Limited runs and special events:
@ Facets, 1517 W Fullerton, 773/281-4114:
Hush! – Gay-themed Japanese film about a gay couple and their desire to have a child. – May 30-Jun. 5;
@ Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312/846-2600: From The Other Side (directed by Chantal Akerman) – May 21 & 22; Nina Simone, Love Sorceress (1998 documentary about the late Ms. Simone’s 1976 European concert) – May 21 & 22; Farewell, My Concubine (starring the late Leslie Cheung, who ‘played many straight romantic roles throughout his career’ and ‘also played numerous gay, bisexual, transvestite, and cross-dressing characters, and was considered to have pioneered a new era of freedom and openness in portrayal of such characters in Asian cinema’) – May 24 & 27
In theaters:
Finding Nemo (Disney/Pixar)—Ellen DeGeneres was born to play (and provide the voice for) Dory, a friendly but forgetful Regal Blue Tang fish that comes to the aid of distraught Clownfish and father Marlin (voiced by Albert Brooks). Marlin is in search of his young son Nemo (voiced by Alexander Gould), who was scooped up by a scuba diving dentist in the Great Barrier Reef. Along the way, Dory and Marlin come in contact with a trio sharks (one of whom is voiced by Dame Edna herself, Barry Humphries) who are trying to rehabilitate themselves and learn to live peacefully among the others. They get swallowed by a whale (a very Walt Disney’s Pinocchio thing to do); and ride the raging current with a flock of green sea turtles, including surfer dude Crush (voiced by Finding Nemo’s writer/director Andrew Stanton ). Meanwhile, Nemo has joined the other fish in the dentist’s office aquarium, and leader Gill (Willem Dafoe) helps to plan the escape and reunion with the assistance of the other aquarium residents and a flighty pelican named Nigel (Geoffrey Rush). I’ve been down on Disney for their empty and pointless cartoon sequels and trashy live-action features, but this Pixar co-production (like Monsters, Inc. and both Toy Stories) is a fully realized cinematic experience. (A-)
L’Auberge espagnole—(Fox Searchlight) Loosely translated as The Spanish Apartment, this funny, sexy, touching and extremely entertaining French comedy presents a colorful and multilingual look at love and life with roommates. Xavier (Romain Duris), a somewhat conservative young man leaves his needy girlfriend Martine (Audrey Tatou) and aging hippie mother behind for Spain, where he plans to study economics. After two unsuccessful living situations, including one with a couple he met on an airplane, Xavier finally joins a half dozen international students sharing a less than spacious flat. When the rent is raised by the landlord, another roommate, Isabelle (Cecile De France), a lesbian classmate of Xavier’s, moves in to the apartment. While Xavier and Isabelle bond, and she shares her erotic adventures with him and offers advice, Xavier must make a decision about what to do regarding his flagging relationship with Martine and the affair he is having with married Anne-Sophie (Judith Godreche). Some viewers may recognize actor Kevin Bishop (who plays flatmate Wendy’s obnoxious younger brother William) from his role as the gay music student from Food Of Love. (A-)
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