Terrence Malick's To the Wonder
The UW Cinematheque debuted its summer 2013 schedule today, after announcing that a record 5,800 viewers attended its programming between January and May. The new season runs July 11 to Aug. 23 at 4070 Vilas Hall and Union South’s Marquee Theater. The lineup includes five features and three shorts by French comedian and filmmaker Pierre Étaix, plus a tribute to Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert. All screenings will feature 35mm prints, and all programs are free.
The season kicks off with Le Grand Amour (July 11, 7 p.m., 4070 Vilas Hall), Étaix’s 1969 tale of a businessman who gets swept off his feet by his beautiful new secretary. Filled with Surrealism and slapstick humor, it’s a shining example of French romantic comedy. Filmgoers can also watch Étaix’s first feature, 1962’s The Suitor, on the big screen (July 25, 7 p.m., 4070 Vilas Hall). Here Étaix plays a timid bachelor who tries to woo an enchanting singer by pretending to be a smooth operator.
The summer schedule also includes Madison’s only theatrical screening of To the Wonder (July 13, 7 p.m., Marquee Theater), Terrence Malick’s haunting tale of a couple (Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko) falling in and out of love. In his final review for the Sun-Times, Ebert said that Malick “appears almost naked here before his audience, a man not able to conceal the depth of his vision.”
Cinematheque will pay further tribute to Ebert with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Aug. 9, 7 p.m., Marquee Theater), for which he wrote the screenplay, and some of his favorite films, including Akira Kurosawa’s samurai epic Ran (Aug. 2, 7 p.m., Marquee Theater), Ingmar Bergman’s passionate comedy Smiles of a Summer Night (Aug. 22, 7 p.m., 4070 Vilas Hall) and Mel Brooks’ fantastically funny farce The Producers (Aug. 23, 7 p.m., Marquee Theater). A screening of Kwik Stop (Aug. 16, 7 p.m., Marquee Theater), a 2001 indie about a runaway girl and an aspiring actor, will feature a visit from writer, actor and director Michael Gilio, who’ll discuss the film and share memories of Ebert.
More details about each film is provided in the UW Cinematheque's full summer 2013 schedule.
