Author: rakemag

Now that the Bush administration has set its eyes on Iran, it’s a good idea for us to learn something about the people it’s thinking about bombing. This film, a satire about a hapless cat burglar, gives us a few clues about our friends in the Middle East. For one thing, they have a wicked sense of humor. When the burglar escapes from prison disguised as a cleric, he finds himself forced to continue to live the mullah life. That includes giving sermons, and his bizarre, off-the-cuff speechifying, which covers everything from sex to Pulp Fiction, wins him a rabid and highly annoying group of followers that he just can’t shake. We do know the real Islamic clergy lack humor, because those holy killjoys pressured the government into banning this hugely popular film in Iran. So see it here. 309 Oak St. S.E., Minneapolis; 612-331-3134

We’ve often passed the signs for the Hinckley Fire Museum while driving up north, but we’re embarrassed to admit we thought this institution involved a display of historical fire trucks. The museum is actually devoted to an 1894 catastrophe in which a wall of fire destroyed over four hundred square miles in and around Hinckley and killed 418 people. This was no natural disaster, however; humans caused this firestorm by denuding the landscape of trees and stacking them like so much kindling all around the town. It’s just one of many stories told in Minnesota: A History of the Land, an impressive four-part documentary that spans sixteen thousand years (that’s going back a couple of Ice Ages!). Relating tales of natural forces along with those of lumber barons, conservationists, tribal leaders, real-estate developers, and other land-shapers, A History of the Land recalls the projects from Ken Burns, equally sprawling and captivating, that air on public television every couple of years. It’s not just because both have used gorgeous, atmospheric music from our own Peter Ostroushko; this tribute to our state also combines stunning still images with reenactments, interviews, and animation to bring history to life. Beautiful, informative, and unforgettable, it offers a whole new view on “roadside attractions” that we’ll keep in mind on our next car trip.

Cottman takes photographs to save things. That could be a Minneapolis street scene that looks for a moment, in a certain light, like Harlem in the nineteen-thirties. Or it could be a sweet second of his mother’s life, or a glimpse of women doing the secret things that women do. One of the Twin Cities’ most celebrated African-American photographers, Cottman and his camera bring light to intimate family moments and respect to neighborhoods that aren’t often noted for their beauty. In this exhibit, he previews several current projects, including a tribute to his mother, an essay about life in the Jordan neighborhood, and a journey to Paris’ Place des Vosges. 2400 Plymouth Ave. N., Minneapolis; 612-587-0230

Offering a seasonal counterpoint of sorts to its parade last summer, Intermedia Arts brings together an assortment of automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, and snowmobiles atop frozen Lake Minnetonka. Bedecked in feathers, cork, jewels, and various other flotsam, the hardiest artcars will putter along the lake’s two-lane ice highway, cranking the tunes and the heat. www.artcarparade.com

This month, The Gates, the saffron fabric extravaganza by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, goes on view in Central Park; but right here in Plymouth we’ve got a quintessentially Minnesotan take on destination art. For No Name Exhibition’s first wintertime show, a couple of dozen artists have braved the vast white expanses of a frozen Medicine Lake to create “art shanties” and other works. (No worries–they’re not occupying any valuable ice-fishing areas!) Thanks to that subzero nastiness last month, many projects got off to a slow start, but the fun with some is watching them take shape (as with the ice painting shown here). On opening day, for instance, we watched a cascade of ice balloons tumble out of a van like diminutive bowling balls. With their balloon skins shucked, the ice blobs–each a gorgeous object unto itself–were destined to be piled into a pyramid and lit from within. Bring your skates (or snowshoes, depending) to the closing party on February 19. Frontage Rd. 7 & 18th Ave., Plymouth; 612-623-9176; www.artshantyprojects.org

The young Alfred Maurer was the Thomas Kinkade of his day, churning out proper and commercially appealing paintings that earned him lots of money and fans–until he started cavorting around Paris! It was only when he met up with those pesky French that he discovered modernism and threw away all his popular success. This exhibit chronicles Maurer’s passionate exploration of Cubism, Fauvism, Impressionism, and his own unfettered creative impulses, through the forty paintings on view. It’s obvious that the painter found true joy in the freedoms of modernism. Sadly, the masses did not, and Maurer died a relative unknown, never regaining the success of his youth. Of course, like a few other lucky-unlucky artists, he’s come to be appreciated posthumously–at least by those whose tastes are, we’d like to think, more discerning than Thomas Kinkade’s. 333 East River Rd., Minneapolis; 612-625-9494; www.weisman.umn.edu

As an Asian-American woman and African-American man trade insults, slurs, and outrage, you might think this play is vintage Penumbra, a socio-political episode wrought from American race relations. But when sexual tensions enter the fray–given the electric, Tony-and-Maria attraction between these two, they should be exchanging kisses, not insults–Slippery When Wet becomes something altogether sharper and saucier. Throw in some national and racial identity crises for good measure, and the play could be something like an updated Jungle Fever for the literary set. 270 Kent St. N., St. Paul; 651-224-3180; www.penumbratheatre.org

This little company carries the torch for intimate opera productions–this time it goes after Puccini’s mother of all operas, the subject of countless tributes, knockoffs, and parodies. Read more about La Boheme in our Rakish Angle section. The Loring Playhouse, 1633 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-343-3390; www.latteda.org

With the American psyche thoroughly addled from attention deficits and hyperactivity and sensory overload, it could be that many of us are physically unable to sit through four hours of Shakespeare–especially the super-sized political epic Henry V. With that in mind, we especially appreciate artistic efforts to distill Shakespeare’s work into more approachable forms. Performance art forefather David Gordon and his Pick Up Performance Company are aces at this kind of thing. Walker Art Center has invited them here to perform Dancing Henry Five, five acts of warfare and sexual scandal slimmed down to a sleek one-hour performance, with archaic text translated into an innately accessible form–movement. It’s kind of like taking a whole roasted chicken and making it into bite-sized yet still mighty tasty nuggets. Pantages Theater, 700 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-673-0404; www.walkerart.org

A teenage girl chafes at the seriously uncool old-world restraints her India-born parents impose on her, in a story that’s kind of like Bend It Like Beckham without the soccer ball. This girl, Sujata Bhatt, is hooked instead on television. She uses it to blot out her parents, their juicy family secrets (surely those are more interesting than todayÕs prime-time lineup), and the cultural confusion that arises when people exchange grinding poverty for an affluent U.S. life (or is that lifestyle?). We’ll bet Sujata’s physician parents only wish their sedentary daughter played soccer. 1501 S. Fourth St., Minneapolis; 612-338-6131; www.mixedblood.com