Sam), a young Igbo man who wants to become a rabbi, the film regularly widens its focus to offer context: of the history of the Igbo in Nigeria and those later brought in captivity to America; of the similarities between Igbo custom and Judaic law; of the legends of the 12 tribes of Israel. The film's circumstantial evidence for the Israelite heritage of the Igbo is sometimes a reach: There are contortions to show similarities between cherry-picked words in Hebrew and the Igbo dialect, for instance, and one expert on a piece of slave history is introduced as a guide for South Carolina ghost tours. Admirably, the film gives skeptics their say, however briefly. Yet in the face of the authenticity of Shmuel's faith, the evidence for or against the Judaic heritage of the Igbo is beside the point. « Less

(1:00 PM), 7:00 PM

Coming fast on the heels of revelations confirming that the CIA indeed had a hand in shaping the script for Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, here’s documentarian Michael Singh's examination of the ways U.S. foreign policy on the Middle East is... More »

Coming fast on the heels of revelations confirming that the CIA indeed had a hand in shaping the script for Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, here’s documentarian Michael Singh's examination of the ways U.S. foreign policy on the Middle East is tightly tied to the images of Arabs and Muslims that appear in American and European media. A crash course in history, politics, and social science, Valentino's Ghost is both sobering and illuminating, and its execution is thrilling. Singh deftly weaves newspaper articles, interviews with academics (Harvard's Niall Ferguson, George Washington University’s Melani McAlister), and archival newscasts, with clips from films including Rudolph Valentino's silent classic The Sheik, Otto Preminger's Exodus, and 2000's Rules of Engagement, among others. Singh tracks the evolution of America’s relationship to the Middle East from benign indifference to fear and loathing, with a brief stopover in mass-market exoticism. Fueling the shifts have been struggles for control of the region's natural resources, and the plight of the Palestinians, toward whom the film is unabashedly sympathetic. There is also subtlety and drollness on display. Early in Ghost, Singh drops a clip from Rules of Engagement in which a young boy asks his mother (Anne Archer) why the mob of Arabs is protesting outside their hotel. The mother vaguely replies, "They're upset about some things, darling." It's a moment that encapsulates not only the vague grasp many in the West have on the issues, but the way our government and media talk down to us when we do ask questions. « Less

(2:50 PM), (5:10 PM), 9:10 PM

A likable hagiography as nuanced as a plaque at the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, Brian Helgeland's Jackie Robinson bio 42 finds a politic solution to the challenge Quentin Tarantino faced last year with Django Unchained: How to craft a... More »

A likable hagiography as nuanced as a plaque at the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, Brian Helgeland's Jackie Robinson bio 42 finds a politic solution to the challenge Quentin Tarantino faced last year with Django Unchained: How to craft a crowd-pleasing multiplex period piece whose villain is, essentially, "all white people"? Helgeland solves this by—to flip a racist phrase of the day—showing us that Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey (a phlegmatic Harrison Ford) is one of the good ones, a white guy who transcended his upbringing to become a credit to his race. In the first half, the big moments of drift past like parade floats: well-crafted, incidentally arresting, but not strung together into a dramatic narrative. Things pick up the closer Robinson gets to Ebbets Field—here a video-game recreation that never quite fools the eye. In the majors, we have a story, one that grows more and more compelling right up until the climax's ridiculously protracted slow-mo baserunning. Some Dodgers revolt against Robinson's arrival, pitchers aim for his face, and a Philadelphia coach shouts "You don't belong here! Get that through your thick monkey skull!" A dusty intimacy distinguishes the baseball scenes, which are excellent, if abbreviated. Robinson's duels with pitchers are especially involving, both at the plate and on base, where he harrows the bastards like Bugs Bunny might Elmer Fudd. Chadwick Boseman (playing Robinson) mostly manages to play a flesh-and-blood man despite 42's attempts to present him as a statue just unveiled. Movingly, as Robinson suffers the white world's abuse, Boseman's eyes moisten, redden, and finally seem to scab over with anger and hurt. « Less

(1:00 PM), (3:45 PM), 6:35 PM, 9:20 PM

(3:10 PM), (5:10 PM), 9:30 PM

Ultimately amounting to an advertisement for The Castle, the NYC residence for recently paroled convicts, Released presents an Off-Broadway play in which four of the establishment's alumni recount eerily similar life stories involving broken... More »

Ultimately amounting to an advertisement for The Castle, the NYC residence for recently paroled convicts, Released presents an Off-Broadway play in which four of the establishment's alumni recount eerily similar life stories involving broken homes, substance abuse, criminality, hard time in prisons, and arduous efforts to change once back on the outside. Both onstage and in traditional documentary interviews, Casimiro Torres, Kenneth Harrigan, Vilma Ortiz Donovan, and Angel Ramos eloquently speak about the many mistakes that led to their incarceration and the difficulties, once free, of establishing responsible adult identities. Throughout, their advocacy for education and hard work is earnest and affecting. And fortunately for them, The Castle provided the support network necessary to find employment, earn degrees, and discover a sense of self-worth—a point that emerges during the final third of Philip F. Messina's film and, in the process, reveals the endeavor to be a thinly veiled (if stirring) commercial for the institution. More problematic is that, without providing real specifics about what differentiates The Castle from other outreach program, Released comes off as a series of heartfelt testimonials that, despite their sincerity, have a limited scope beyond the usual don't-do-drugs and go-to-school cautionary tales. « Less

(1:00 PM), (3:00 PM), (5:00 PM), 7:00 PM, 9:00 PM