Burying any potential competition under an avalanche of nationwide marketing, the Marvel juggernaut rides into town with Captain America: Civil War – the first of this year’s offerings from the Disney-owned studio. Pitting historical allies against each other, this marks the beginning of the studio’s third phase, which continues this year with Dr Strange featuring Benedict Cumberbatch in the titular role. See this week’s review for how the film fared with us.
The only other English-language film brave enough to challenge the mighty Marvel is perhaps wisely opening on Netflix. Ricky Gervais directs, writes and stars in Special Correspondents, a remake of a 2009 French comedy. A radio journalist and his technician gets in over their heads after hatching a scheme to fake their kidnapping during a rebel uprising in South America while hiding out in New York instead. Critics have thus far been less than enamoured.
Meanwhile over at Cinemateket, there’s a party going on. They’re celebrating the work of Denmark’s greatest living filmmaker, Lars von Trier. This Saturday at 16:30 you can see a trio of his early shorts: The Orchid Gardener, Nocturne and Befrielsesbilleder (Images of Liberation). There’s also a chance to see Nymphomaniac on Wednesday at 17:30 in its entirety (with the director’s preferred extended cuts). Tickets are 55-80 kroner and include both volumes (clocking in at a whopping 330 minutes).
From Denmark’s greatest living director to one of France’s most recently passed, Cinemateket is midway through a retrospective of Jacques Rivette’s work. Tonight (Thursday) at 21:15 you can see Claire Denis’ documentary The Night Watchman, a delicate portrait of Rivette and his importance in French filmmaking. More films will follow in the coming weeks. See dfi.dk/filmhuset for more details.
Finally, on Saturday, Huset’s annual Transgender Film Festival kicks off its two-day run at 19:30 with a series of short films from around the world. The standout is Carl(a), a drama about a young transgender girl who dreams of becoming a shoe designer in between performing in webcam porn. Tickets cost 70 kroner each day (reservations via jack.stevenson@mail.dk). See huset-kbh.dk.
