Adapted from the 1872 Gothic vampire novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, Carmilla (pictured) tells the tale of fifteen-year-old Lara who lives in seclusion on a vast country estate with her father and strict governess. Late one evening, a mysterious carriage crash brings a young girl into their home to recuperate. Lara immediately becomes enchanted by this strange visitor who arouses her curiosity and awakens her burgeoning desires. With touches of both Derek Jarman’s and Peter Greenaway’s period films, this subtle, atmospheric drama is perfect pre-Halloween viewing.
Also opening today is King Hu’s (A Touch of Zen, Dragon Inn) Buddhist-inflected wuxia Raining in the Mountain. During the Ming Dynasty, a Buddhist abbot charged with protecting the sacred scroll of Tripitaka prepares to name his successor. An aristocrat and a general arrive at his secluded mountaintop monastery promising to help in his search, but are in fact scheming to secure the scroll for themselves. As they set about recommending corrupt successors, rival bands of martial artists lie in wait to steal the precious artifact. The film "has all the magic of a fairy story, with its villains, good guys, and secret treasure.” (Time Out) Intentionally muted in its violence, this serene martial arts film is well worth your time.
We’re opening up RSVPs for two new films, opening Oct 30! Bas Devos’ Ghost Tropic is a marvelously humanist portrait of an immigrant woman who falls asleep on the last train, awakes at the end of the line and has no choice but to make her way home on foot. “A compressed epic… This poetic Belgian feature manages to say a good deal about life, death, and the state of the globalized world.” (Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader) We also close out our Pioneers of Queer Cinema series next week with Victor and Victoria, a gender-bending musical romance produced in the final days of the Weimar Republic!
