From France: My Dog Stupid opens tonight

Henri is a middle-aged writer in crisis. He wrote one great novel 25 years earlier but not much since. Just at a time when he assesses of his life, an enormous gray dog, impolite and smelly, sneaks into his house. Against the wishes of his wife and four spoiled kids, he decides to keep the dog, whom he names, affectionately, Stupid. Merging elements of John Cassavetes and the Coen Brothers, My Dog Stupid is a refreshingly honest look at the ups-and-downs of love and aging starring iconic real-life couple Charlotte Gainsbourg & Yvan Attal, who also wrote and directed. Based on a story by American cult novelist John Fante. Although his books were championed by the likes of Charles Bukowski, considered precursors to the Beats and adapted into several movies, John Fante remains a fairly unknown quantity in the U.S., whereas in France he’s an author whose work can be found at any local bookstore. (France / subtitled / 105 min / 2020)

Here are some of the other films on our calendar:

Aria In 1987, ten of the world’s most creative and celebrated directors (Robert Altman, Jean Luc Godard) were each given the same brief: to choose a piece of opera music and then present a visual interpretation of that music with complete artistic freedom. “Ten directors work magic!” – Critics Choice, Time Magazine

HELMUT NEWTON – THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL One of the great masters of photography, Helmut Newton made a name for himself exploring the female form. Did he empower his subjects or treat them as sexual objects?

The 11th Green An investigative reporter, a post World War II government conspiracy, and extraterrestrials — what more could you ask for? “Wildly inventive . . . a work of meticulous historical reimagination. . .” – The New Yorker

CREEM Some consider Creem to be the greatest rock ‘n’ roll magazine ever published (with an iconic mascot designed by cartoonist, Robert Crumb). Started in Detroit in 1969 by Barry Kramer, the magazine aimed to be the anti-Rolling Stone. Alice Cooper, Cameron Crowe, and Michael Stipe talk about the magazine’s take-no-prisoners rock authenticity both in print and in real life.

We Are Little Zombies: Alone in the world with no future, no dreams, and no way to move forward, four 13-year-olds dress themselves in scraps from a garbage dump, track down musical instruments, and decide to form a kick-ass band. CRITIC’S PICK! Wry humor, absurd dialogue and unflagging energy propel this dazzling, manic debut from Makoto Nagahisa…. he throws an entire box of tricks at the screen. Splitting it in two, fading to black and white, writing over it, and dunking an entire scene into a fishbowl, he fashions a fantasia of pranks so unexpected and colors so intense, they could make you hallucinate. – The New York Times

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