Over the next nine days, Facets Multimedia presents 30 short films that explore the definition of “erotic.” “Erotic Tales: An International Series” began on German television in 1996 and currently consists of 10 programs running approximately 90 minutes each.
A big selling point is the inclusion of shorts by a number of name directors, including Susan Seidelman, Ken Russell, Bob Rafelson and Melvin Van Peebles.
The five films available for preview range from the intriguing to the idiotic.
The most involving offering is also the most formless, Hal Hartley’s “Kimono” ((star)(star)(star)). It plays out as a fever dream about a rejected Asian bride stumbling through the forest in her wedding dress, being watched by other women–wood nymphs?–who have suffered the same fate. The most amusing is Rafelson’s “Porn.com” ((star)(star)(star)), about a down-and-out movie director (played by Rafelson) who comes to Germany to direct a low-budget feature only to discover that it is a pornographic film. The most traditional is Greek director Antonis Kokkinos’ “Dream a Little Dream of Me” ((star)(star)1/2), a well-acted tale about a middle-aged man who is having second thoughts about his impending marriage. I liked “The Night Nurse” ((star)(star)1/2), from German director Bernd Heiber, which uses dimly lit photography and an alluring lead actress to heat up a story about an injured criminal being kept in a hospital ward. But the tedious “Did You Ever …” (1/2(star)) is a moronic “two for the road” tale.
“Erotic Tales: An International Series” plays through March 27 at Facets Multimedia, 1517 W. Fullerton Ave. Tickets are $9. 773-281-9075 or www.facets.org for program info.
`Music Movies’
This week, as part of its ongoing “Music Movies” series, the Gene Siskel Film Center shows the 2003 Danish film “Fado” ((star)(star)(star)), directed by Anders Leifer, about the dramatic song style from Portugal. This quasi-documentary doesn’t deal with the history of Fado but rather profiles various denizens of a dank bar in Lisbon, who sing Fado a few nights a week as a means of purging painful memories. These are not professionals (except for one female performer near the end), but local folks who tend to drink too much as they recall the dreams that got away. It is a melancholy tale that comes to life when the guitars start to play and these lonesome troubadours find their voices.
“Fado” plays 5:30 p.m. Sunday and 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St. Tickets are $9. 312-846-2800.
