Off-Campus Arthouse Action

Last week Tone Madison published "UW Cinematheque cements its status as Madison’s premier moviegoing hub", a look at the spring 2023 line-up at the UW Cinematheque. For area cinephiles, Cinematheque is holy ground with its schedule of art, foreign, indie, and repertory film. And with 2 theaters having closed last year, the venerable institution is more valuable than ever for movie lovers.

Things are looking troubled on the commercial cinema front here in Madison. We no longer have second run theaters and the remaining commercial theaters are all multiplexes on the periphery of the city or in a burb and not easily accessible via public transit.

However, I was heartened on a recent trip out to AMC Fitchburg 18 where I caught Corsage. All of the trailers were adult-oriented fare, with a couple of them for non-English features. Not one Marvel atrocity in sight.

The only thing approaching Hollywood blockbuster territory was Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. It made me want to listen to Rush's "Manhattan Project".

 

 

Saint Omer was the first of the foreign language trailers. It follows the trial of a Senegalese immigrant who leaves her infant on a beach to taken away by the tide. Another woman, also of Senegalese decent, if not from Senegal, comes to the titular town to observe the trial. Sounds intense.

I also heard French in the trailer for One Fine Morning. It follows a single mother who has the burden of caring for an elderly father as she reconnects with an old friend who happens to be married. An affair ensues.

Back to English language features. First we have a biopic of Emily Brontë. True to the historical record?

The last trailer I can recall - I suspect there was 1 or 2 more - was for The Lost King, an account of amateur historian Philippa Langley and her quest to find King Richard III's remains which led her to a car park, a.k.a - parking lot. Having just listened to Langley on the Gone Medieval podcast, the movie looked interesting.

While these are not all foreign language and/or art films, it was good too see that a plethora of movies not based on comic books will be coming our way. We can hope, at least. I recall seeing a trailer for Fire of Love last year at one of the AMC theaters or at Marcus Point only for it to be screened at Cinematheque. So don't count your chickens till they're hatched.

And this steam of fare not aimed at teenagers may come to an end quickly once summer is nigh. We shall have to wait and see.

 ...

Now that I look, Saint Omer is indeed playing at AMC Fitchburg 18. Good news.