Films & Schedules - R

“When Joey’s best friend Bart is killed in action in Iraq, Joey is unsettled at the funeral, but not nearly as much as when Bart shows up the next night undead on his doorstep. Not knowing how he has come back to life, the two friends discover that Bart is a ‘Revenant,’ somewhere between a zombie and a vampire, and needs blood to survive. To keep him ‘alive,’ they start preying on the dregs of society and inadvertently start cleaning up the neighborhood, becoming modern vigilantes. This is all well and good until the criminals and drug dealers they’ve killed...

“When Joey’s best friend Bart is killed in action in Iraq, Joey is unsettled at the funeral, but not nearly as much as when Bart shows up the next night undead on his doorstep. Not knowing how he has come back to life, the two friends discover that Bart is a ‘Revenant,’ somewhere between a zombie and a vampire, and needs blood to survive. To keep him ‘alive,’ they start preying on the dregs of society and inadvertently start cleaning up the neighborhood, becoming modern vigilantes. This is all well and good until the criminals and drug dealers they’ve killed begin to come back from the dead with only revenge on their minds. Reminiscent of Shaun of the Dead, this is one of the best horror films to come along in a decade.”—Dan Halsted. (110 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Roadkill (06).

Director D. Kerry Prior in attendance. Audience Q&A will follow screening.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature, Comedy, After Dark.

Showcasing a diverse range of perspectives, this omnibus film commemorates the centenary of the Mexican Revolution, an event that transformed Mexican society and impacted social change throughout Latin America in the 20th century. Ten of Mexico’s brightest young directors contributed a short to the project, organized and co-produced by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. Ranging from Patricia Riggen’s delightful Beautiful and Beloved to Carlos Reygadas’s explosive This Is My Kingdom, Revolución is an intriguing collection of responses to the Revolution’s legacy and a fascinating panorama of views on contemporary Mexico. (105 mins.)

Showcasing a diverse range of perspectives, this omnibus film commemorates the centenary of the Mexican Revolution, an event that transformed Mexican society and impacted social change throughout Latin America in the 20th century. Ten of Mexico’s brightest young directors contributed a short to the project, organized and co-produced by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. Ranging from Patricia Riggen’s delightful Beautiful and Beloved to Carlos Reygadas’s explosive This Is My Kingdom, Revolución is an intriguing collection of responses to the Revolution’s legacy and a fascinating panorama of views on contemporary Mexico. (105 mins.)

Directors include Mariana Chenillo, Patricia Riggen, Fernando Eimbcke, Amat Escalante, Gael García Bernal, Rodrigo García, Diego Luna, Gerardo Naranjo, Rodrigo Plá, and Carlos Reygadas.

Sponsored by the Consulate of Mexico.

Interests: Spanish Language, History.

“Adapted from a novel that was in turn based on the real-life case of a champion marathoner who led a double life holding up banks in 1980s Austria, Benjamin Heisenberg’s sleek and intelligent genre exercise is at once an action thriller, a love story, a character study, and an existential parable. Its protagonist, Johann (Andreas Lust, Revanche), is defined almost exclusively by his twin obsessions. He runs and he robs, therefore he is. Alternating between endorphin-rush kineticism and stretches of quiet tension, The Robber is as precise and single-minded as its hero. At the film’s center is a brilliantly calibrated...

“Adapted from a novel that was in turn based on the real-life case of a champion marathoner who led a double life holding up banks in 1980s Austria, Benjamin Heisenberg’s sleek and intelligent genre exercise is at once an action thriller, a love story, a character study, and an existential parable. Its protagonist, Johann (Andreas Lust, Revanche), is defined almost exclusively by his twin obsessions. He runs and he robs, therefore he is. Alternating between endorphin-rush kineticism and stretches of quiet tension, The Robber is as precise and single-minded as its hero. At the film’s center is a brilliantly calibrated performance by Lust, by turns explosively physical and tightly coiled, as a man driven to attain a state of perpetual motion.”—New York Film Festival. (96 mins.)

Selected Filmography: At the Lake (01), Sleeper (05).

With the support of the Austrian Consulate General in Los Angeles.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Narrative Feature.

“In the California desert, the adventures of a telepathic killer tire, mysteriously attracted by a very pretty girl, as witnessed by incredulous onlookers. Why? No reason. ‘No reason’ will never make more sense than after you have survived a screening of Rubber. Straddling art film and horror, it has the most outrageous premise of any film this year. (Or ever?) An audience gathers in the desert to watch a story unfold: a tire comes to life, rolls along, discovers it has the ability to make people’s heads explode, and so on. But it’s not just a film about a telekinetic...

“In the California desert, the adventures of a telepathic killer tire, mysteriously attracted by a very pretty girl, as witnessed by incredulous onlookers. Why? No reason. ‘No reason’ will never make more sense than after you have survived a screening of Rubber. Straddling art film and horror, it has the most outrageous premise of any film this year. (Or ever?) An audience gathers in the desert to watch a story unfold: a tire comes to life, rolls along, discovers it has the ability to make people’s heads explode, and so on. But it’s not just a film about a telekinetic tire on a killing spree, there is a frame around this story that adds another level of deconstructionist space to the film and another surrealistic layer to the experience. About as mind-blowing as a movie can be.”—AFI Film Festival. (85 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Non Film (01), Steak (07).

In English.

FILM REVIEW

Interests: Comedy, After Dark.

Nekrasov and Konskaya, familiar with Russia’s ease in spreading misinformation, suspected that the official version of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia—which painted Georgia as the aggressor—was far from true. With Russian Lessons, they set out to prove it. Examining the damage and interviewing witnesses, the truth soon surfaces—not only the truth about which country was to blame, but about how the Russians were so successful in spinning their version in the press and in the court of world opinion. A damning indictment of the Putin government and the laxity of Western media, this fascinating film is a cautionary...

Nekrasov and Konskaya, familiar with Russia’s ease in spreading misinformation, suspected that the official version of the 2008 war between Russia and Georgia—which painted Georgia as the aggressor—was far from true. With Russian Lessons, they set out to prove it. Examining the damage and interviewing witnesses, the truth soon surfaces—not only the truth about which country was to blame, but about how the Russians were so successful in spinning their version in the press and in the court of world opinion. A damning indictment of the Putin government and the laxity of Western media, this fascinating film is a cautionary tale that “energetically delves into the violent and bewildering conflicts in the Caucasus as it holds up a sobering mirror to a superpower.”—Sundance Film Festival. (111 mins.)

Selected Filmography: Children’s Story, Chechnia (00), Poisoned by Polonium: The Litvinenko File (07).

In Russian and Georgian.

Sponsored by the Norwegian Consulate General, San Francisco.

FILM REVIEW

DIGITAL    

Interests: Documentary Views.