*indicates a capsule review from Chicago Tribune archives.
(diamond) indicates a film that is not reviewed, but of interest.
Beverly Arts Center
2407 W. 111th St.
773-445-3838
beverlyartcenter.org
*’Caramel’ ** 1/2 (Lebanon; Nadine Labaki, 2007). “Caramel” features five women in a Beirut beauty salon comparing notes on their love woes. Director Labaki shoots with a gauzy prettiness but doesn’t imbue it with any particular passion. Yet, there’s a pleasant, easygoing charm, due to Labaki’s determination to depict Beirut as something other than a recovering battleground. 7:30 p.m. Wed.
Block Cinema
Northwestern University
40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston
847-491-4000
blockmuseum.
northwestern.edu
*’La Haine’ (‘Hate’) *** 1/2 (France; Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995). A scorching black-and-white look at a Jewish-African-Arab trio (Vincent Cassell, Hubert Kounde and Said Taghmaoui), caught up in violence and riot in Paris’ lower-class banlieue districts. 8 p.m. Wed.
Doc Films
University of Chicago
Ida Noyes Hall
1212 E. 59th St.
773-702-8575
docfilms.uchicago.edu
*’4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’ **** (Romania; Cristian Mungiu, 2007). Great acting comes in all shapes, sizes and temperatures, and sometimes a murmur of the heart speaks as loudly as the grand theatrical gesture. Just savor the cool, subtle assurance of the greatest performance not recognized by this year’s Academy Awards. The portrayal belongs to Anamaria Marinca, whose Sphinx-like countenance masks an emotional nightmare. This is a beautiful film about ugly circumstances, set in 1987 near the end of the Ceausescu era in Romania. Its nominal subject is a naive college student (Laura Vasiliu) seeking a dangerous late-term end to an unwanted pregnancy. Marinca plays Otilia, her fellow student, not older but far wiser. Both women sacrifice a great deal in the space of 24 hours. 1 p.m. Sun.
Gene Siskel Film Center
164 N. State St.
312-846-2800
siskelfilmcenter.org
‘It Always Rains on Sunday’ *** (U.K.; Robert Hamer, 1947). “Kind Hearts and Coronets” director Hamer kept his cast hopping in this drama about a family in London’s East End whose secrets, past and present, converge over the course of a sometimes-rainy Sunday. The main plot, about a harridan housewife (Googie Withers) and her bad-boy ex-fiance (John McCallum) who has just broken out of jail, is supplemented by intriguing side trips into romantic misadventure and larceny via the housewife’s stepdaughters and a pious Jewish family with less-than-pious sons. A recently rediscovered treat. 6 p.m. Fri., 5 p.m. Sun., 6 p.m. Wed. — Maureen M. Hart
