“Portrait of Jason” (1967), directed by Shirley Clarke, Museum of Art & Design, January 22, 7pmAn under-the-radar but essential program is happening right now at the Museum of Art & Design in Manhattan, dedicated to the mother and daughter filmmakers Shirley and Wendy Clarke. It’s the first program in a new series at the museum called “Eye on a Director,” and it appears to be the first time the Clarkes’ work has appeared together. I could and should suggest that readers see everything in the program, but because time is limited and purse strings are tightened, I’ll make a case for “Portrait of Jason,” perhaps the most famous film made by Shirley Clarke. The title character stands, and sits, and paces nervously in front of Clarke’s camera, telling her and us about his life as a queer black man, and as a hustler, and as a performer. He drinks, and continues to drink, throughout the film, getting visibly drunker. We learn that his name, Jason Holliday, is not his real name. Clarke’s voice can be heard from behind the camera, and Jason often calls out to her and other members of the crew. The documentary gaze is broken, and the film asks you to question whether what is happening is real or just another layer of performance. Oh, and if you need another reason to see it, the film is screening in a recently restored 35mm print, courtesy of Milestone Films.Ken Jacobs/Nervous Magic Lantern Festival, Anthology Film Archives, January 22, 23, 24, 8pmAll weekend, in the first part of a yearlong tribute to Ken Jacobs at Anthology Film Archives, will be shows curated by the group diNMachine that sees four artists/groups take the stage per night for a performance, during which Jacobs will project live with his Nervous Magic Lantern System. What is his Nervous Magic Lantern System? Go here and find out more, and trust me, this is not something you want to miss. Live cinema as you’ve never seen it before.“Bleak Street,” directed by Arturo Ripstein, Film Forum, ongoingRipstein’s films are criminally under-seen in the United States, and the more people that go to see this film, the more chance we have of a retrospective of his work in the near future. I wrote about “Bleak Street” at length here.Master Class with Alan Berliner, Film Society of Lincoln Center, January 24, 6pmThe artist Alan Berliner is giving a free lecture on the “use of sound and image metaphors” in his work as part of the New York Jewish Film Festival, which runs through January 26. Berliner’s films “Intimate Stranger” (1991) and “Nobody’s Business” (1996), which he will discuss during the presentation, are screening as part of the festival.“The Big Short,” directed by Adam McKay, in wide release, ongoingI’ve rambled on in this column a few times about my lack of enthusiasm for most of the “prestige” movies that came out at the tail end of 2015, but this is one that I have not written about and I think it deserves a little more attention, especially since it received a few Oscar nominations recently (it would be inspiring if anything worthwhile associated with that disaster of an awards show could beat out the other dreck that surrounds it). Adam McKay, mostly known up to this point for his body of comedic work — the amazing “Step Brothers” (2008), the “Anchorman” (2004, 2013) films — puts together a ton of information to create a clear tone and dramatic line where none may have been immediately evident. It’s angry when it needs to be and never talks down to the audience in that over-explanatory style that destroys documentaries about subjects like the financial crisis.
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