Month: December 2006

This story of Ofelia, a young girl trying to get by in post-World War II Spain, is billed as an adult fable. When her widowed mother marries and becomes impregnated by one of Franco’s most brutal captains, they are sent to a remote military academy under his tutelage. There, the girl retreats from the cruelty of her stepfather into a fantasy world that is both comforting and terrifying. In the tradition of great children’s literature, Pan’s Labyrinth invokes both fear and freedom; it has all the earmarks of a classic—one that may not be truly appreciated for years to come. 612-825-6006; www.landmarktheatres.com

Already lauded with two best-picture awards, this second Iwo Jima picture from Clint Eastwood looks even more promising than the first (Flags of Our Fathers), which was no slouch. Looking much more brutal and unforgiving than Flags, not to mention creating a very forgiving portrait of a former enemy, Letters is certain to arouse controversy from the warmongers, still reeling from the last election and certain reports on our current conflict. 612-825-6006; www.landmarktheatres.com

Peter O’Toole’s swan song. A pair of nearly forgotten, aging actors have shared their daily lives over pints and tea for decades, and find themselves intruded on by a teenage girl who arrives in town to look after her uncle. When she falls in with O’Toole, the spirits of both are boosted. In America, treatises on the elderly vary between the sour Grumpy Old Men and the saccharine Murder, She Wrote. But Venus comes from the salt-and-vinegar pen of Hanif Kureishi (My Beautiful Laundrette, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid) and so becomes a sexually charged and at times brutally honest picture about being young and being old. The girl is confused and battered, as are all teenagers, and the elderly are men and women with desires, aching regrets, and, most importantly, a moving dignity. Check website for opening date: www.landmarktheatres.com

Nothing much happens in Old Joy, yet it has all the depths of a lonely walk in an unpeopled forest. Simply put, a young man on the verge of fatherhood takes a trip with a college friend who cannot find his place in the world. But with her camera low to the ground, director Kelly Reichardt shoots with a gravity reminiscent of the great Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu. Her characters converse quietly, baffled by the routes their lives have taken, awed by Oregon’s forests and the embers of a fire flying into the night sky. Every gesture is fraught with meaning, every sentence a subtle revelation, and when the characters part with seeming casualness, we’re left reeling in our melancholy. 309 Oak Street S.E., Minneapolis; 612-331-3134; www.mnfilmarts.org/oakstreet

This saucy thriller has abundant pleasures, including an intelligent script that never once falters, a cast of strong supporting actors that includes Bill Nighy, and two of today’s best actresses unleashed in fury. Judi Dench, shedding her crown for a change, plays a British schoolmarm bent by her loneliness and a desire for younger women. She becomes friends with fellow teacher Cate Blanchett, then watches with glee as a spoiled housewife becomes sexually entwined with a fifteen-year-old student—that’s when Notes becomes at once a searing examination of relationships and gripping entertainment. Probably too brave for the Academy to recognize, Notes is also damn bleak, but somehow fun—a near masterpiece. 612-825-6006; www.landmarktheatres.com

Peppered with tidbits about Peggy Guggenheim’s associates—from the favorite artists she patronized, like Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp, to her friend Samuel Beckett, with whom she had a fling—this new one-woman play functions more as celebrity showcase than biography. Played here by Sally Wingert, a dynamo often seen on the Guthrie stage, the twentieth century’s most famous art collector-heiress is depicted as a reckless, vulgar chain-smoker who drinks and sleeps her way around mid-century Paris. 651-647-4315; www.mnjewishtheatre.org

Nautilus scored a big hit last season with its lavish production of Man of La Mancha; now, the artistic team behind that show has poured its energies into another ambitious project. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel is a heavy artifact to unload from the vault, to be sure—not least because of what many see as its rationalizing of domestic violence: Remember the slap that “felt like a kiss”? However, Nautilus artistic director Ben Krywosz is more interested in exploring the subtle, cultural jabs in Hammerstein’s writing as well as the beauty of Rodgers’ scores. And with the versatile local singer-actors Bradley Greenwald and Jennifer Baldwin Peden in the lead roles, this production is bound to be another of Nautilus’ delights. 612-340-1725; www.southerntheater.org

This is a simple, modern fable about an otherwise-normal country girl who happens to have been born with a marsupial pouch. When a mysterious theft happens in her west Texas community, can you guess whom the townsfolk come after? They won’t be offering six-dollar cocktails in the lobby during this show’s intermissions, but we suspect it will entertain adults, nonetheless. For starters, the production is layered with gorgeous arrangements of bluegrass and country-blues. What’s more, the tale was penned by the Americana-obsessed Lisa D’Amour, a New York playwright and local favorite who lived here for a while, thanks to support from the Playwrights’ Center. You might remember her quirky, vaudeville-inspired work Nita & Zita, which played in 2005 at Walker Art Center. 612-874-0400; www.childrenstheatre.org

Where does the concert end and the play begin? This project blurs the lines by imagining the farewell concert of a fictional, 70s-era troubadour who’s off to join the Sufi Brotherhood—just as soon as she loses the FBI agents on her tail. This is the latest dream-pop musical-theater creation from New York artist Cynthia Hopkins—her Accidental Nostalgia, which appeared during last year’s Out There series, was such a hit that the Walker commissioned this sequel shortly thereafter. Once again, and much to the delight of music fans, Hopkins’ band Gloria Deluxe plays an integral role. This five-piece outfit recently opened for Patti Smith and David Byrne (and can easily stand on its own); the group admirably amalgamates garage rock, alt-country, Billie Holiday-style jazz, and cabaret into melodic heartbreakers. 612-375-7600; www.walkerart.org

Also known as Casper & Runyon’s Nook, this neighborhood hangout sits quietly across from Cretin-Derham Hall High School and has everything a great burger joint should have: the clutter of local memorabilia, the bar games, the friendly and sincere staff. It also cranks out burgers that rival Matt’s Juicy Lucys across the river. In fact, with its generous amount of cheese hidden within, the Nookie, as it’s called, earns a place among the top three burgers of the Twin Cities. You can take the debate from here. 492 Hamline Ave. S., St. Paul; 651-698-4347