This week sees the long awaited cinema release of the new Spike Lee film Chi-Raq. In addition there are a number of other very interesting selections to choose from including a couple of eighties cult classics being shown as part of the BFI Black Star festival.
Chi-Raq
The bold, imaginative and urgently topical film from Spike Lee relocates the ancient Greek drama ‘Lysistrata’ to the gangland wars of modern day Chicago. After the accidental murder of a young girl in a drive-by shooting, Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris) persuades the women of two rival gangs, Spartan and Trojan, to swear off sex with their men until the fighting stops. The movement goes on to inspire young women across the city and eventually the country. Chi-Raq is a vital and searing satire on American gun violence.
Paths of the Soul
On the world’s highest plateau, a group of Tibetan villagers embark on a bowing pilgrimage that requires them to lay their bodies flat on the ground after every few steps. They will travel 1,200 miles, enduring exhaustion, extreme weather and life threatening illness. Zhang Yang’s breath-taking film was shot over a year with non-professional actors and no script and reveals why the villagers have embarked on the pilgrimage.
Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words
To many people, Frank Zappa is the ultimate outsider musician – a foul-mouthed mustachioed ‘freak’ that revelled in an iconoclastic view and music so distinctive that it has since become its own genre. Made up entirely of pre-existing interview footage and often bewildering live performances, Thorsten Schütte’s film is a sharply edited and energetic celebration of Zappa through his public persona that allows us to witness first-hand Zappa’s complex character.
Paterson
In the latest film from cult auteur Jim Jarmusch, Adam Driver stars as Paterson – a bus driver in the city of Paterson, New Jersey, who spends much of his time in between routes writing observational poetry about his myriad experiences. Jarmusch astutely conveys small obstacles and quiet triumphs whilst observing the poetry of life’s smallest details
One More Time With Feeling 3D
A unique cinema event directed by Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly), One More Time With Feeling will be another opportunity to hear Skeleton Tree, the sixteenth studio album from Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Filmed in black-and-white and colour, screening in 3D, this is a fragile, raw and a true testament to an artist trying to find his way through the darkness.
The War of the Worlds
The first attempt to bring H.G. Wells’ immortal story of alien invasion to the big screen remains one of the most dazzling pieces of science fiction cinema ever. When an unidentified object crash-lands near the US town of Linda, the ship’s extra-terrestrial inhabitants mercilessly wipe out the town and shut down all technology in the surrounding area. With reports of worldwide devastation, Dr. Clayton Forrester and Sylvia Van Buren must escape the alien invaders whilst the world tries to fight back.
Crossing the Line: Woman Tiger, Woman Dove
As part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of LUX’s historical predecessor, LUX Scotland present a programme of films dedicated to the women filmmakers of the London Film-Makers’ Co-op. Produced against a backdrop of growing feminist consciousness, these works built on the methods, processes and ethos associated with the Co-op to explore the political and activist potential of women’s experimental film. This programme is curated by Maud Jacquin and will be introduced by writer, artist and curator, Lucy Reynolds.
Car Wash
Michael Schultz’s cult comedy focuses on a day-in-the-life of a group of close-knit employees working at a car wash in Los Angeles. In one day, the workers encounter all manner of eccentric customers including a smooth-talking preacher (Richard Pryor), a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict. Car Wash is a highly enjoyable comedy that cleverly pushed the boundaries of political correctness.
Wild Style
Nothing comes close to capturing the early days of hip-hop and graffiti art like Charlie Ahearn’s 1983 cult classic. Starring legendary New York graffiti artist Lee Quinones as Zoro, New York’s hottest new talent, the plot shows how he is straining to balance his personal life with his passion for spray-can art, plus appearances from hip-hop luminaries Fab 5 Freddy, The Cold Crush Brothers and even Grandmaster Flash
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