Limited runs and special events:
— Big Wig, 1551 W. Division, (773) 235-9100: Babylonian Carnival – benefit for the 23rd Annual Women in the Director's Chair International Film & Video Festival - Feb. 29
— Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark, (773) 293-1447: Al-Jazeera Exclusive – Feb. 15; Star Spangled To Death – Feb. 21, 22, 28 & 29, Mar. 6, 7
— Gerber/Hart Library, 1127 W. Granville, (773) 381-8030: I Shall Not Be Moved – Feb. 16; Queersploitation - monthly film series viewing and examining the treatment of homosexuality in some exploitation films of the '70s and '80s. Thundercrack – Feb. 12; Satan's Children – Mar. 11; Nightmare on Elm Street 2 – Apr. 8; City in Panic – May 13
— Northwestern University Block Cinema, 40 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston, (847) 491-4000: Halsted Street and Halsted Street, U.S.A. – Feb. 11; The Lady From Shanghai – Feb. 12; Say Anything – Feb. 14; Dersu Uzala – Feb. 20; Laugh, Clown, Laugh – Feb. 21; Kagemusha – Feb. 27; Yi Yi – Mar. 3
— The School of the Art Institute of Chicago - Gallery 2, 847 W. Jackson, (312) 563-5162: Little Boy Panties – Feb. 19 & 20
— University of Chicago/Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 E. 59th St., (773) 702-5271: Brother Outsider: the Life of Bayard Rustin: According to one of the voiceovers at the beginning of Nancy Kates and Bennet Singer's documentary about the late Bayard Rustin, 'Bayard liked to cause trouble. He caused trouble in very banal and everyday ways.' Rustin went on to become not only a force in civil rights but also in the realm of the gay and lesbian rights movement, and this excellent documentary presents a much-needed visual record of Rustin's life and achievements. Loaded with interviews and period footage, tracing Rustin's beginnings as a singer in late 1930s Harlem through his fearless work as a non-violent pacifist and war objector through his interactions with male partners including Davis Platt and Walter Naegle, and his involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King's causes, and, of course, the March on Washington. Outsider allows the viewer to feel like an insider until the credits roll. - Feb. 21
— University of Notre Dame Department - First Notre Dame Queer Film Festival, at Hesburgh Library Carrey Auditorium, Feb. 11-14. Additionally, discussions ('Gay Hollywood: Still in the Closet,' led by Tom O'Neil and 'Film and the Construction of Sexual Identity,' keynoted by Ron Gregg) and a screenwriting workshop (led by Don Roos) held. Jim In Bold – Feb. 11; Hedwig And The Angry Inch - Feb. 12; Go Fish - Feb. 13; All Over The Guy – Feb. 14; The Opposite Of Sex – Feb. 14
In Theaters:
Barbershop 2: Back In Business (MGM ): Like its predecessor, Barbershop 2 is an urban comedy that is true to its roots. Always dancing dangerously close to controversy, yet maintaining a connection to family and church, Barbershop 2 once again focuses on displacement, loyalty, and adds an element of history to the proceedings. Still the social and style center, the barbershop run by Calvin (Ice Cube) is threatened by changes in the neighborhood. A land development corporation is buying up businesses and property in the South Side of Chicago neighborhood and no one, not even the shady alderman, seems to be able to stop them. Inside the barbershop, the original cast of characters, including Ricky (Michael Ealy, who was also in Kissing Jessica Stein), Terri (rapper Eve), Isaac (Soldier's Girl co-star Troy Garity) and the previously mentioned Eddie and Calvin, keep the fur, I mean hair, flying with jokes and insults galore. Interwoven in the story are a series of flashbacks featuring Eddie, which begin in July of 1967 and help to explain Eddie's attachment to the barbershop. Another added bonus is the presence of Gina (Queen Latifah), the proprietor of the beauty shop next door, which is a forthcoming movie of its own. (B-)
The Dreamers (Fox Searchlight): Set against the backdrop of the political and social unrest of the late 1960s, Bernardo Bertolucci's latest tango in Paris involves a ménage a trois between American student and film fanatic Matthew (Michael Pitt) and unnaturally close brother and sister Isabelle (Eva Green) and Theo (Louis Garrel). The trio's bond extends beyond the cinematheque to the apartment where the siblings live with their British mother (Anna Chancellor) and French poet father (Robin Renucci). Matthew is invited to be a guest while their parents are away on holiday, and as you might expect, all sorts of sexual situations present themselves. The Dreamers more than earns its NC-17 rating with scenes of graphic sexuality and nudity, as well as brazen suggestions of incest. There are even homoerotic elements, including a scene in which Matthew and Theo share a bath. However, there is more to The Dreamers than Bertolucci's predilection for unusual sexuality (see 1979's Luna). The film's secondary love affair is with the cinema, and Bertolucci weaves multiple references to and clips of classic films into the feature. He also offers a nod to the revolutionary spirit of the country and the time. (B+)
