FILM
La-dee-dah, Everybody Loves Paris
If you can’t get to Paris, perhaps this is the next best option (or at least it might inspire you to go). But in all honesty, it’s not about Paris. It’s not about travel. It’s not about France. It’s about must-see film — Paris, Je T’aime. This collection of stories from over 20 celebrated filmmakers from around the world paints an unequaled portrait of contemporary Paris. Weaving tales of love, loss, and unexpected encounters, Paris, Je T’aime features actors Natalie Portman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elijah Wood, Nick Nolte, Bob Hoskins, Juliette Binoche, Emily Mortimer, Rufus Sewell, Gena Rowlands, Miranda Richardson, and Steve Buscemi. Directors include the Coen Brothers, Gus Van Sant, Gurinder Chadha, Wes Craven, Alfonso Cuarón, Gérard Depardieu, Christopher Doyle, Walter Salles, Alexander Payne, Tom Tykwer, and Olivier Assayas. This is a big deal, guys. Don’t pass it up.
2:20,4:45,7:15 9:40, Uptown Theater, 2906 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-825-6006; $8.25 ($5.75 seniors and children).
FILM by Peter Schilling
Mafioso Opens Tonight for One Week Only
This acclaimed comedy classic was made in 1962, given a brief American run in ’64, and then, for forty years, it vanished like a mob boss on the Witness Protection Program. Nino, the lead character, is a portly middle manager, happily passing time at a Fiat plant in Milan. He finally returns home to a little Sicilian village for the vacation he’s been promising his family for years — giving them the chance to finally meet his northern Italian wife and two daughters. But before he embarks on this trip, a local mob boss asks our poor hero to deliver a small package to one Don Vincenzo, the reigning capo of Nino’s hometown. Being a comedy, all hell must break loose. However, Mafioso isn’t just slapstick, but a poignant examination of the emergence of two Italys — the industrial north and the provincial south. Created a good seven years before the eponymous novel on which The Godfather was based, Mafioso is an obvious influence, yet it stands on its own as a sunny comedy.
7:10 p.m., Lagoon Cinema, 1320 Lagoon Ave., Minneapolis; 612-825-6006; $8.25 ($5.75 seniors and children).
MUSIC by Britt Robson
Eric Alexander Group
Alexander is a throwback to the halcyon days of hard-bop battle royals, when a man could walk into a club with a tenor saxophone and blow the house down. Just thirty-eight, Alexander knows how to stoke a barn-burning solo until the patrons are hollering even before the climaxes. But he also burnishes his supple, muscular tone with a tidy blend of intellect and curiosity that enables him to twist but not disfigure bop chestnuts and other jazz standards. And his apprenticeship with Memphis pianist Harold Mabern has provided him with a tangible grasp of the blues. By now his annual engagement at the AQ has become a calendar-date-circling event, made all the more so this time out by the possible inclusion of pianist David Hazeltine from Milwaukee.
Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m., Sunday at 8 p.m., Artists’ Quarter, 408 St. Peter St., St. Paul; 651-292-1359; $15.
MORE MUSIC
And Then There’s Sunday
Mmmmm. Is there a better way to spend a Sunday than milling about great art listening to music? The Cities 97 Acoustic Sunrise Concert series continues this Sunday with a performance by Love Songs for Angry Men. Sit in the ArtsBreak Coffee Shop or tour the galleries while you start your morning with art and music. You’ve got a two-hour window, so don’t be late.
Sunday at 11 a.m., ArtsBreak Coffee Shop, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2400 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis.
Sunday evening won’t pale in comparison. Members of Sound Ideas will perform music and poetry for an intimate evening of creation. The ensemble includes Douglas Ewart (saxophones and invented instruments) and Mankwe Ndosi (vocals) from Minneapolis; Joel Wanek (upright bass) and Dan Godston (trumpet and percussion) from Chicago; and Jim Ryan (tenor saxophone), now from Oakland.
Sunday at 7:30 p.m., Center for Independent Artists, Black Box Theater, 4137 Bloomington Ave. S., Minneapolis; 612-724-8392; $8.
THEATRE & PERFORMANCE
An Unlikely Pair
How is that I haven’t heard a word about Hamluke? I have to assume that either you just don’t know about it, or I’ve simply missed all the buzz. How can you not be talking about something so utterly weird? Hamluke. Ham-Luke. Hamlet and Luke. Hamlet and Star Wars. It’s the bastard child of William Shakespeare and George Lucas. Just go see it. It’s the show’s final weekend, and it’s too crazy to miss. Besides, don’t we just have to know if there are Klingons?
7 & 10 p.m., The Hennepin Stages Upper Level, 824 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis; 612-673-0404; $20.
Check out this video of Hamluke. It offers a great preview.
SALES
Vintage, Discarded, and Designer Items
Go for a little drive and rummage through antiques, collectibles, vintage items, and other treasures from more than 300 dealers at the Trader’s Market in Elko (20 minutes south of the Twin Cities). Saturday through Monday, I-35 and Cty. Rd. 2, Elko; 952-461-2400.
One man’s garbage is another man’s furniture. You’ll find chairs, drafting tables, videos, Casio keyboards, AV gear, clothes, movie posters, artwork, and other random items at the Roske-Pettis Moving Sale. Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1402 Spruce Place, Loring Park, Minneapolis.
Looking for something a little more luxurious and a little less used? Help the Design Collective empty their racks and make room for their Summer Collection. Get 10 to 50 percent off select clothing, accessories, and jewelry through Thurday. Then stop by on Friday for the Summer Collection Debut, and be the first to see and shop the latest collections of the best local designers. 1311 26th St. W., Minneapolis; 612-377-1000.
MEMORIAL DAY FARE
Celebrate Memorial Day with a groundbreaking ceremony for the Honoring All Veterans Memorial. Join Chuck Lindberg — the last surviving flag-raiser at Iwo Jima — and Congressman Keith Ellison for a pig roast, a raffle, an paper airplane toss with chance to win a car, live music, and more.
1 p.m., Veterans Memorial Park, 6335 Port;and Ave. S., Richfield; 612-861-9395; food $4-$5, drinks $2, raffle $5.
When the pig has been devoured, and the crowd is dwindling, grab some friends and head over to the 7th Street Entry for experimental rocksters Frog Eyes, with Yeasayer and The Umbrella Sequence. It’ll be worth the $8.
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