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  • Big World Pictures

    “I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians.” So said Romanian military dictator Marshal Ion Antonescu to the Council of Ministers in 1941, in an infamous speech that kicked off a program of ethnic cleansing on the Eastern Front. 

    Romania’s role in the WWII holocaust is one that is often conveniently forgotten (or outright denied), but director Radu Jude wants to make sure that we remember, as does the main character in his audacious new film—which is titled “I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians,” complete with quotes.

    The movie’s fictional stage director Mariana Marin (an electric and believable Ioana Iacob) is mounting a spectacular re-enactment of the 1941 Odessa massacre, in which Romanian soldiers allied with the Nazis to kill tens of thousands of Jews. She encounters resistance from a variety of people, including cast members, government officials, and her own boyfriend, many of whom think it’s either a bad idea to bring up old memories or simply anti-Romanian. She also has increasingly frustrating personal issues with her already-married partner. None of it stops her.

    Big World Pictures

    Because this is Radu Jude, however, the film’s themes are couched in scenes that are as playful and audacious as they are dark and disturbing. (The jokey tone is similar to his equally singular 2015 film Aferim!, about another shameful period in Romanian history.) 

    “I Do Not Care…” clocks in at a leisurely 140 minutes, which gives Jude plenty of time to build up to Mariana’s actual staged performance. In preparation, she reads aloud relevant book passages and quotes from witnesses and public figures including Hannah Arendt; she also argues at length with other characters, especially Movila (Alexandru Dabija), a local official with whom she engages in almost affectionate banter. Though sometimes overly didactic, these debates carry considerable weight, especially one about the relative hierarchy of the world’s massacres (“the Darwinism of massacres — only the fittest survive in the public conscience”). 

    Meanwhile, there are droll scenes set in Bucharest’s National Military Museum, where Mariana and her crew research weapons; and rowdy, chaotic rehearsals take place on the museum grounds, amid vintage tanks. There is one chilling and hilarious scene in which she and crew member dispassionately weigh the merits of different human screams recorded during actual atrocities. Jude plays up the dichotomy between the grim details of historic events and the casual, lighthearted rehearsals, which include use of horrific props.

    There is also much black and white footage from WWII, including the actual 1946 trials of Antonescu, as well as scenes from the controversial 1994 Romanian film Oglinda, which is mocked by Mariana and her boyfriend. (The movie is stuffed with pertinent details.)  Working hard to keep her project and crew on track, she is alternately amused and saddened by the old footage and other wartime evidence.

    Big World Pictures

    Eventually some cast members rebel and quit (mainly due to laziness), but their true beliefs also surface: “Only the Germans killed the Jews.” Mariana just becomes more and more determined to stage her vision, as Movila tries to talk her out of it.

    When the pageant finally takes place in public square, it truly is a grand and moving spectacle, shown in great detail. However, the audience’s response isn’t exactly what Mariana expected.

    “I Do Not Care…” is an odd and powerful film—absurd, yet all-too-real. With the rise of nationalism and fascism in Europe and, yep, in our own backyard, it is sadly a movie for our time.

    “I Do Not Care if We Go Down in History as Barbarians” opens at the IFC Center in NYC on Friday, July 19.

    Also out now at the IFC Center is The Sweet Requiem, an understated yet moving film by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam about Tibetan refugees living in Delhi, India.

    Marina Zogbi

  • Juno Films

    An intriguing new entry in the still-alive zombie-apocalypse genre, the German-language Ever After (Endzeit), from Swedish director Carolina Hellsgård, goes deeper than most screen depictions of the undead. It’s also gorgeous-looking, thanks to cinematographer Leah Striker, which adds to the film’s captivating quality.

    A horror/road movie/eco-drama hybrid, Ever After focuses more on the relationship between its two main characters than on inventive portrayals of guts and decaying flesh, though there’s some of that too (but probably not enough to satisfy diehard gore fans).

    At the heart of the film, which is based on the screenplay by Olivia Vieweg (who adapted it from her own graphic novel) is an unlikely alliance between two young women — the fragile, weak-seeming Vivi (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) and badder-assed Eva (Maja Lehrer).

    The setting is post-plague Germany, two years into the apocalypse, where there are human survivors in only two cities: Weimar, where the infected are killed immediately, and Jena, where people are researching a cure. Vivi and Eva meet as stowaways on a self-driving supply train from the former to the latter city. Though temperamentally and emotionally very different, they’re both searching for something lost in their former lives. It’s a setup that could have led to a more conventional apocalypse survival story, but Ever After ultimately winds up veering into an entirely different direction.

    Juno Films

    Forced to ditch the train at one point, the mismatched duo are often at odds, but they keep circling back to each other. As they discuss their former lives, we see flashbacks that hint at what’s haunting and driving each of them. On the way through an enchanted-looking Black Forest, bathed in beautifully diffuse light, they run into various zombie types — including a grossly decaying bride who owes something to Dickens’ Miss Haversham — that are closer to the fast-moving 28 Days Later variety than traditional Living/Walking Dead foot-draggers. They also come upon a mysterious older woman (Danish actress Trine Dyrholm, star of the recent Nico, 1988), who lectures them about the apocalypse as part of a bigger world shift. An earthy being in every sense of the word, she has embraced the fact that humankind will never be the same.

    Though a bit vague and scattered-seeming at times, Hellsgård’s film is refreshing for its character development, tone and overall message. Kohlhof and Lehrer are excellent as its flawed, complicated protagonists.

    “The good thing about the apocalypse: you can see all the stars again,” says Vivi toward the end of the film. It’s a nice sentiment, but also kind of a warning. How long can the world we have created last?

    Ever After (Endzeit)opens on Friday, June 21, at the IFC Center in Manhattan.

    Magnolia Pictures

    Opening the same day on the other end of the cinematic spectrum is Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am. This engrossing portrait is narrated by Morrison herself, an engaging presence who describes growing up in a family that appreciated the power of words and language.

    Through the course of the film, Greenfield-Sanders weaves Morrison’s autobiographical narration with testimonials from admirers and friends including Angela Davis, Hinton Als, Walter Mosley, Oprah Winfrey, Fran Lebowitz and Robert Gottlieb, her longtime editor. Criticized early on by white critics for “only” writing about the Black experience, Morrison rejected the notion that her (or any) writing should be geared to a particular audience. She recalls her days as an editor who fought for her writers, a teacher who exhorted her pupils not to write what they know, and a supportive mother of two sons, all while writing her own fiction. (She only became a full-time writer in her 40s after the success of Song of Solomon.)

    The Pieces I Am shows how throughout her career, Morrison has bucked the traditional (white, male) literary establishment, eventually winning the 1993 Nobel Prize for Beloved — though that too ruffled some critics.

    At the age of 88, however, she has clearly attained a lofty place in the literary firmament. The film is a celebration of a prolific and groundbreaking career.

    Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am opens Friday, June 21, at Film Forum and Film at Lincoln Center.

  • One thing’s for sure. When you see Perry Farrell live, you will be entertained. He brings a spirit and energy to his performances rarely seen, and his new album, “Kind Heaven” embodies that same energy. High energy, electro rock, punk music that brings back memories of his earlier work with Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros.

    The over packed house of loyal fans at City Winery on Friday evening were ready to match his energy as the pronounced (born at Jamaica Hospital, Queens) native son kicked off his tour in downtown, NYC. His full band along with singers/dancers took the small stage at City Winery and cranked through much of the new album and classic songs including- “Pets.” “I Would for You,” “Tahitian Moon,” and “Mountain Song.” With each of his new songs, Perry would engage the crowd with detailed stories about these new songs and various meanderings. From the response of the crowd, the new stuff was very well received, including this one woman near me that cheered relentlessly like a young girl at a Beatles concert. In all my years of attending many, many shows, I’m not sure I’ve seen anything quite like this.

    “I Would for You,” at City Winery, NYC, 6/7/19

    As I watched the show, I began to think of how Perry is quite the chameleon of sorts, and in some ways reminds me of David Bowie. Not as a measurement of talent, because there aren’t many who can be compared to Bowie’s talent, but his sense of style, artistry and his ability to engage people. He’s a modern icon of sorts. He’s not hugely popular, but the people who are into him are really into him, and this was obvious on this night.

    Some of the highlights from the album which was just released were “Machine Girl” and “Punk Rock Politician,” but one of my personal favorites was “Snakes Have Many Hips.” After an 18 year hiatus from releasing solo material, the album which is quite ambitious in it’s wide range of sounds, was written as part of his “Kind Heaven” immersive experience he’s been working on in Las Vegas.

    You can catch Perry Farrell in New York again next weekend and at Lollapalooza on August 1st. The festival, created by Farrell so many years ago, is still one of the biggest summer music festivals in the U.S.

    “Pets” at City Winery, NYC, 6/7/19
  • Art for Progress is pleased to announce The Carlos Reid Gallery will be pledging 3% of gallery sales to Art for Progress for the next two years.

    The Carlos Reid Gallery is quickly becoming the ultimate destination for original, international, contemporary and modern art online. The gallery is based in the United States and is dedicated to representing emerging and established international contemporary artists. Unlike physical galleries, we have over 100 million potential online clients worldwide and are able to sell in over 150 countries. Clients include private, corporate collectors, galleries, and museums worldwide.

    Please visit The Carlos Reid Gallery often to view our ever-evolving collection of original contemporary and modern art. After a visit to The Carlos Reid Gallery, you will soon discover a unique array of styles and mediums, at prices designed to meet the needs of any collector.

    “The Carlos Reid Gallery’s mission is to provide the highest quality art by the most talented new, emerging, and established artists- worldwide. To engage a wide array of audiences, against the backdrop of an online-based platform that elevates artists and their work.”

    The Carlos Reid Gallery

     www.thecarlosreidgallery.com