It’s the time of year critics across the world tally up their top films, and among the usual crop of beautiful foreign films and powerful documentaries a dark horse has emerged – or at least, an actor in a silly horse costume. “Hundreds of Beavers,” the low-budget silent slapstick whatsit from writer-director Mike Cheslik and star and co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, has slowly snowballed into one of the biggest cult favorites in years, attracting sold-out crowds across the country of fans wearing lumberjack flannel and mascot costumes. In case you’ve missed it, “Beavers” tells the story of a hapless moonshiner-turned-fur-trapper who runs afoul of, well, hundreds of beavers – each of whom is played by a fully upright actor in a ridiculous beaver costume. It’s a delightful mashup of silent film comedy, video game mechanics and the cartoon lunacy of Chuck Jones, and it must be seen to be believed – which you can do Thursday, when it plays in a one-night return engagement at the Somerville Theatre. I’m not saying “Hundreds of Beavers” is on track to win Best Picture, but I’m fairly certain it will remain beloved long after most of the other candidates have been forgotten.
It is perhaps fitting that one of the most fertile and anarchic scenes in the American punk rock boom was rooted in the nation’s capitol. Scott Crawford’s 2015 documentary “Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)” is perhaps the essential document of this watershed moment in countercultural history, which remains a high-water mark for DIY ethics and ethos; Ian MacKaye, frontman for Minor Threat and Fugazi and founder of Dischord Records, famously set strict caps on ticket and CD prices for all of his projects. “Salad Days” features priceless performance footage of both of MacKaye’s bands, along with such legendary outfits as Bad Brains, Government Issue and Rites of Spring. In celebration of the documentary’s 10th anniversary, Crawford will be on hand at The Brattle Theatre on Saturday to present the film in its original director’s cut. It’s a vital document for anyone who remains, in MacKaye’s immortal words, out of step with the world.
The Brattle also celebrates a very different musical iconoclast this weekend: the great Tom Waits, who will ring in his 70th birthday on Saturday. On Friday and Saturday, The Brattle screens a very rare 35 mm print of Waits’ cult classic performance film “Big Time” (1988). “Big Time” finds Waits at arguably the height of his powers, performing songs off his peerless albums “Rain Dogs,” “Swordfishtrombones” and “Franks Wild Years.” The performances themselves are all heightened and theatrical, with Waits inhabiting a number of different personae (in my favorite number, he croons “Innocent When You Dream” from an illuminated bathtub on top of the theater’s roof). “Big Time” is notoriously difficult to see, long out of print on home video and available to stream only sporadically – but perhaps this is for the best, as it truly is best seen on the big screen surrounded by fellow music lovers. If you’ve ever found yourself wishing Waits had his own “Stop Making Sense,” this film is for you.
The Harvard Film Archive’s “Yugoslav Junction” series continues Monday with Vladan Slijepčević’s “Where to After the Rain?” (1967), a quintessential example of the Yugoslav “novi film” (or “new film”) movement, filled with daring camerawork and social and political critique. While I in no way mean to slight “Where To,” I would be remiss if I did not highlight the short preceding it at Monday’s screening: the 15-minute 1972 oddity “I Miss Sonia Henie.” Conceived by Slovene-Macedonian filmmaker Karpo Godina in the thick of the 1972 Belgrade Film Festival, “Henie” is a sort of anthology film in miniature, a collection of absurdist, risqué, single-shot skits by nine different directors, each centered around the title phrase (itself drawn from Charles Schultz’s “Peanuts” – the sole screenwriting credit is attributed to Snoopy). What is most notable about the film is its array of contributors, which includes not only the stars of the Yugoslav new wave (Godina, Dušan Makavejev, Bogdan Tirnanić, Puriša Đorđević) but such notables as Miloš Forman, Buck Henry, Tinto Brass, Paul Morrissey and even the legendary documentarian (and longtime Cambridge resident) Frederick Wiseman. It should go without saying that this will likely be your only opportunity to see this rarity on the big screen, and it is a must for completists of any of the names involved.
For the past 10 years, Grrl Haus Cinema has been a bastion of independent film, showcasing work from women, trans and nonbinary filmmakers and multimedia artists from its original home at The Brattle to its current base in Berlin, Germany. Next Monday and Tuesday, Grrl Haus returns to its birthplace for a two-night festival of its favorite films from 2024. Over the two nights, Grrl Haus will screen nearly two dozen films from artists ranging from the local (such as Somerville’s own Coco Roy) to the far-flung (representing China, Turkey, Armenia and beyond). Both nights will feature filmmakers in person for awards and Q&A; for details, check out the official Grrl Haus site.
Oscar Goff is a writer and film critic based in Somerville. He is film editor and senior critic for the Boston Hassle and his work has appeared in the monthly Boston Compass newspaper and publications such as WBUR’s The ARTery and iHeartNoise. He is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, and the Online Film Critics Society.
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