NOW SHOWING: LONDON SCREEN GUIDE w/c 17.02.17
To help in your hunt for adventurous moving pictures, RADIANT CIRCUS hand-picks London’s screen highlights for the week ahead*. This week, there’s a world of contrast from the simple filth of Waters and Kaufman to more complex tales of transition and turmoil. Our featured film of the week is P.S. JERUSALEM which starts its run at Bertha Dochouse/Curzon Bloomsbury.
FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2017, 22.00, PICTUREHOUSE CENTRAL
Going from rarely seen to must-see, MULTIPLE MANIACS is restored and as shocking as ever. John Waters’ “celluloid atrocity” is reborn across London tonight and gets a much-anticipated Blu-ray release in March. We’ve gone for the 22.00 screening at the Picturehouse mothership as part of their CULTURE SHOCK strand (the film shows across Picturehouse venues on Friday and also starts a week-long run at BFI).
Looking for an alternative? The Horse Hospital hosts PLAY ME SOMETHING IN MEMORY OF JOHN BERGER (20.00) including a screening of SOMETHING, based on one of Berger’s short stories, and a discussion of his life and work.
SATURDAY 18 FEBRUARY 2017, 19.30, BERNIE GRANT ARTS CENTRE
LO & BEHOLD: REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD is Werner Herzog’s doc about our increasingly connected lives. The legendary Herzog has a unique way of seeing and his documentaries frequently peer beneath the surface in surprising ways. His voiceovers alone are enough to make us go weak at the knees.
Looking for an alternative? Spend your evening with a rather different cinematic legend, Troma’s Lloyd Kaufman. He’ll be appearing alongside the world premier of ESSEX SPACEBIN (21.15) and a revival of TROMA & JULIET at the Prince Charles.
SUNDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2017, 17.30, PRINCE CHARLES CINEMA
Continuing their season of films by Andrei Tarkovsky, Prince Charles screens STALKER. If you thought MAD MAX: FURY ROAD’s representation of the post-apocalypse was a tad simplistic, this one is for you. Prepare for head-scratching.
Looking for an alternative? Regent Street Cinema asks “just how destructive is our modern media industry, and what does it do to those who work in it?” Find answers with their brilliant double bill of NETWORK (17.00) and CHRISTINE (19.25).
MONDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2017, 20.30, JW3
JW3 with UKJF screens AIDA’S SECRETS, followed by a talk from genealogist Lawrence Harris. Harris’ research about two brothers, born after WWII in the Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp and separated at infancy, forms the basis of the film.
Looking for an alternative? Try The Alibi’s FREE screening of DELICATESSEN (20.00) to be reunited with that squeaking spring.
TUESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2017, 19.30, THE INSTITUTE OF LIGHT
Film School at The Institute of Light gets 2017’s classes underway with THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (19.30), followed by a talk and discussion. Just try not to spend too much time arguing about the title (for the record, we think we’re right…).
WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2017, 18.15, BARBICAN CENTRE
Barbican and a whole host of partners launch their fascinating THE CRAFT OF FILM series with AMOUR FOU, including a talk by costume designer Tanja Hauser. In the same series, there’s a screening of DOGTOOTH with talk by editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis on THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY at 18.15, but it was nearly sold out when we checked.
Looking for an alternative? I AM CUBA (19.30) looks at pre-revolutionary island life as part of the Kino Klassika season A WORLD TO WIN at Regent Street Cinema.
THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2017, various
We couldn’t pick between three small screens doing their beautiful things. Try rounding off your week in adventurous moving pictures with one of the following cinematic treats. Whirled Cinema – AMERICAN HONEY (20.30), Haringey Independent Cinema – LE HAVRE (19.00) and Sydenham Film Club – THE SALT OF THE EARTH (19.30).
FESTIVALS / LONGER RUNS
INDEPENDENT FRAMES: AMERICAN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATIONS IN THE 1970s AND 1980s takes over the weekend at the Starr Cinema, Tate Modern. There are 5 screenings from 17.02.17 to 19.02.17 with Tate offering a season ticket of £25 for the entire weekend. Check Tate’s website for all the information you need.
N.B. The new WOLFGANG TILLMANS show has just opened at Tate Modern and runs until 11.06.17. More on that soon.
Our featured film, P.S. JERUSALEM starts its run at Bertha Dochouse/Curzon Bloomsbury – a startling doc from filmmaker Danae Elon about being and belonging. As a forthcoming companion piece, link into next week with KOUDELKA: SHOOTING HOLY LAND at ICA including intro by photographer Josef Koudelka and director Gilad Baram (FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY, 20.40).
MARTIN SCORSESE CURATES hits a bit of a quieter week as BFI hails TAXI DRIVER (you don’t need our recommendation to see that, right?). Try THE BREAKING POINT (FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY, 18.20), RESTORED AVANT-GARDE FILMS (MONDAY 20 FEBRUARY, 18.10) or SHADOWS (MONDAY 20 FEBRUARY, 20.40) to feed your SCORSESE DOUBLES (2 films for £17) addiction.
MYTHICAL POETRY: THE CINEMA OF GOVINDAN ARAVINDAN concludes at Close-Up with screenings of ESTHAPPAN (FRIDAY 17 FEBRUARY, 19.30), CHIDAMBARAM (THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY, 19.30) and MASQUERADE (FRIDAY 24 FEBRUARY, 19.30).
Ciné Lumière continues to FOCUS ON QUEBEC CINEMA with several luscious looking screenings. Try wunderkind Xavier Dolan’s latest IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD (various dates) or BAD SEEDS (SATURDAY 18 FEBRUARY, 20.45)
OFF-SCREEN TALKS
WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY, 19.00, BFI: You might have to sell your body for a ticket, and they haven’t even gone on general sale at the time of writing, but MARTIN SCORSESE IN CONVERSATION with Sight & Sound magazine’s Nick James looks pretty much essential.
More places to shelter from the storm in next week’s GUIDE.
*As accurate as we could make it. Apologies for any mistakes.
Featured image: P.S. JERUSALEM (2015)