The only film I`ve seen in Monday`s lineup at the Chicago International Film Festival is the awful Brazilian entry ”Better Days Ahead,” a broad and campy melodrama about an actress who sublimates her Hollywood ambitions while working as a Portuguese dubber for American situation comedies. The director, Carlos Diegues, once belonged to the bright, commercial side of Brazil`s cinema novo movement (”Passing Showers”); now, he`s just commercial.
”Better Days” (92 minutes) shows at 9:30 at the Music Box.
Monday night does feature what is traditionally (and disturbingly) the festival`s most popular program, the two-hour marathon of television commercials from around the world. If you can`t get into that show (it`s at 7 p.m. at the Fine Arts I), there are two promising films opposite it. ”Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit,” at 6 p.m. at the Music Box (160 minutes), is a three-part British television series based on Jeanette Winterson`s
autobiographical novel about growing up lesbian; As directed by Beeban Kidron, the film has received some nice reviews. At 6:30 p.m. at the Fine Arts II, there`s ”Alligator Eyes” (101 minutes), an offbeat road movie (two couples pick up a hitch-hiking blind girl) directed by former Chicagoan John Feldman. Regular festival screenings are held at two locations: Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave., and (on two screens) at the Fine Arts, 418 S. Michigan Ave. Call 644-3456 for information. All reviews are by Dave Kehr. Plot summaries have been taken from information supplied by the festival.
Here is a listing of other Monday screenings:
Award-Winning Video Productions Program I, 4:30 p.m., Fine Arts I. A program of videos.
Award-Winning Video Productions Program II, 9:30 p.m., Fine Arts I. A program of videos.
Award-Winning Student Productions Program I, 3 p.m., Fine Arts II. A program of student shorts from around the world.
”User Friendly” (New Zealand; Gregor Nicholas), 9 p.m., Fine Arts II. A cosmetics tycoon and assorted strange characters chase after the thief of a dog-goddess statue reputed to have magical powers. 90 min.
