There’s been no shortage of tributes to David Lynch following the master director’s passing in January, but the program running this week at the Somerville Theatre, titled “Wonderful and Strange,” stands apart, as each night comes with at least one twist. Thursday’s screening of “Mulholland Drive” (2001) is paired with a rare theatrical presentation of the legendary eighth episode of “Twin Peaks: The Return” (2017), an undisputed high point of that series and Lynch’s career; its expressionistic, near-wordless origin story of the evil at the heart of the series is quite unlike any TV episode ever broadcast, and its nightmarish, ashen-faced Woodsman (“Gotta light?!”) instantly entered the pantheon of Lynch’s most memorable characters. Friday brings a double feature of two of Lynch’s most entertaining features, “Blue Velvet” (1985) and “Wild at Heart” (1990), while Saturday sees the local premiere of Richard Green’s new documentary “I Know Catherine, the Log Lady” (2025), about the late “Twin Peaks” star and longtime Lynch collaborator Catherine Coulson. Those who stick around Saturday night can go upstairs to the Crystal Ballroom for an interactive party and tribute concert featuring musical performances by Annie Hart (whose band, Au Revoir Simone, appears in two episodes of “The Return”) and Lynch tribute band Julee Cruise Director, Lynchian drag and burlesque from Cecilia Smokinbutts and Szandora, and more. The entire program promises to be wonderful and strange indeed.
It’s safe to say that many a millennial Lynch fan also holds a special place in their heart for Richard Kelly’s “Donnie Darko” (2001), which screens from a newly struck 35 mm print at The Brattle Theatre from Friday through Sunday. The film certainly owes more than its share to Lynch’s vision of dark magical realism in all-American suburbia, but its charms and mystique are all its own. Jake Gyllenhaal, in his breakout performance, plays the title character, a troubled teen at the tail end of the Reagan era who narrowly escapes disaster thanks to his visions of a mysterious being in a sinister rabbit costume. The plot thickens as Donnie is drawn into a web of enigmas involving quantum physics, psychoactive medications and a too-clean motivational speaker (terrifically played by an against-type Patrick Swayze). “Darko” had a barely there theatrical run, but it became one of the millennium’s first true cult hits via DVD, midnight screenings, and old-fashioned word-of-mouth. Its popularity led to a director’s cut in which Kelly explained more of the film’s central mysteries and, heretically, altered some of its too-cool ’80s soundtrack cues; sticklers will be relieved to know that this new print is of the original cut we all fell in love with.
In the pantheon of world cinema greats, Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray long went unsung among western audiences; his best known works, the landmark “Satyajit” (1955-1959), were nearly lost in a 1993 warehouse fire, making them all but unseeable for a generation of film lovers until a painstaking 2015 Criterion restoration. Recent Ray converts unsure where to turn next would do well to attend the Harvard Film Archive’s latest “From the Collection” series, which screens some of the director’s greatest non-Apu features from priceless original 35 mm prints. The series begins Friday with “The Big City” (1963), Ray’s first contemporary-set film, about a housewife who finds freedom and liberation by joining the workforce. Saturday brings “Charulata” (1964), arguably Ray’s best-known film outside of his signature trilogy, and “The Adversary” (1970), which finds the director moving into new-wave territory by incorporating actual footage of protests and jittery handheld camerawork. “Company Limited” (1971), which follows Sunday, is a spiritual successor of “The Adversary,” forming the second installment of Ray’s unofficial “Calcutta trilogy.” If Ray remains one of your blindspots – or if your knowledge of his work doesn’t extend past Apu – this is your ideal chance to catch up.
We’re marking the seventh installment of Massachusetts Space Week, a citywide celebration of astronomy, space exploration and all things related to the Final Frontier. Events range from panel discussions and planetarium shows to stargazing events and trivia nights – and, most relevantly to these pages, a wide range of wonderful film screenings. Naturally, several films are being screened at The Brattle, including matinees of “E.T. the Extraterrestrial” (1982) on Saturday and Sunday, “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) on Monday and J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” on Wednesday, the latter preceded by a discussion with several experts in space exploration. The Museum of Science hosts free screenings of Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” (2015) on Tuesday and the overlooked Disney gem “Treasure Planet” (2002) the following Sunday, both projected large in their Mugar Omni Theater. Finally, the Cambridge Public Library screens Robert Zemeckis’ “Contact” (1997) next Thursday and “Lilo & Stitch” next Saturday in its Main Branch lecture hall, also for free with introductions from experts. To infinity and beyond – or, as the case may be, to your own backyard.
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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