CIFF of the Dragon: My 2016 Chicago International Film Fest Schedule
Hey, ho! It's time once again for the triumph of hope over middlebrow Francophilia that is my plan to take the Chicago International Film Festival by storm, or at least by a stiff breeze. All shows are at the AMC River East 21 conveniently downtown, so join me and his_regard if you dare, cinephiles!
Friday, October 14
6:00: The Confessions (France/Italy, Roberto Ando) Skullduggery and hugger-mugger surround a murder mystery set at a secretive G8 summit. Moreso than usual, I mean.
8:15: Un + Une (France, Claude Lelouch) Lelouch revisits his own A Man + A Woman in this romance starring Jean Dujardin as a film composer on a Bollywood set falling for the wife of the French ambassador to India. Should be lovely and oh so CIFFable.
10:30: The Eyes of My Mother (USA, Nicolas Pesce) A surgeon's daughter, a horrific act, a black-and-white body-horror fairytale.
Saturday, October 15
5:45: Kills on Wheels (Hungary, Attila Till) Two handicapped kids become wheelchair assassins in the sort of bizarre movie that probably seems completely normal if you pitch it in Hungarian. "Don't worry, also there will be cartoon!"
8:30: Paterson (US, Jim Jarmusch) Look, I just said Jim Jarmusch. What more do you want to know? Oh and it stars Kylo Ren.
10:45: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (US/UK, Andre Ovredal) Father and son coroner team dig into the titular corpse and uncover ever greater horrors. Brian Cox! Medical horror! What's not to love?
Sunday, October 16
12:00: The Darkness (Mexico, Daniel Castro Zimbron) Post-apocalyptic fable set in a wood where it is always dusk. Creepy!
3:00: The Teacher (Czech Rep/Slovakia, Jan Hrebejk) A petty tyrant of a schoolteacher fits all too well into the larger tyranny of Communist Czechoslovakia.
5:15: The Dreamer (France/Peru, Adrian Saba) Young Lima lockpicker dreams of escape but must make one last score. Could be great, could be languid.
7:30: Neruda (Chile, Pablo Larrain) A Robin Recommendation! Magical realist manhunt for suddenly-dissident poet Pablo Neruda filmed in pre-faded photographic tones.
Tuesday, October 18
8:45: Women Who Kill (US, Ingrid Jungermann) Brooklyn true-crime podcasters may or may not be drawn into a female killer's spider web, which may also not be locally sourced!
Thursday, October 20
6:00: Karl Marx City (Germany/US, Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker) Documentary thriller about Epperlein's father the possible Stasi agent.
8:45: Amok (Macedonia, Vardan Tozija) Plucky Macedonia has done right by us in crime films so far. This one follows two boys in foster care: one a dreamer, one Scarface.
Friday, October 21
8:00: 9 Rides (US, Matthew Cherry) For whatever reason, "taxi movies" have become a sometimes thing for Jim and me. This one is about an Uber driver and his, um, 9 rides.
10:15: Prevenge (UK, Alice Lowe) Pregnant woman's fetus tells her to kill! Made when Lowe was herself pregnant, this one got the less-coveted Robin rating of Good.
Saturday, October 22
3:15: Kati Kati (Germany/Kenya, Mbithi Masya) Weird Kenyan brigadoon town of Kati Kati appears, magical realism ensues.
8:30: Then head to Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre for the Best of Deathscribe, five prize-winning radio plays put on by Chicago's own WildClaw Theatre!
Sunday, October 23
12:00: Imperfections (Chicago, David Singer) Jeweler's Row heist goes wrong as twists and betrayals mount.
5:00: Soul on a String (China, Zhang Yang) Tibetan cowboy must return a sacred stone to a remote temple in this Chinese Western that out-Leones Leone. A Robin Pinnacle Pick!
8:15: The Handmaiden (South Korea, Park Chan-wook) Impersonating a handmaiden to rob a rich old Japanese woman seemed like the perfect plan, until it turned out this was a movie by the director of Oldboy.
Wednesday, October 26
5:30: Crosscurrent (China, Yang Chao) Sailing up the Yangtze and back into history, this should be a gorgeous film even if it promises a certain languor in its unreeling.
8:30: Headshot (Indonesia, Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel) Super-soldiers battle each other in a martial arts extravaganza starring the one and only Iko Uwais. This Robin Recommendation closes out my CIFF CIFF with a Bang Bang!
Friday, October 14
6:00: The Confessions (France/Italy, Roberto Ando) Skullduggery and hugger-mugger surround a murder mystery set at a secretive G8 summit. Moreso than usual, I mean.
8:15: Un + Une (France, Claude Lelouch) Lelouch revisits his own A Man + A Woman in this romance starring Jean Dujardin as a film composer on a Bollywood set falling for the wife of the French ambassador to India. Should be lovely and oh so CIFFable.
10:30: The Eyes of My Mother (USA, Nicolas Pesce) A surgeon's daughter, a horrific act, a black-and-white body-horror fairytale.
Saturday, October 15
5:45: Kills on Wheels (Hungary, Attila Till) Two handicapped kids become wheelchair assassins in the sort of bizarre movie that probably seems completely normal if you pitch it in Hungarian. "Don't worry, also there will be cartoon!"
8:30: Paterson (US, Jim Jarmusch) Look, I just said Jim Jarmusch. What more do you want to know? Oh and it stars Kylo Ren.
10:45: The Autopsy of Jane Doe (US/UK, Andre Ovredal) Father and son coroner team dig into the titular corpse and uncover ever greater horrors. Brian Cox! Medical horror! What's not to love?
Sunday, October 16
12:00: The Darkness (Mexico, Daniel Castro Zimbron) Post-apocalyptic fable set in a wood where it is always dusk. Creepy!
3:00: The Teacher (Czech Rep/Slovakia, Jan Hrebejk) A petty tyrant of a schoolteacher fits all too well into the larger tyranny of Communist Czechoslovakia.
5:15: The Dreamer (France/Peru, Adrian Saba) Young Lima lockpicker dreams of escape but must make one last score. Could be great, could be languid.
7:30: Neruda (Chile, Pablo Larrain) A Robin Recommendation! Magical realist manhunt for suddenly-dissident poet Pablo Neruda filmed in pre-faded photographic tones.
Tuesday, October 18
8:45: Women Who Kill (US, Ingrid Jungermann) Brooklyn true-crime podcasters may or may not be drawn into a female killer's spider web, which may also not be locally sourced!
Thursday, October 20
6:00: Karl Marx City (Germany/US, Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker) Documentary thriller about Epperlein's father the possible Stasi agent.
8:45: Amok (Macedonia, Vardan Tozija) Plucky Macedonia has done right by us in crime films so far. This one follows two boys in foster care: one a dreamer, one Scarface.
Friday, October 21
8:00: 9 Rides (US, Matthew Cherry) For whatever reason, "taxi movies" have become a sometimes thing for Jim and me. This one is about an Uber driver and his, um, 9 rides.
10:15: Prevenge (UK, Alice Lowe) Pregnant woman's fetus tells her to kill! Made when Lowe was herself pregnant, this one got the less-coveted Robin rating of Good.
Saturday, October 22
3:15: Kati Kati (Germany/Kenya, Mbithi Masya) Weird Kenyan brigadoon town of Kati Kati appears, magical realism ensues.
8:30: Then head to Steppenwolf's 1700 Theatre for the Best of Deathscribe, five prize-winning radio plays put on by Chicago's own WildClaw Theatre!
Sunday, October 23
12:00: Imperfections (Chicago, David Singer) Jeweler's Row heist goes wrong as twists and betrayals mount.
5:00: Soul on a String (China, Zhang Yang) Tibetan cowboy must return a sacred stone to a remote temple in this Chinese Western that out-Leones Leone. A Robin Pinnacle Pick!
8:15: The Handmaiden (South Korea, Park Chan-wook) Impersonating a handmaiden to rob a rich old Japanese woman seemed like the perfect plan, until it turned out this was a movie by the director of Oldboy.
Wednesday, October 26
5:30: Crosscurrent (China, Yang Chao) Sailing up the Yangtze and back into history, this should be a gorgeous film even if it promises a certain languor in its unreeling.
8:30: Headshot (Indonesia, Timo Tjahjanto and Kimo Stamboel) Super-soldiers battle each other in a martial arts extravaganza starring the one and only Iko Uwais. This Robin Recommendation closes out my CIFF CIFF with a Bang Bang!