Movie Watch: road trips and Fassbinder

EXPAND your movie horizon beyond the latest Hollywood blockbuster by checking out the road trip movies at Summer escapade films at the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design (MCAD) and a Goethe Institut’s Rainer Werner Fassbinder retrospective.
Road trip movies revolving around a duo of protagonists are at the heart of the films being screened this April at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde’s MCAD.
First up is Jerry Schatzberg’s Scarecrow, showing on April 6 and 8. Starring Gene Hackman and Al Pacino, it follows an ex-con drifter and a homeless former sailor as they travel from California to Pittsburgh where the former hopes to open a car wash. Although the film bombed in the US box office, it tied for the 1973 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix with The Hireling by Alan Bridges.
Next is Wim Wenders’ Alice in the Cities on April 11, 13, and 15. Philip, a West German writer, accompanies Alice, a young girl entrusted in his care, as they travel from the United States to Germany to deliver the child to her grandmother. The movie is considered a watershed in Wender’s career, as he found his trademark style during its inception.
Up next on April 18, 20, and 22 is Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, which was then considered ahead of its time for a Hollywood movie for having two female leads. Starring former Academy Award winners Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, what was supposed to be an ordinary fishing trip turns into a nightmare when Louise accidentally kills the man who tried to rape Thelma, forcing them to run from the law.
Rounding up the festival is Takeshi Kitano’s Kikujiro on April 25, 27, and 29. Kikujuro accompanies Masao on a journey to visit his mother from a faraway town. When they lose all their money at the races, they decide to hitchhike the rest of the way.
All screenings will be held at the MCAD Multimedia Room, with two showings on Wednesdays and Fridays, at noon and 3 p.m., and at noon on Sundays.
The shows are free and open to the public. For details, e-mail mcad@benilde.edu.ph, or call 230-5100 local 3897.
MCAD is located at the School of Design and Arts Campus of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila.
FASSBINDER RETROSPECTIVE
Fans of the late German filmmaker, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and enthusiasts of German cinema can now enjoy free screenings of his films. Eleven Fassbinder films including a documentary about him will be screened for free every weekend from April 7 to 22 at the FDCP Cinematheque Center, TM Kalaw Ave., Manila. To be shown on the retrospective are:
• Fassbinder (2015) on April 7, 5 p.m. The documentary was made with unprecedented access to the filmmaker’s family and friends.
• Katzelmacher (1969), April 7, 7:30 p.m. A migrant worker from Greece joins a group of young people in Munich.
• The Merchant of Four Seasons (1971), April 8, 5 p.m. Things change after an unhappy man, suffers a heart attack.
• The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (1972), April 8, 7:30 p.m. An arrogant fashion designer falls in love with an icy beauty who wants to be a model.
• Martha (1973), April 14, 5 p.m. The story of a less than ordinary marriage.
• Fear Eats the Soul (1973), April 14, 7:30 p.m. What happens when a elderly German woman and a Moroccan migrant worker 25 years younger decide to marry.
• Fox and his Friends (1974), April 15, 5 p.m. A young West German working-class man wins the lottery.
• Chinese Roulette (1976), 7:30 p.m. The story of a long weekend at a secluded country estate.
• The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978), April 21, 5 p.m. How Maria prospers in Germany’s “economic miracle” of the 1950s.
• Lili Marleen (1980), April 21, 7:30 p.m. The story behind a song.
• Veronika Voss (1981), April 22, 5 p.m. The unlikely relationship between a forgotten starlet and a sportswriter.
• Lola (1981), April 22, 7:30 p.m. A seductive cabaret singer-prostitute wants out.
Free admission on a first come, first serve basis.