WD | Culture | Film
Cinema Listings
THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | April 2017
*Unless specific times are listed, please check the theater for times. Theater locations are subject to change.
sions the book James Baldwin never finished. Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Czech
I Called Him Morgan
The Devil’s Mistress (Lída Baarová)
Directed by Kasper Collin (Sweden/U.S., 2017, 92 min.) On a snowy night in February 1972, legendary jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan was shot dead by his common-law wife, Helen, during a gig at a club in New York City. The murder sent shockwaves through the jazz community, and the memory of the event still haunts the people who knew the Morgans. Part true-crime tale, part love story, and an all-out musical treat, I Called Him Morgan is a chronicle of the dramatic destinies of two unique personalities and the music that brought them together. West End Cinema
Directed by Filip Renč (Czech Republic/Slovakia, 2016, 106 min.) Beautiful Czech actress Lída Baarová takes Germany’s silver screen by storm and in the process steals the heart of one of the Third Reich’s most powerful men — Joseph Goebbels, the minister of propaganda. Baarová rejects offers from Hollywood to enter into a passionate affair with one of Hitler’s closest followers, but at what price? (Czech and German). The Avalon Theatre Thu., April 13, 8 p.m.
Tiger Theory (Teorie tygra) Directed by Radek Bajgar (Czech Republic, 2016, 101 min.) Veterinarian Jan feels he’s losing his grip on life, which is controlled by his wife Olga, and yearns for the call of the wild. An unconventional patient gives him an idea, setting him on a journey of self-discovery that just might change his life for the better, even though it might lead him to the nuthouse along the way (Q&A with director in attendance). The Avalon Theatre Wed., April 12, 8 p.m.
English Alive and Kicking Directed by Susan Glatzer (Sweden/U.S., 2017, 88 min.) Alive and Kicking gives the audience an intimate, insider’s view into the culture of the current swing dance world while shedding light on issues facing modern society. Landmark’s Theatres Opens Fri., April 7
Beauty and the Beast Directed by Bill Condon (U.S., 2017, 129 min.) Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s 1991 animated classic, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. Angelika Mosaic Atlantic Plumbing Cinema Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema
The Blackcoat’s Daughter Directed by Oz Perkins (U.S./Canada, 2017, 93 min.) Two girls must battle a mysterious
Photo: Courtesy Oscar Ramírez and FilmRise
Oscar Ramírez, a young boy lost during Guatemala’s decades-long civil war, is the subject of the documentary “Finding Oscar.”
evil force when they get left behind at their boarding school over winter break. Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market
Colossal Directed by Nacho Vigalondo (Canada/Spain, 2017, 110 min.) A woman discovers that severe catastrophic events are somehow connected to the mental breakdown from which she’s suffering. Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., April 14
Enter the Dragon Directed by Robert Clouse (Hong Kong/U.S., 1973, 103 min.) The last movie Bruce Lee made before his untimely death is one of the most popular kung fu films of all time. Lee plays a martial arts expert who infiltrates a competition on a wealthy drug dealer’s private island in order to avenge his sister’s death. National Museum of African American History and Culture
Finding Oscar Directed by Ryan Suffern (U.S./Canada/Guatemala, 2017, 100 min.) In a forgotten massacre during Guatemala’s decades-long civil war, a young boy was spared, only to be raised by one of the very soldiers who killed his family. Nearly 30 years after the tragedy, it will take a dedicated team—from a forensic scientist to a young Guatemalan
38 | THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT | April 2017
prosecutor—to uncover the truth and bring justice to those responsible — by finding the missing boy named Oscar (English and Spanish). Landmark’s Theatres Opens Fri., April 28
Ghost in the Shell Directed by Rupert Sanders (U.S., 2017, 120 min.) Directed by Rupert Sanders In the near future, Major (Scarlett Johansson) is the first of her kind: A human saved from a terrible crash who is cyber-enhanced to be a perfect soldier devoted to stopping the world’s most dangerous criminals. As she prepares to face a new enemy, however, Major discovers that she has been lied to: her life was not saved, it was stolen. Angelika Mosaic Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market Atlantic Plumbing Cinema Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema
I Am Not Your Negro Directed by Raoul Peck (France/U.S., 2017, 95 min.) In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, which was to be a revolutionary, personal account of three assassinated leaders who were also his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of his manuscript. Now, in his incendiary new documentary, master filmmaker Raoul Peck envi-
Three years later, when the politician becomes an influential world leader, Norman’s life dramatically changes for better and worse (English and Hebrew). Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., April 21
Personal Shopper Directed by Olivier Assayas (France/Germany, 2017, 105 min.) Olivier Assayas returns with this ethereal and mysterious ghost story starring Kristen Stewart as a high-fashion personal shopper to the stars who is also a spiritual medium. Grieving the recent death of her twin brother, she haunts his Paris home, determined to make contact with him. Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema
In Search of Israeli Food
The Sense of an Ending
Directed by Roger Sherman (U.S., 2016, 120 min.) A portrait of the Israeli people told through food, “In Search of Israeli Cuisine” profiles chefs, home cooks, vintners and cheese-makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, Druze — found in a nation only the size of New Jersey. Landmark’s Theatres Opens Fri., April 21
Directed by Ritesh Batra (U.K., 2017, 108 min.) Jim Broadbent shines as fusty curmudgeon, exploring the longing and mystery, curiosity and regret of his past, when he is bequeathed a letter that stirs up old memories. It refers to a diary that might explain what really happened years ago between his first girlfriend Veronica and his best friend Adrian, but Veronica has intercepted the diary and refuses to give it up. Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema West End Cinema
Life Directed by Daniel Espinosa (U.S., 2017, 103 min.) This sci-fi thriller tells the story of the six-member crew of the International Space Station that is on the cutting edge of one of the most important discoveries in human history: the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars (English, Japanese and Chinese). Atlantic Plumbing Cinema
Lion Directed by Garth Davis (Australia, 2016, 120 min.) A 5-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of miles from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia. Not wanting to hurt his adoptive parents’ feelings, he suppresses his past, his emotional need for reunification and his hope of ever finding his lost mother and brother for 25 years. But a chance meeting with some fellow Indians reawakens his buried yearning (English, Bengali and Hindi). Landmark’s E Street Cinema
T2 Trainspotting Directed by Danny Boyle (U.K., 2017, 117 min.) First there was an opportunity — then there was a betrayal. Twenty years have gone by since the events of “Trainspotting.” Much has changed but just as much remains the same as Mark (Ewan McGregor) returns to the only place he can ever call home, where his friends and a litany of emotions are waiting for him (English and Bulgarian). Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema
drawn to aid a young boy who has fallen silent since the sudden passing of his mother. Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market Opens Fri., April 28
We Are Jews from Breslau Directed by Karin Kaper and Dirk Szuszies (Germany, 2016, 108 min.) They were young, looking forward to the future with great expectations; they felt at home in Breslau, the city with the third biggest Jewish community in Germany at that time. Then, Hitler came to power. From this time forward, these young people were connected by the common fate of being persecuted as Jews — 14 of whom are the protagonists of this documentary. Edlavitch DCJCC Mon., April 24, 7 p.m.
The Zookeeper’s Wife Directed by Niki Caro (U.S., 2017, 124 min.) The keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Antonina and Jan Zabinski, help save hundreds of people and animals during the German invasion of World War II. Angelika Mosaic Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema Landmark’s E Street Cinema
Farsi The Salesman (Forushande) Directed by Asghar Farhadi (Iran/France, 2017, 125 min.) A young couple living in Tehran act together in an amateur production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” When their flat becomes damaged, they are forced to move into a new apartment, where an intruder attacks the wife, prompting her husband to become an amateur detective in an attempt to find the assailant and soothe his wife’s addled nerves. Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema
Their Finest
French
Directed by Lone Scherfig (U.K., 2017, 117 min.) A British film crew attempts to boost morale during World War II by making a propaganda film after the Blitzkrieg. Angelika Mosaic Opens Fri., April 14
Frantz
Norman
Voice from the Stone
Directed by Joseph Cedar (Israel/U.S., 2017, 117 min.) Norman Oppenheimer is a small time operator who befriends a young politician at a low point in his life.
Directed by Eric D. Howell (U.S./Italy, 2017, 94 min.) Set in 1950s Tuscany, “Voice from the Stone” is the haunting and suspenseful story of Verena, a solemn nurse
Directed by François Ozon (France/Germany, 2017, 113 min.) In this intense romantic drama set in the aftermath of World War I, a young German who grieves the death of her fiancé in France meets a mysterious Frenchman who visits the fiancé’s grave to lay flowers. While other townsfolk revile him as a murderer of Germans, the dead soldier’s parents, at first suspicious, welcome him into their home and treasure his stories about their son. But there are hidden secrets that