{"id":636994,"date":"2026-03-06T19:22:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T19:22:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/636994\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T19:22:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T19:22:20","slug":"a-1986-documentary-meets-todays-moment-plus-the-best-movies-in-l-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/636994\/","title":{"rendered":"A 1986 documentary meets today’s moment, plus the best movies in L.A."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hello! I\u2019m Mark Olsen<\/a>. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.<\/p>\n

If you are anything like me, you felt pretty out of sorts this week, not sure how to process the news that we are suddenly, apparently, a nation again at war. It can make the movies seem frivolous \u2014 a glorious, privileged sandbox to stick your head in \u2014 but it is also times like these that make them seem most vital and necessary: a place to focus energy and anxiety and maybe figure things out.<\/p>\n

I was particularly struck by something New York Times critic Wesley Morris<\/a> said in an appearance on the podcast \u201cThe Big Picture.\u201d<\/a> He was ostensibly talking about the downside of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger<\/a> news (\u201cThese people are f\u2014 with our dreams here\u201d is how he began) but he landed on why movies matter in their moment, crucial to \u201chow we develop as a culture, how we come to understand ourselves as a people, what this country ought to or should look like 40 years from now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The week\u2019s big new release is Maggie Gyllenhaal\u2019s \u201cThe Bride!\u201d<\/a> a sort-of adaptation of 1935\u2019s \u201cBride of Frankenstein\u201d starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale that is also very much its own thing, purpose-built to drive some people up a tree and already sharply dividing critics.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley in the movie \u201cThe Bride!\u201d<\/p>\n

(Niko Tavernise \/ Warner Bros. Pictures)<\/p>\n

In her largely positive review, Amy Nicholson<\/a> calls the movie \u201can unhinged scream,\u201d adding, \u201c\u2018Every wacky second, you\u2019re well aware how perilously close it is to falling apart at the seams. This spiritual sequel to \u2018Frankenstein\u2019 is a romantic tale of obsession, possession and fantasy \u2014 adjectives that also apply to its filmmaker, Maggie Gyllenhaal, who expends massive quantities of energy jolting it to life. She succeeds by the skin of her teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

I interviewed Gyllenhaal about \u201cThe Bride!\u201d<\/a> \u2014 including the significance of that exclamation point in the title. There have been numerous reports about a back-and-forth between the filmmaker and execs at Warner Bros. and Gyllenhaal didn\u2019t shy away from talking about it. She had specific praise for Pam Abdy, co-chair and co-chief executive of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething really alive was born, and I think the movie is better for the work that she and I did together,\u201d Gyllenhaal told me. \u201cI know that\u2019s an unusual thing to say. I know that you have lots of people saying like, \u2018Ah, the studio f\u2014 my movie up.\u2019 That is not my experience. It\u2019s really not.\u201d<\/p>\n

Louis Malle\u2019s \u2018\u2026and the Pursuit of Happiness\u2019 \"Customers <\/p>\n

A scene from Louis Malle\u2019s documentary \u201c\u2026and the Pursuit of Happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Janus Films)<\/p>\n

On Saturday, in a co-presentation of 7th House at the Philosophical Research Society and El Cine<\/a>, the will be a 16mm screening of director Louis Malle\u2019s 1986 \u201c\u2026and the Pursuit of Happiness,\u201d a documentary made for television that explores the immigrant experience in America. The French-born filmmaker traveled across the U.S. interviewing recent arrivals from all walks of life.<\/p>\n

Writing about the film in 1988, The Times\u2019 Kevin Thomas<\/a> called it \u201can often amusing and always insightful survey of the contemporary emigre experience. \u2026 an irresistible array of vignettes depicting cultural accommodation and assimilation in all its variety.\u201d<\/p>\n

I got on a video call this week with 7th House programmer Alex McDonald and El Cine founder Mariana Da Silva to talk about why this movie matters now.<\/p>\n

The movie is <\/b>streaming on the Criterion Channel right now<\/b>. Why was it important to <\/b>also<\/b> put this movie in front of <\/b>audiences right now? <\/b><\/p>\n

Alex McDonald:<\/b> I think Mariana and I are on the same page with this. I never let streaming or home video availability deter programming. Growing up, the theater was a holy place, a cathedral of congregation. I feel like these films are meant to be seen with an audience. And thankfully, I feel like our audience recognizes that as well, even if the film is out there. Particularly in our current moment, it\u2019s a very prescient film and it\u2019s one that will be all the more powerful within community.<\/p>\n

Mariana Da Silva:<\/b> I agree fully. One of the biggest things within our program is the communal aspects \u2014 just seeing the same people come back, that trust that develops with the audience. The best part I love about going to movie theaters is standing outside with people I maybe would never speak to and having a conversation about a film.. <\/p>\n

\"Children <\/p>\n

A scene from Louis Malle\u2019s documentary \u201c\u2026and the Pursuit of Happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Janus Films)<\/p>\n

Do you respond to a movie like this as a sort of time capsule of how things were<\/b>,<\/b> or is it important to you that it is saying something <\/b>about what\u2019s happening right now? <\/b><\/p>\n

McDonald:<\/b> That\u2019s something I\u2019m very conscious of when I program repertory titles. When I program social, politically minded films, a lot of what I\u2019m trying to do is to show that the issues within these things have not really changed \u2014 the ways in which things have progressed, the way in which we have regressed. Malle has such a humane view on all of these people in the film. He narrates but he doesn\u2019t really editorialize. He just sort of observes, and in doing so, he\u2019s making the most compelling argument for the richness of diversity and everything that these people contribute to this country, what they lose in assimilation, what they have to give up and what they bring. There\u2019s a complexity to it. There are certainly dissenting voices in it and those resonate differently now.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t perfect then. Obviously, there\u2019s always been conflict, but I think there was an open-heartedness that has really shifted. And this is kind of a poignant reminder of what we need to try to get back to and recognize. <\/p>\n

Da Silva:<\/b> If we were able to have these conversations more openly, it would put us all on an even playing field. Humans are flawed. There\u2019s been a lot of miseducation. In this moment, especially for me as somebody who is an immigrant, I feel like there\u2019s so many people who I know who are so liberal and so aware, but then they don\u2019t really understand the experience of the immigrant. And it\u2019s not their fault in any capacity. They just haven\u2019t been exposed to somebody like me before. <\/p>\n

I think we can all come together on the things we celebrate, but we also need to be very open and come together on the things that we differ on too.<\/p>\n

Points of interest<\/p>\n

\u2018Good Night, and Good Luck\u2019 in 35mm<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Newsmen <\/p>\n

George Clooney, left, and David Strathairn in the 2005 movie \u201cGood Night, and Good Luck.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Melinda Sue Gordon \/ Warner Independent Pictures)<\/p>\n

On Sunday afternoon at the Los Feliz Theater, as part of the American Cinematheque\u2019s ongoing \u201cSunday Print Edition\u201d series, there will be a 35mm screening of George Clooney\u2019s \u201cGood Night, and Good Luck,\u201d<\/a> introduced by The Times\u2019 own Rosanna Xia.<\/p>\n

Starring David Strathairn as pioneering television journalist Edward R. Murrow at the height of the McCarthy era, the film was nominated for six Oscars, including picture, director, actor and original screenplay.<\/p>\n

As Kenneth Turan wrote<\/a> in his original review, \u201c\u2018Good Night, and Good Luck\u2019 couldn\u2019t be more unlikely, more unfashionable \u2014 or more compelling. Everything about it \u2014 its look, its style, even its sound \u2014 stands in stark opposition to the trends of the moment. Yet by sticking to events that are half a century old, it tells a story whose implications for today are inescapable. \u2026 The son of a TV anchorman, Clooney had the nerve to believe that a drama of ideas could be as entertaining as \u2018Desperate Housewives.\u2019 He insisted that a fight for America\u2019s soul, a clash of values over critical intellectual issues like freedom of the press and the excesses of government, had an inherent intensity that would carry everything before it. And it does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Days and Nights in the Forest\u2019 4K restoration<\/b><\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

An image from Satyajit Ray\u2019s 1970 drama \u201cDays and Nights in the Forest.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Janus Films)<\/p>\n

Now playing at the Laemmle Royal in a new 4K restoration undertaken by the Film Foundation is Satyajit Ray\u2019s 1970 \u201cDays and Nights in the Forest.\u201d<\/a> In this examination of masculinity and class, four male friends drive from the bustling city of Kolkata to a rural village, mixing with the locals with volatile results.<\/p>\n

In a special video introduction, Wes Anderson, a longtime admirer of Ray, admits he lifted a scene from \u201cDays and Nights\u201d for one of his own films \u2014 2023\u2019s \u201cAsteroid City\u201d<\/a> \u2014 and says, \u201cAnything by Satyajit Ray must be cherished and preserved, but \u2018Days and Nights in the Forest,\u2019 I think you will agree, is one of the special gems among his many treasures.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Grease 2\u2019 <\/b>returns<\/b><\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

Michelle Pfeiffer on the set of \u201cGrease 2\u201d in 1981.<\/p>\n

(Vinnie Zuffante \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The Cinematic Void<\/a> series at the American Cinematheque will show 1982\u2019s pastiche musical \u201cGrease 2\u201d<\/a> on Monday. Directed by choreographer-turned-filmmaker Patricia Birch, the film is, of course, a sequel to 1978\u2019s megahit \u201cGrease\u201d but it is also very much its own thing. Largely dismissed on initial release, it has found a growing following over the years thanks in large part to its extremely engaging young cast, including an on-the-rise Michelle Pfeiffer.<\/p>\n

In his initial review (more complementary than one might expect), Kevin Thomas wrote, \u201cThere\u2019s so much youthful talent and vitality in \u2018Grease 2\u2019 that it\u2019s depressing to discover it is so unblushing and relentless and paean to ignorance. \u2026 This is a pity, because Birch displays an organic sense of how to make dance evolve out of the kids\u2019 everyday activities \u2014 converging en mass at Rydell High on the first day of school or having fun at the bowling alley. But Birch has scant opportunity beyond letting us know she cares for these ignoramuses, most of who seem likable enough beneath aggressively crude exteriors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anti-<\/b>f<\/b>ascist films at UCLA<\/b><\/p>\n

The ongoing series at the UCLA Film and Television Archive titled \u201cFrom John Doe to Lonesome Rhodes: Anti-fascism from the Archive\u201d<\/a> hits a real stride this weekend for two nights of restored rarities. On Friday comes a restored 35mm print of 1948\u2019s \u201cArch of Triumph,\u201d<\/a> directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Charles Laughton in a romantic drama of refugees in 1938 Paris. Also playing is Arthur Ripley\u2019s rare 1944 emigree drama \u201cVoice in the Wind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much of the press around the film at the time of its release had to do with the challenge of bringing the racier aspects of the novel by Erich Maria Remarque (\u201cAll Quiet on the Western Front\u201d) to the screen. As producer David Lewis told The Times\u2019 Philip K. Scheuer, \u201cI promise you that as Joan, Ingrid Bergman will set the town on its ear. They\u2019ll never think of her as anything but sexy again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saturday brings the world premiere of the 35mm restoration of Walter Comes\u2019 1947 \u201cThe Burning Cross,\u201d<\/a> in which a returning veteran is recruited into the KKK. John Reinhardt\u2019s 1948 \u201cOpen Secret,\u201d about antisemitism, will also play in a 35mm restoration.<\/p>\n

The series concludes next week with a 35mm screening of Elia Kazan\u2019s 1957 \u201cA Face in the Crowd,\u201d starring Andy Griffith in an examination of the dark side of populist politics and media manipulation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hello! I\u2019m Mark Olsen. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":636995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5123],"tags":[42125,42126,1582,276,7652,42127,2882,42128,42129,21183,2961,224,2444,5337,42124,3196,6166,2433,637,103],"class_list":["post-636994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-angelina-jolie","tag-barry-jenkins","tag-ca","tag-california","tag-david","tag-dead","tag-drama","tag-evil","tag-good-work","tag-killing","tag-la","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-losangeles","tag-lovers","tag-movie","tag-series","tag-short-film","tag-times","tag-world"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116183862513922007","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}