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Wednesday, May 21, 2008
CineMental TURNS ONE! Come celebrate our One Year Anniversary with several screenings!
At The Museum of Fine Arts:
465 Huntington Avenue
5:00 pm Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman (1996, 65 min.).
6:30 pm Je Tu Il Elle by Chantal Akerman (1974, 90 min.).
(discounted tickets for people seeing both Akerman offerings, available.)
8:15 pm XXY by Lucia Puenzo (2007, 91 min.).
blurbs below.
At Brattle Theater:
40 Brattle Street Harvard Sq. Cambridge
advanced tickets available here
9.30 pm Derek Jarman's Carravagio
Chantal Akerman by Chantal Akerman (France, 2001, 64 min.).
"One of the finest filmmakers working anywhere...an excellent introduction to her work...a must-see" (Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader).
Chantal Akerman finally turns the camera on herself in this two-part film. Part one opens with Akerman in her apartment, reading from
a text directly to the camera, describing the problems she encountered making this film. What emerges from this mise-en-sceneis a funny,
personal, and thoughtful confession from this extremely perceptive filmmaker. Part two lets Akerman's films speak for her, using clips
from her extensive filmography and linking them anonymously until they form a new film. Scenes include clips from Jeanne Dielman,
her best- known film, as well several lesser-known works-forays into experimental film, comedic shorts, musicals, and narrative
features-including an early short film starring the very young filmmaker.
Je tu il elle by Chantal Akerman (France, 1974, 90 min.).
A film that slowly and quietly observes one woman in three parts, film critic B. Ruby Rich describes Je tu il elleas a "cinematic Rosetta
Stone of female sexuality." We first encounter the woman alone in an empty room as she discusses moving the furniture, eats sugar from a
brown paper bag, and writes long letters that are strewn on the floor. We then accompany the woman on a spontaneous and erotic ride with
a trucker, and finally, the woman, who is now hungry, asks a woman she is visiting for a sandwich before making love to her. The film
beautifully challenges conventions of both cinema and autobiography, and includes "...one of the most stirring and erotic lovemaking
scenes in the history of cinema...I left the theater walking on air" (Bo Smith).
(truth serum newsflash: straight man gets off on lesbian love scene. big surprize. i'm not saying it's not hot, but does it need this kind of validation?)
XXY by Lucia Puenzo (Argentina, 2007, 91 min.). Spanish with English subtitles.
Alex is a strong-willed fifteen-year-old intersex girl facing adolescent angst, her body, and the huge decision of whether to continue
life as a girl or a boy amidst outside pressure from family and their small town's closed mindedness. Alvaro is the sixteen-year-old son
of the surgeon brought to town for consult who is secretly struggling with his sexuality. An attraction builds between the two awkward
outsiders. Filmmaker Lucia Puenzo, "The film is really about desire, and if you connect with desire you are saved. Any person that
connects with what brings them pleasure and makes them alive will be fine."
Based on a novel by her husband, 31 year old Lucia Puenzo (daughter of famed Argentinean filmmaker Luis Puenzo) tackles the already
difficult prospect of reinventing a story created by someone else (let alone someone close!) while making her first feature length film.
XXY has won fifteen international prizes including ones from Cannes, Athens, Bangkok, Cartagena, Edinburgh and the Goya.
here's an decent interview with XXY filmmaker
and here's a print interview
Caravaggio by Derek Jarman (Britain, 1986)
The film is a fictionalized re-telling of the life of Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. Jarman's film revolves
around the love triangle of Caravaggio (Nigel Terry), Lena (Tilda Swinton) and Ranuccio (Sean Bean) and dwells upon Caravaggio's
use of street people, drunks and prostitutes as models for his intense, usually religious paintings. Like Caravaggio's use of contemporary
clothing and items in his bibical paintings, Jarman gave his characters contemporary clothes and props.
Caravaggio was the first time that Jarman worked with Tilda Swinton and was her first film role.
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Friday April 1 and Saturday April 2, 2011 at 11:59pm
Saturday May 8, 2010 
At 4:00pm 
Thursday October 15, 2009 8pm
Wednesday September 16, 2009 9:30pm
Wednesday, February 18, 2009 9:30pm
Preceeding the 68 Pages we'll screen the trailer for 
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
CineMental presents our second screening and event: Gus Van Zant's first feature length film from 1985 Mala Noche with
selected shorts and a discussion lead by author, historian and cultural critic, Michael Bronski. Join us for drinks and more
discussion after the event.
CineMental presents our first screening and event: 
Saturday February 10, 2007
It's my birthday and, like every other year, I figured I should celebrate it with some of the things I love: drag, dance, films,
drinks and dessert. And it's a benefit for the Brattle! 
