Wings of Desire played this weekend as part of the Moisture Festival, a celebration of vaudeville & burlesque whose name gives me the heebie-jeebies. Apparently they named it that because they thought it was funny. It mostly reminds me of that scene in The Impostors where Campbell Scott leers at Lili Taylor, saying, “The danger of the chase has made you perspire. It has made me also… moist.” Ewwww.

But anyway, the practical effect of the partnership was that the screening was prefaced by an acrobatic performance by two members of Circus Contraption, and that was very cool.

The film itself I’d never seen on the big screen before, and, I am not sure if you’ve noticed, but I am a big fan of seeing things in the theater. For meditative films like this, it focuses and intensifies the experience, and of course there’s nothing like those gorgeous visuals — aerial shots of Berlin, the library, the circus, the concerts — up large. Also, more so than a lot of other films, it made me wish I knew the original language. I read fast enough that subtitles aren’t a hindrance, but with some works (this, probably everything by Wong Kar-wai, for example) I particularly feel that I’m losing things in translation. (Often that fear is justified.)

Now perhaps I will check out the sequel.

I reactivated my Netflix account for a month, so let’s take the opportunity to talk about a few things that are out on dvd.

* I put The Station Agent on hold at the library after I saw Wendy and Lucy. I do not know why I don’t own it. It’s a stellar small film, and if you haven’t seen it, you should. Which reminds me, you should also see The Visitor. I didn’t post about it at the time because I didn’t see it in the theater, but it’s excellent.

* I really don’t think that Bon Cop Bad Cop played at SIFF, which is unfortunate, because seeing it on the big screen would have been particularly awesome. For all of you who think I don’t recommend enough films where things blow up, this one is for you. There are some subtitles, though, because one of the cops is from Toronto but the other is from Montreal. You’ll just have to deal.

* Rachel Getting Married is one of those films that had me whispering to myself every so often, “This is such a *good* movie”. It has some flaws, but I do not care, because it is stunningly acted & full of beautiful, heartbreaking moments. Anne Hathaway is grand as promised, but the supporting cast does marvelous work as well.

Other things I saw: Vicky Cristina Barcelona* (Penelope is, of course, fabulous, but I found the characters terribly irritating, and don’t get me started on the voice over), Role Models (a few entertaining moments, but essentially is further proof that I only love stupid comedy if Seth Rogen is involved), and Cadillac Records (a solid music-business flick with a fantastic cast. Does exactly what it says on the tin).

* I am still a Woody Allen fan, though probably the last film of his I enjoyed was Sweet and Lowdown and the last one I loved was Everyone Says I Love You. They’re showing Take the Money and Run this spring in the 69 series, and I can’t wait.

All I knew going into Paint Your Wagon is that it was a not-great musical western where Clint Eastwood sings. Things I did not know: that Lee Marvin has all the best lines ever, that the singing was bad but also endearing, and that it featured a sight gag that still makes me giggle when I think of it, as well as a surprisingly complex threesome, though not at the same time. I enjoyed the hell out of it, in a guilty sort of way.

It’s showing with The Wild Bunch, which is basically the polar opposite Western. It takes place at the end of the Wild West, a pretty violent film about an aging gang taking one more job. Excellent, but I do wish the Spanish had been subtitled.

Finally, this week they also screened The Rain People, a 16mm print sent from Australia, with gorgeous color but somewhat lacking in sound quality. An early Coppola, it’s the film basically responsible for American Zoetrope, which is the company Coppola and Lucas founded to make films outside of the traditional studio system. It’s in the tradition of an American road movie, but with a woman in the lead. Shirley Knight is Natalie who, dissatisfied in her marriage, hits the road & encounters bits of the country in the company of James Caan (as a brain-damaged ex football player) and eventually Robert Duvall. One of my favorite things about it was the incorporation of flashback to show us moments from various character’s memories, suddenly and without fanfare, just as memory actually operates.

Last week I spent a draining two days at the Northwest Film Forum, for a few more films in their 69 series.

First up was the double feature of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? & Midnight Cowboy. The first, in a lot of ways, felt really timely. It follows participants in a grueling, Depression-era dance marathon, and was a quite stressful movie to watch, for me. If you only see one of the three, though, see it. It didn’t leave me with a lot of energy for Midnight Cowboy, however, which has one of those endings that for normal people is depressing, but for me is uplifting. So there you go. Maybe it worked out after all.

The next night I was back for Funeral Parade of Roses, a reverse-Oedipal story set against Japanese transvestite culture. It draws on massive amounts of Western culture of the time — both pop & art house — and, fair warning, was surprisingly graphic in terms of violence. I’m glad I saw it, though I don’t need to see it again any time soon. Huzzah for the full series pass!

Finally, a bit of relief came in the SIFF member screening of Sunshine Cleaning, a sweet, worth-a-rental flick with Amy Adams & Emily Blunt as sisters who start a business in crime & death scene cleanup. Alan Arkin plays a variation on his Little Miss Sunshine role, but Clifton Collins Jr is the real supporting star, and not just because his character features one of the best special effects I’ve seen lately. Sweet & true, and scored a solid round of applause at the screening. So there you go.

I’m about to dive into another run of movies this week, so let’s finish off Noir City, etc, before that happens and I get even more behind!

* Chicago Deadline suffered from the fact that I had had a very long day, but is worth checking out if only for Donna Reed as a fallen woman. Ace!

* While the City Sleeps was a great alcohol-soaked flick, with Vincent Price as the son of a deceased media magnate, manipulating all his employees to make the most of a serial killer story, and Dana Andrews as the ace reporter.

* The series finished off with Alias Nick Beal & Night Editor. The first was a Faust story, worth it for Ray Milland’s crazy eyes as well as breathtaking cinematography, particularly when Beal appears from and disappears into the fog. The second was unapologetically trashy, and required viewing for anyone who thinks that the Golden Age of Hollywood was a time of great moral purity.

* Back in the 21st century, we saw Coraline in 3D, and I am not sure if that helped or hurt my experience of it. Would I have felt more connected to the story if there wasn’t an extra layer of technology? Or was that extra zing to the visuals required? I do not know. I do know that I recommend seeing it in the theater, because it is beautiful, but I wonder if I would have liked it better in 2D.

* Medicine for Melancholy is a terrible title for a great movie. I had pretty much no interest in seeing it based on the title alone, but luckily elements of Seattle media (by which I mostly mean the Slog) went on and on about it, so I gave in. At this rate, I really should get a membership to the Northwest Film Forum in addition to my SIFF one.

But! The movie! It’s about a couple spending the day together after a one night stand. It’s also about San Francisco, and a few other things I won’t tell you. Just see it, if you have the opportunity. It’s funny and awkward and true, and a beautifully shot, desaturated, unromanticized view of the city. Plus, the soundtrack is awesome. And the director is cute. Hey, all of these things are important.