“Out 1,” Brooklyn Academy of Music, opens November 4Jacques Rivette’s “Out 1” exists in two different forms, both of which are obscure and have haunted the cinephiliac imagination for decades — mostly because they were impossible to obtain. Today, when most films can be acquired with very little effort or detective work, the simple fact that something is unattainable makes it special. You want to watch it simply because you can’t.But there are other factors that add to the legacy of “Out 1,” namely that the longer version of the film — “Out 1: Noli me Tangere” — clocks in at nearly 13 hours, serialized and broken up into eight episodes, and there is nothing more appealing for a completest than an endurance test.I watched all eight episodes of “Out 1” spread out over a couple of days and could have easily watched them all back-to-back. The film’s mysteries pull you in, and, although it should be noted that an attempt at a plot synopsis is futile and probably pointless (plot is far from the main focus of “Out 1”), here goes: The film has four parallel storylines — two of which revolve around theater troupes rehearsing four plays — “Seven Against Thebes” and “Prometheus Bound,” both by Aeschylus, another that follows a woman who repeatedly cons men out of money, and the final one about a deaf man who plays a harmonica and asks for change in cafes. Soon enough, these narrative strands begin to crisscross — the deaf man (who, it turns out, is not actually deaf) attempts to find information on a secret group called The Thirteen (the answers he’s looking for might be found in one of the theater groups), while the con-woman steals some letters from a man that make references about the same group called The Thirteen. In between there a long stretches of primal-scream-style rehearsals, characters who disappear, and others that start to be referred to under different names. Clues are discovered and then discarded. Identities and allegiances can switch from one scene to the next.This constant energy is what keeps “Out 1” exciting and watchable. It’s a long haul, but the episodic structure helps, as does much of the humor and the all-star cast of New Wave-era actors, including Jean-Pierre Léaud, Juliet Berto, Bulle Ogier, Michael Lonsdale, and more.“In Jackson Heights,” Film Forum, opens November 4Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary takes place right here in New York City. But where the camera lands is far from the tourist attractions and bro’d-out brunch zones of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Jackson Heights, Queens, is the most diverse neighborhood in the city and also one of the most activist-friendly. Wiseman captures the neighborhood during a tense summer, as rents are rising at rates that are unaffordable to tenants, and the gay community plans their annual pride parade through the neighborhood. The World Cup is always on in the background (the neighborhood’s favorite team, based on the footage, is certainly Colombia) and different groups convene in the local synagogue, which doubles as a community center. Some of the best moments are brief, when Wiseman’s camera is able to step away from a town-hall-style meeting or the intimate couplings inside a local gay club and watch the streets from afar. It’s here that the neighborhood truly comes alive.“Sembene!,” Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, opens November 6A comprehensive if slightly dry portrait of Senegalese writer and filmmaker Ousmane Sembene, who died in 2007. Despite the relative popularity of some of his films — especially “Black Girl” (1966) and “Xala” (1975) — outside of Africa, they are, sadly, still hard to find, and when they are shown it is often in poor quality prints or digital transfers. (Luckily, a new digital restoration of “Black Girl” showed up at the New York Film Festival, with hopefully more to come.) This documentary is especially worth seeing for the information about his later films, like the controversy surrounding “Ceddo” (1977) and the way he shot his final film, “Moolaade” (2004), while almost blind. Not as interesting as it could be, but a perfect starting point or companion piece to Sembene’s body of work.“Nasty Baby,” IFC Center, ongoingThis was one of my favorite films from BAMCinemaFest earlier this year. Sebastián Silva writes, directs, and stars in this one, about an artist who is trying have a child with his boyfriend (TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe) and reluctantly uses his best friend (Kristen Wiig) as their surrogate. What seems like a gentle comedy about the awkwardness and frayed emotions that go into parenting ultimately turns into — well, I don’t want to spoil it. Catch this one before it disappears.“The Blue Room,” Anthology Film Archives, November 6, 8Part of a series dedicated to the actor-director Mathieu Amalric, this is his excellent adaptation of George Simenon’s novel of the same name. I loved it when it played at the New York Film Festival in 2014 (read the review here) and, like some of the other films in this week’s column, who knows if this will ever show up again. You might be able to catch it streaming one day, but Amalric’s claustrophobic visuals (he filmed in the traditional 1:33 aspect ratio) deserve to be seen on a big screen.
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