THURSDAY 1 - Mirroring
Programmed by: Isaiah Terry
To mirror is to be mirrored. Which is to say, a reflection is both the world changing to imitate, and a perception-image of oneself which is being enacted upon your mind. This process of mirroring, doppelgängers and doubles is not simply an aesthetic choice made by these filmmakers, but rather a thematic cohesion, a statement towards something… else? But to what? Although these reflected beings may hold commonalities, they don’t appear to be doing the same thing. The twin traumas of Mysterious Skin are nothing like the literal twins of The Parent Trap. The alien doubles of Solaris could not be further from the invading imposters of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. At the same time, there is a gesture in each of these works to a collision or confrontation which occurs when the mirror meets the mirrored. A collapse into becoming something new. Each of these films are well worth watching on their own but by placing them together in a weekly series, they become a corpus of something else. A flair of the mirrored and a look into the other side…
The Prestige (2006)
Christopher Nolan · 130m · 35mm
To start, a magic trick. Two Stage Magicians (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) compete to complete the perfect trick: teleportation. Simultaneously a period piece and a laser-fast thriller, The Prestige will have you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what is going to happen next– and whether or not they’ll actually pull off the magic.
Thursday, January 4th 7:00PM · Sunday, January 7th 4:00PM
Solaris (1972)
Andrei Tarkovsky · 167m · DCP
A space story that doesn’t leave Earth for nearly the first hour, then proceeds to take place on a single space station. Solaris is insular, paranoid, and beautifully invigorating. Tarkovsky’s slow cinema ethos can often be viewed as taxing but Solaris soars by, drawing you deeper and deeper into its maw. And I’ll say it — I think it's better than 2001: A Space Odyssey! (The views of this writer are not officially from the Doc Films Group.)
Thursday, January 11th 7:00PM
Persona (1966)
Ingmar Bergman · 83m · DCP
What to say about Persona? Well, Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullman are electric, that much is easy. Everyone gushes about the cinematography, direction, and the writing — it's a masterpiece, nothing new. But that’s not why you should watch it. Persona is uncomfortable and intoxicating, and Bergman's eye for drama is razor-sharp. Intimate and tight, Persona plunges directly into your heart — isn’t that what cinema is all about?
Thursday, January 18th 7:00PM · Friday, January 19th 9:30PM
Possession (1981)
Andrzej Żuławski · 124m · DCP
This masterpiece was notoriously hard to watch before its remastered re-release last year. Żuławski’s eye for body horror paired with his ability to push actors to be their strangest selves make this film unforgettable. But at its core, Possession is about divorce, about two people who love one another but cannot be together. It can be easy to miss the forest for the trees, but if you choose to watch the film you might just find yourself possessed.
Thursday, January 25th 7:00PM · Friday, January 26th 9:30PM
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Philip Kaufman · 115m · Digital
It was the Commies all along! The 1978 remake of the 1956 film is perhaps the more famous of the many adaptations of this titillating work, and some might say its widened scope, stacked cast, and iconic imagery is why it earns that distinction. Well, that’s wrong and I think we all know why it is actually the best: “Starring Jeff Goldblum.”
Thursday, February 1st 7:00PM
Body Double (1984)
Brian De Palma · 114m · DCP
Brian De Palma… love him or hate him, you’ve got to admit that when he sets out to make something, he succeeds in making that thing. The twist of Body Double is that it's a movie about corruption, exploitation, and misogyny, while generally also embodying all of those things (well maybe not corruption…) Body Double has it all. Bodies, doubles, some mirrors to show them all off. A gorgeous movie to see on the big screen, this one is gonna be fun.
Thursday, February 8th 7:00PM · Friday, February 9th 9:30PM
Mysterious Skin (2004)
Gregg Araki · 105m · DCP
…is devastating. The two central characters are different in almost every single way and yet none of that matters at the heart of it. Gregg Araki’s pivot away from the surreal queer teenage wastelands of his Teen Apocalypse Trilogy may appear surprising, but do not be tricked —Mysterious Skin is equally surreal and easily the most difficult, discomforting film to watch in his entire filmography.
Thursday, February 15th 7:00PM · Friday, February 16th 9:30PM
The Double Life of Veronique (1991)
Krzysztof Kieślowski · 98m · DCP
Chance and connection; one could say that all of Kieślowski’s films explore these two themes, and Veronique is no exception. There is no explanation for why Weronika and Veronique are doppelgängers but we don’t need one. Instead, Kieślowski explores how their two lives intersect and diverge constantly and, subsequently, explores the mystical connections we all have with one another.
Thursday, February 22nd 7:00PM
The Parent Trap (1998)
Nancy Meyers · 128m · DCP
It’s the end of winter quarter and we’re all tired. We at Doc get that, which is why we are showing The Parent Trap. It’s fun, it’s sweet, and it stars Lindsay Lohan––what more do you need?
