BFS titles include foreign Oscar contenders, documentary film
Though the vaccine(s) are making their way into the arms of our fellow Americans, the local movie theater remains temporarily closed. But fret not: Bozeman Film Society continues to virtually stream independent titles for cinephiles. Watch safely at home with new films added weekly. Streaming sales directly support BFS. Here’s a look at a few February options.
Available through Feb. 11th is art documentary My Rembrandt. Rembrandt’s paintings have lost none of their appeal in the 350 years since his death. Rembrandt, the grandmaster of intimacy continues rock the art world. 350 years after his death, many people, even entire nations are obsessed with his paintings. Aristocrats cherish, experts rule, art dealers investigate, collectors hunt, museums battle. My Rembrandt provides fascinating insight into what makes the work of this Dutch master technically so extraordinary, and why different people are so deeply affected by his oeuvre, or a specific work. Meanwhile, centuries after Rembrandt’s death, his paintings are still a source of drama and gripping plot twists. Not Rated, the film runs 97 minutes.
Another documentary, City Hall, is also available through Feb. 11th. This glimpse of local government at work is as patiently observant as it is engrossing. A New York Times Critic’s Pick and garnering a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes, Master documentarian Frederick Wiseman delivers an epic look at Boston’s city government, covering racial justice, housing, climate action and more. Not Rated, the film runs 4 hours, 34 minutes.
My Little Sister, Swiss entry for Best International Film at the 2021 Academy Awards, is available through Feb. 11th. Lisa, once a brilliant playwright, no longer writes. She lives with her family in Switzerland, but her heart remains in Berlin, beating in time with that of her twin brother Sven, the famous theatre actor. Since Sven has been suffering from an aggressive type of leukemia, the relationship between them has become even closer. Lisa does not want to accept this blow of fate, she does everything in her power to bring Sven back on stage. For her soulmate she neglects everything else and even risks losing her husband. Her marriage goes awry, but Lisa only has eyes for her brother, who reflects her deepest longings and awakens in her the desire to be creative, to feel alive again. A New York Times Critic’s Pick, the film runs 99 minutes.
Also streaming through Feb. 18th is The Reason I Jump, based on the bestselling book by Naoki Higashida. The film is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory insights into autism with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe. The documentary runs 82 minutes.
Hungarian feature Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time, their entry at this year’s Oscars, is available until Feb. 25th. Márta, a 40-year-old neurosurgeon, falls in love. She leaves her shining American career behind and returns to Budapest to start a new life with the man. But the love of her life claims that they have never met before. The romantic drama runs 95 minutes.
Opening Feb. 12th is artist-musician Sia’s directorial debut, Music. The musical drama will stream into early March. Zu (Kate Hudson) is a free spirit estranged from her family who suddenly finds herself the sole guardian of her half sister, Music (Maddie Ziegler). The film explores the tenuous bonds that hold us together, and imagines a world where those bonds can be strengthened in times of great challenge: love, trust, and being able to be there for each other is everything. The film runs 107 minutes.
An encore screening of explosive documentary Coup 53 is available through March 4th. The film unveils the story of Operation Ajax, the CIA/MI6 staged coup in 1953 in Iran that overthrew the democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh – with consequences that still shape the modern world. Director Taghi Amirani’s 10-year tenacious investigation into this covert operation uncovers troves of never-seen-before source material, the recently recovered and uncensored transcript of the British spy who masterminded the coup (Norman Darbyshire), and oral histories of Iranian witnesses to the coup, including a play-by-play from the ousted Prime Minister’s head of security. Not Rated with a runtime of 118 minutes.
Cost and rental period vary per title. Public film screenings at the Ellen will resume when large gatherings can be safely scheduled. Follow BFS on social media for updates. Visit www.bozemanfilmsociety.org for film previews and further information – and “Keep ‘Em Flickering!” •