There are cult movies, and then there are cult movies. On Thursday, The Brattle Theatre presents a free 4K screening of Robin Hardy’s “The Wicker Man” (1973), featuring one of the greatest fringe sects ever committed to screen. An uptight English bobby (Edward Woodward) is sent to a remote British isle to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, but he finds himself flummoxed by the eerily festive locals, led by the fright-wigged Lord Summerisle (a never-better Christopher Lee). “The Wicker Man” is arguably the quintessential example of so-called “folk horror” – films that mine the uncanny terror of eldritch beliefs and old-time superstition – but there’s a lot more going on here than your typical fright film. The central conflict has less to do with the missing girl than with the clash between Woodward – priggish, Christian and oh-so-upright – and the blithe sexual liberation of the Summerislers, as personified by Lee’s dandyish cult leader. It also has one of the greatest soundtracks in all of horror, filled with eerie and infectious songs by the U.K. folk band Magnet (among its many quirks, “The Wicker Man” is a full-fledged musical). What better way to ring in the month than a dance around the maypole and a date with the wicker man itself?
In a peculiar turn of events, Camberville moviegoers have a choice on Thursday between two very different pineapple-themed films with the word “Express” in the title. For the latest entry in its ongoing “Green Screen” series of ganja-friendly films (co-presented by The Goods dispensary), the Somerville Theatre presents the modern stoner classic “Pineapple Express” (2008), starring Seth Rogen and James Franco as a pair of bud-buddies who find their buzz harshed after dropping a roach clip accidentally at the scene of a murder. On the same evening, The Brattle shows Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express” (1994) in honor of the May 1 expiration date on that film’s central can of pineapple chunks. What does it all mean? Probably nothing, but it’s a sterling example of the unpredictable wonders our local repertory scene has to offer.
Unfortunately, few scenes are without their drama. The world of Greater Boston moviegoing was scandalized last year when Emerson College abruptly canceled its beloved “Bright Lights” screening series and laid off its curator, Anna Feder, in a move many suspect related to Feder’s willingness to showcase such overtly political (and timely) work as the documentary “Israelism.” The Bright Lights are sadly still dim, but Feder is neither down nor out. In collaboration with SF IndieFest director Jeff Ross, Feder has co-founded the Resistance of Vision Festival, a touring program of social justice-themed short films. Premiering Saturday at The Brattle (and simultaneously at theaters in San Francisco; Birmingham, Alabama; and Wichita, Kansas), the inaugural program consists primarily of documentary and animated shorts, ranging in subject from racial and gender identity to labor solidarity and anxiety in the face of climate crisis. To deny the power of film as an engine for social change – particularly at this moment – is to deny the power of film itself. Thankfully, Feder and programmers like her continue to fight the good fight.
When Val Kilmer died last month following a long battle with throat cancer, he left a hole in the landscape of Hollywood itself. Thankfully, he also left behind one of the most eclectic and surprising bodies of work of any actor of his generation. To celebrate this iconic leading man, The Brattle has curated a two-week tribute series dubbed “Kilmer Forever.” Though Kilmer was known for his genre-hopping, his career began in some of the most effervescent comedies of the ’80s, which also form the starting point of this series. In Martha Coolidge’s “Real Genius” (1985), Kilmer plays an eccentric college-aged science prodigy who finds himself embroiled in a web of international intrigue. Just as excellent is the rock ’n’ roll spy spoof “Top Secret!” (1984) from the powerhouse comedic directing trio of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abraham and David Zucker (of “Airplane” and “The Naked Gun” fame). Kilmer is clearly having a blast as dimwitted Elvis wannabe Nick Rivers, and the ZAZ team turns out some of its very best and most elaborate sight gags. As a leading man, Kilmer went on to bigger things, but a case could be made that he was never better.
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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