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Thursday 8/26/10

1:30 AM HBO Signature
Pajaros Muertos (2008 ESP): The purported perfectibility and sanitized security of modern life is the subject of this wicked black comedy written and directed by the Sempere brothers. Set behind the walls of a gated community in suburban Spain (though filmed, oddly enough, in Buenos Aires, Argentina), the film examines the fallout resulting from the discovery of a dead bird in the middle of the street, and the effect it has on two neighboring, but not exactly neighborly, families. It’s been compared (unfavorably, in most cases) to American Beauty and Magnolia, but any film nominated for a Golden Biznaga surely deserves to be seen at least once.

7:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Loot (1970 GB): An adaptation of Joe Orton’s play of the same name, Loot makes an extremely rare American television appearance this morning. Directed by Silvio Narrizano, it’s a suitably cheeky comedy of errors about bank robbers Dennis and Hal (Hywel Bennett and Roy Holder) who stash their ill-gotten gains (a not terribly impressive four thousand pounds sterling) in a coffin: specifically, the coffin containing the corpse of Hal’s recently deceased mum. But the duo haven’t counted on the tenacious Inspector Truscott (Richard Attenborough), who will go to any lengths—including posing as the man from the Water Board—in his efforts to solve the crime. Co-starring Milo O’Shea as a landlord and Lee Remick as a nurse, Loot isn’t for all tastes, but is essential viewing for Orton admirers.

Friday 8/27/10

4:30 PM Sundance
Ricky (2009 FRA): I’m not a big fan of Francoise Ozon—his tendency to over-egg the cinema omelette is well-documented—but there’s frequently something of value to be gleaned from even his worst films. In the case of Ricky, it’s the larger than life presence of actor Sergi Lopez, a thespian I’ve admired since seeing him simmer and the boil his way through 2000’s Harry, He’s Here to Help. In Ricky, he plays new dad Paco, who’s been blessed with the titular son thanks to his knocking up factory worker Katie (Alexandra Lamy). And what’s so special about little Ricky (Arthur Peyret), other than the fact that he is thoroughly adorable? He grows wings and flies. Oh yes, he does. The film does surprisingly little with this startling revelation, but Lopez is very good, and you will went to repeatedly chuck Peyret under the chin.

Saturday 8/28/10

2:00 PM Sundance
Police, Adjective (2009 ROM): The Romanian new wave rolls on with this excellent crime drama, which was its homeland’s entrant for the 2010 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. Written and directed by Corneliu Porumboiu, the film features The Death of Mr. Lazarescu’s Dragos Bucur as Cristi, a drug squad plod assigned to investigate the case of a pot-smoking teenager. Man, they must have an unlimited police budget in Romania. If the kid is found to be a dealer—in other words, if he shares any wacky tobacky with his chums—he can get sent up for 8-15, and Cristi wonders about the logic of his assignment. After all, he’s seen the dutchie passed without consequence during his honeymoon trip to Prague, and no one seemed any the worse for wear. Will our hero snap the cuffs on—or will his conscience get the better of him? The shadow of Nicolae Ceausescu hangs long over this very fine film, which airs again at 10:45 PM.

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