After Hours screening Dvortsevoy's 'Tulpan'
'Tulpan'
The After Hours Film Society presents Sergei Dvortsevoy's seemingly plotless look at the lives of poor ranchers in Kazakhstan. It's an astonishing work, ripe with subtle humor and deep compassion for its characters eking out a meager living in a desolate land. A returning sailor sets his sights on the only available woman in miles. But she thinks his ears are too big to be her husband. Tickets cost $9. Go to afterhoursfilmsociety.com or call (630) 534-4528 for details. Not rated. 100 minutes.
Info: 7:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, at the Tivoli, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove.
"Baader-Meinhof"
Uli Edel's fact-based drama "The Baader-Meinhof Complex" is an unromantizied examination of how Germany's infamous domestic terrorists, the Red Army Faction (RAF), came together and how the power of its politics kept it going after the original leadership was killed or committed suicide. A surprisingly evenhanded drama that avoids taking sides. Starring Martina Gedeck and Moritz Bleibreu. Rated R for sexual situations, violence, nudity, language. 150 minutes.
Info: Starts today at the Century Centre in Chicago and the Renaissance Place in Highland Park.
"Ocean of Pearls"
The acting ranges from subtle to high-school histrionics. Some scenes are visual poetry, others not. But Dr. Sarab Singh Neelam's ambitious drama is one of the most sincere and purposeful movies I've seen. It's not only a critique of American health care, but a plea for tolerance, plus a test of identity. A turban-wearing Sikh named Amrit (Omid Abtahi) is a successful transplant surgeon in Detroit who must decide how much to compromise his culture to succeed. Over-the-top moral moralizing, but it works. Rated PG-13 for language. 97 minutes.
Info: Starts today at Chicago's Pipers Alley.