Art Film Pedigree

Art films, those small independent films, who hope to find an audience, without the same kind of fanfare that the latest Spiderman sequel gets, must do with the occasional theater that will show them. Most viewers are lucky that Landmark Theaters, partly owned by Mark Cuban, exists, as they serve as one of the few outlets to watch independent and foreign films.

But even within art films, there are those that seem nice and safe, and those that don't. You get films like Juno, that have critical acclaim, but are more feel good, or you get No Country for Old Men, which, while more violent, has some pedigree. It's been nominated for the Oscats.

In the DC area, there are two Landmark theaters, one in Bethesda, and on in DC. Despite being under the same brand, watch which pictures make it to E Street, and in particular, which ones don't make it to Bethesda. Bethesda gets all the nice safe ones. E Street gets all the good ones.

For example, I plan to watch Paranoid Park. Except for a brief period, where Gus Van Sant made predictable dreck like Finding Forrester, Van Sant has been one of the more experimental directors. You can easily dislike what he makes.

Gerry has barely any plot and any characters. It is almost a purely visual experience, about two guys who are in the desert, and find they can't get out. There's some dialog, but it is strange. It doesn't explain the relationships between the two. They don't seem panicked. Indeed, they seem a bit annoyed, possibly with the situation, possibly with each other.

For every person that finds the film revelatory, there are 20 that wonders why anyone would watch such a film, folks that expect a plot, and a meaning, and the usual cues for feeling good. Elephant seems like an exercise in following people, caught up in the randomness of who gets killed in a school shooting, offering no answers for what happened, a reflection of the incidents at Columbine.

Would they show his film at the Bethesda theaters? Nope. I can find movie after movie that I've been interested in, and it only shows at E Street, never at Bethesda. Bethesda prefers to show yet another week of the same old.

Perhaps even more egregious is the AFI theater in Silver Spring. While it often tries to appeal to connoisseurs of older films, its modern offerings pretty much echo Bethesda's offerings. I'm happy the AFI shows director retrospectives and films like Lawrence of Arabia in its full length, but I'm still not thrilled that they won't show Paranoid Park.

It's funny how this happens. I realize money plays a part in the decision, though they wouldn't show these films if they didn't realize that they aren't going to make blockbuster money. The audience also makes a difference. There are those who love Merchant-Ivory pictures, but aren't ready for Michael Haneke's difficult film of a family under siege, and the films relation to its viewers (this is, Funny Games USA, for those that are curious).

Even the little seen SF brain-teaser, Primer, only had a one-week run at the E Street.

Take a chance Bethesda. Show these films, even for short runs.

Take a chance Silver AFI. Support the truly independent films.