WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA – Cinematique of Wilmington, a series of independent, classic, foreign and notable films co-sponsored by WHQR 91.3fm Public Radio and Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Inc., is pleased to announce four great films added to the line-up: Judy, Pain and Glory, Parasite, and Jojo Rabbit. Tickets to all screenings are $7 plus a $1 ticketing fee plus tax and available at the Thalian Box office (Monday-Saturday from 2-6pm) or thalianhall.org. Showtime for Cinematique Films is 7:00pm (plus 4pm matinees on Wednesdays) at Thalian Hall, 310 Chestnut Street. For more details about the series or individual features, call the Thalian Box Office at 910.632.2285 or visit whqr.org or thalianhall.org.
Judy (2019)
November 18-20, M-W @ 7p + W @ 4p, Thalian Hall’s Main Theatre
Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband.
“Zellweger performs a masterclass on characterization in cinema. The clichés apply. She absolutely loses herself in the role.” Alan Ng, Film Threat
Pain and Glory (2019)
November 25-27, M-W @ 7p + W @ 4p, Thalian Hall’s Main Theatre
In Pedro Almodóvar’s remarkable new film, a film director reflects on the choices he’s made in life as the past and present come crashing down around him. Pain and Glory talks about creation, about the difficulty of separating it from one’s own life and about the passions that give it meaning and hope. In recovering his past, Salvador finds the urgent need to recount it, and in that need he also finds his salvation.
“Pain and Glory is a film to savour like a fine bourbon, watching how Salvador (and Almodóvar) wrestles with demons of the mind, heart and body.” Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Parasite (2019)
December 2-4, M-W @ 7p + W @ 4p, Thalian Hall’s Main Theatre
The first ever Korean film to win the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Bong Joon-ho’s (Snowpiercer, The Host, Okja) Parasite blends thriller and satire to craft a searingly funny and tragic social commentary on class, greed, and violence. The film follows a poor family whose members take turns infiltrating a wealthy family’s mansion. The plan goes awry and the parasites are drawn into a vortex leading viewers on a journey filled with imaginative moments. With every frame beautifully composed, Parasite vividly contrasts the two families using humor, mystery and a creeping sense of tension. Bong once again skillfully fuses genre elements with social critique in a wildly entertaining, visually extraordinary and intoxicating manner.
“It’s a nearly perfect film, from Bong’s masterful use of framing and visual language and control of a wildly shifting tone to the performances (all terrific) to the commentary on class division.” Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
December 16-18, M-F @ 7p + W @ 4p, Thalian Hall’s Main Theatre
Writer director Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnorak, Hunt For The Wilderpeople) brings his signature style of humor and pathos to his latest film, Jojo Rabbit, a World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy (Roman Griffin Davis) whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
“Taika Waititi has somehow managed to make a dark comedy with Hitler as one of the lead characters that’s thought-provoking and hugely entertaining. It’s also irresistible in all its weirdness.” Rebecca Murray, Showbiz Junkies