fri, oct 3

DANCE | Undercurrents, José Mateo Ballet Theatre

José Mateo Ballet Theatre opens its 18th season with “Undercurrents”, consisting of three ballet pieces choreographed by José Mateo. The performance will include “The Last Circus” set to Stravinsky’s “Concerto for Piano and Wind Instruments”, “Courtly Lovers” set to Haydn’s “Surprise Symphony”, and a new ballet set to music by Schumann. The works will be presented with cabaret-style seating, offering a close view of the performers; cocktails will also be served during the performance. Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m., Sun. at 4 p.m., and Thurs. at 7:30 p.m. $28. Sanctuary Theatre, 400 Harvard St., Cambridge. (MPL)

FILM | Dance, Girl, Dance by Dorothy Arzner (1940, 89 min.)

In the film that made much-loved physical comedienne Lucille Ball a full-fledged statr, Maureen O’Hara and Ball are dancers fleshing out the age-old dichotomy of art as art and art as business. O’Hara struggles to succeed in ballet, whereas Ball gains a somewhat notorious celebrity in a burlesque club. Directed with a keen eye by Dorothy Azner, Dance, Girl, Dance also features snappy choreography by her good friend Marion Morgan. 6:15 p.m. $8 students. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (MPL)

FILM | In July

Kinetic and quirky, In July is the grueling geographic saga of Daniel (Moritz Bleibtreu, who last appeared as Lola’s significant other in Run Lola Run), who suddenly decides to quit his mundane job as a physics teacher and travels to Istanbul in search of his dream girl. He shares most of his European travails with Juli (Christiane Paul), a vibrant young woman who predicts Daniel will soon find his one true love. In German, Turkish, Bulgarian, and Serbo-Croatian with English subtitles. 8 p.m. $8 students. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (MPL)

MUSIC | Mix 98.5 Mixfest X

Boston’s Mix 98.5 presents Mixfest X, the tenth year in what many consider the best Adult Radio concert series. This year’s concert features Mixfest alumni Duran Duran, Barenaked Ladies and Train, as well as radio favorites Dido, Tori Amos, Michelle Branch, and Vertical Horizon. Jason Mraz, the breakout star of the summer, will also take the stage, and Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray is the guest MC. 6 p.m. $39.50-87.50. FleetCenter, 1 FleetCenter Pl., Boston. (MPL)

MUSIC | Capercaillie

Blending traditional Scottish music with contemporary rhythms, Capercaillie’s reinterpretations of Gaelic jigs and ancient love songs have made them a unique fixture on the Scottish music scene. Singer Karen Matheson performs in both English and Gaelic, and is accompanied by seven band members playing everything from guitar, fiddle, accordion, and bouzouki to flute, pipes, and keyboards. 8 p.m. $22-28. Somerville Theatre, 55 Davis Sq., Somerville. (MPL)

MUSIC | Nnenna Freelon

Nnenna Freelon sings at the 5th Anniversary Benefit Concert for the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund (CHAF) with a concert entitled “Coming Home to Help the Homeless”. Freelon, a five-time Grammy nominee and a Cambridge native, will present a mix of gospel, jazz, and rhythm and blues. 8 p.m. $23-28. Sanders Theatre. (MPL)

MUSIC | Moonraker

Named “Outstanding Pop/Rock Band” at the 2003 Boston Music Awards, Moonraker, an electronic outfit from Boston, plays in support of their self-titled debut. They have toured with the likes of Lake Trout, Elefant, Joan Osbourne, The Slip, DJ Spooky, and the Broken Social Scene, and they return to the band’s birthplace with some reworked material and a batch of new songs. Annie Clark and Iluminada also perform. 9:30 p.m. $10; 18+. T.T. the Bear’s Place, 10 Brookline Street. (MPL)

READINGS | Nan Levinson

The former U.S. correspondent for Index on Censorship reads from her new book, Outspoken: Free Speech Stories. Levinson has written and taught about free speech issues for more than ten years, and is particularly interested in why censorship remains such an attractive solution to social unrest, and what actions can be taken to address these issues. Her book profiles twenty people from all walks of life who refused to let their right of freedom of speech be taken from them. 3 p.m. Free. Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. (MPL)

sat, oct 4

VISUAL ART | Learning to Look

This presentation includes a slideshow and tour of the exhibition “Splat Boom Pow!” which focuses on the use of cartoons by three generations of visual artists to depict recent changes in culture and society. The Institute of Contemporary Art, 955 Boylston, 9:30-11 a.m., $10 for ICA members/$15 non, reservations required. (JW)

FILM | Jaffney Roode Presents

Jaffney Roode presents comedy & film with Anderson Anderson, Boston’s darling of sketch comedy, presents some not too clever excerpts from their new DVD “Art Film,” as well as edgy, live performances of some dated favorites. Expect tasteful nudity. Just because it’s comedy doesn’t mean you’ll laugh. Go early for jazz pieces performed with aplomb by acclaimed solo pianist Joe Dela Penna. 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square. (JW)

FILM | Whale Rider

When their leader dies, a Maori community in New Zealand must come to terms with their new leader, a female and the twin of the deceased. Directed with evocative, poignant subtlety by Niki Caro, this film has received accolades for its beautiful cinematography and the breakthrough performance of its young protagonist, played by the precocious newcomer Keisha Castle-Hughes. The MFA, 11 a.m., $8 students. (JW)

FILM | I Have Found It

Rajiv Menon’s modern-day adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility takes place in the unlikely world of South India, focusing on the lives of two girls and their romances with an aspiring New York filmmaker, an injured soldier, and a young man working in the stock market. In Tamil with English subtitles. 3 p.m. $8 students. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. (JW)

MUSIC | Black Moon

Award-winning country band Black Moon comes to Cambridge to celebrate their new CD release. 8 p.m. $15 adv/ $18 DOS; 18+. The Middle East Downstairs, 472 Mass. Ave. (JW)

MUSIC | The Dianne Reeves Quartet

Two-time Grammy winner Dianne Reeves revisits one of her favorite venues to perform songs from two Blue Note CDs “In the Moment” and “The Calling.” Ms. Reeves boasts a three-octave range and “a melody like no other” (Billboard, 2002). With a three-octave range and a powerfully expressive delivery, vocalist Reeves won two back-to-back Grammys in 2001 and 2002 (after three nominations) for the Blue Note CDs In the Moment and The Calling. She expects to release a new Blue Note CD this fall.  8 p.m.  $27.50, $22.50. Sanders Theatre. (JW)

READINGS | Candlelight Open Back Poetry Night

Artists are welcomed to perform their poetry, songs, music, or written word with poet Deborah Priestly in the homey atmosphere of Out of the Blue Gallery. 8 p.m. sign-up, Out of the Blue Gallery, 106 Prospect St., Cambridge. (JW)

sun, oct 5

MUSIC | R.E.M.

With such classic singles as “Man On The Moon” and “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It,” it’s not surprising that R.E.M. has remained a student staple for over 15 years. Expect more of their signature folksy guitar sound at this concert, which renowned singer-songwriter Pete Yorn is opening. 7 p.m. $28.50-$65.  Tweeter Center, 885 South Main St., Mansfield. (TIH)

MUSIC | Rainer Maria

With their name taken from the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, these Wisconsin indie rockers first scored with their critically acclaimed first album “Past Worn Searching.” 8 p.m. $12; 18+.  The Middle East Downstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave. (TIH)

READINGS | Coritual Word Art Series

This multifaceted event is dedicated to the preservation and collaboration of the written and spoken arts. Also open to dancers and musicians, with live interviews with artists about their work, motivation, and future projects. 7 p.m. $7. Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St. (WBP)

MISC | Going to Israel & Palestine

For anyone whose interest in the Middle East goes beyond politics, “Going to Israel & Palestine” promises to be an eye-opening event, combining Palestinian-Israeli food, music, poetry, dance, discussions, art, and more. Noon. Free. 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge. (WBP)

DANCE | Shiv-Shakti

If years of ballet shows and jazz tap performances have left you seeking new dance thrills, these exotic and beautiful classical Indian dances, presented by the Triveni School of Dance, will delight you no end.  2 p.m. Free. MIT Kresge Auditorium, 48 Mass. Ave. (TIH)

weds, oct 8

FILM | Open Film Screening

Open screening night. If your movie is less than 7 minutes long, and you sign up between 6:30-7 p.m. Wednesday night, they will show it during the screenings from 9:30-11 p.m. Accepted formats: 16mm, Super8, VHS, Mini Dv, and DVD. Support the artistic efforts of the Cambridge community in what will be no doubt an intellectually stimulating Thursday-night diversion. The Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St. (SW)

MUSIC | Steve Winwood

Those who are looking for the classic Steve Winwood of the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith and his solo albums, Back in the High Life and Roll With It, will be disappointed with Winwood’s performance. Instead, his show is based on his new album, About Time, the newest step in Winwood’s continuous maturation. This time, the Hammond B-3 organ is the center of the album, which allows him new ways to experiment and continue his exploration of his diverse influences. Watch him break new ground. 7 p.m. Tickets from $31.50 to $49. The Orpheum, 1 Hamilton Place, Boston. (SW)

MUSIC | George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic

When you hear these men, you can’t help but shake your groove thing! They have brought us the majesty of “Chocolate City,” the mystery of “Dr. Funkenstein,” the “Agony of Defeet,” and the “Theme From The Black Hole,” among others. At each of their shows and in every performance, “Fantasy Is Reality” and every audience member can’t help but “Do That Stuff.” 9 p.m. Tickets $28; 18+. The Roxy, 279 Tremont St, Boston. (SW)

thurs, oct 9

VISUALS | 100 Weaves of India

Rare antique and contemporary textile crafts from different regions of India will be on display. Several of these weaves and embroideries embody centuries of ancient craft traditions through which rural and tribal artisan communities have earned their livelihood. Part of the revenue raised by the exhibit will benefit the endangered artists of India through FIRE: Funding Indian Rural Enterprise, details of which can be seen at www.projectfire.org. Through Oct. 12. Free opening reception at 6 p.m. with an Indian classical dance performance in the Kathak Style by Sanjeevani Kukreja. Zeitgeist Gallery, 1353 Cambridge St. (SW)

MUSIC | Hieroglyphics’ Full Circle Tour

Features Del tha Funkee Homosapien, one of hip-hop’s most interesting musical innovators, who has pulled his posse, the Hieroglyphics, out of relative obscurity with a strong electronica-influenced MC style. With a strong sense of flow and solid rhymes indisputable to anyone who wants to see why underground hip-hop has a strong fan base, they bring the beats back into service for black culture and blatantly demonstrate the ridiculousness of the bling-bling culture. 8 p.m. $20 advance, $23 door; 18+. The Middle East Downstairs, 472 Massachusetts Ave. (SW)

MUSIC | Boston Philharmonic Discovery Series

The Boston Philharmonic comes to Sanders Theatre to celebrate everyone’s favorite Bohemian Gustav Mahler with a retrospective. For those not familiar with our illustrious, bespectacled friend, commentary will be read before each piece, making sure the audience gets a full understanding of the genius they are lucky enough to witness. The concert hits all the right notes, featuring “Blumine,” “Songs of a Wayfarer” and “Symphony No. 1 (Titan).” Tickets $54, $42, $30, $15; $4 off for students/seniors. 7:30 p.m. Sanders Theater. (SW)

READINGS | Ultimate Punishment

Scott Turow subtitles his autobiographical book A Lawyer’s Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty, but the interest comes less from his position as lawyer as from his second career: best-selling author of such thrillers as Presumed Innocent, Reversible Errors and his memoir of his years at Harvard Law School. Here, he mines his experience as a lawyer to explicate how and why his views on the death penalty have changed over the years, and why we should agree with him. Expect plenty of high-voltage arguments. 6 p.m, Ames Courtroom, Austin Hall, 1515 Mass. Ave. (SW)

films

11’9’01

Eleven directors explore the terrorist attacks of two years ago for this feature-length anthology, made up of eleven short films lasting exactly eleven minutes, nine seconds and one frame each. The chapters jump freely along any number of tangents to the events of Sept. 11, 2001‚ from sharp political observations to moments of simple human loss. The film appears in American theaters at last, following a lengthy struggle to find a distributor here after being branded un-American. Though it was conceived of and assembled by a French television producer, 11’9’01 has an international spirit: each renowned director hails from a different country. America is represented by Sean Penn, while Ken Loach, the acclaimed observer of social ills, comes out for Britain. Mira Nair, who won a Harvard Arts Medal this spring‚ represents India. (SWVL)

American Splendor

One of the most refreshing films of the year, American Splendor skillfully manipulates the medium of film in the same way last year’s Adaptation toyed with the basic structures of the screenplay. Splendor’s foundation is the life of chronically cantankerous graphic artist Harvey Pekar, whose series of autobiographic comic books in the ’70s and ’80s captured the innate complexities of a simple existence and ultimately revolutionized the comic book industry. These books had a number of different illustrators, and the varying styles are translated by directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini into various visual presentations of Pekar. For the majority of the film, he is portrayed by Paul Giamatti, who pulls no punches in presenting the artist in all his ill-tempered glory. At other times, the actual Pekar appears in the form of footage from David Letterman appearances or to comment on the film’s production. At other times, he is shown as no more than a pencil sketch. These interpretations intermingle to give a fully realized portrayal of this oddly compelling figure. By maximizing the potential of the motion picture art form, Splendor manages at once to revel in its constructions and transcend them. (BYC)

Anything Else

With the box office for his movies dwindling with each successive release, Woody Allen pulls out all the stops to attract an audience for Anything Else. His pre-film desperation apparently was so great that he even managed not to cast himself as romantic lead opposite an actress 40 years his junior. Christina Ricci and the film’s overall plausibility level benefit as a result, but Anything Else has nevertheless been a catastrophe for both Allen and his financial backers. The movie is marginally better than the director’s other recent efforts, even making a few Annie Hall-worthy observations and launching the occasional great one-liner. But despite the dogged efforts of leading man Jason Biggs—clearly inserted as an idealized younger version of Allen—the film ultimately suffers from having too many characters who are all just too crazy to be believed. Squandering a cast which includes Stockard Channing and Danny DeVito is no easy feat, but the characters’ conflicting neuroses, psychoses and bizarre philosophical views grow tiresome long before the film has finished its first hour. In titling his movie Anything Else, Allen has unwittingly suggested which movies potential theatergoers would be better off seeing. (NKB)

Camp

Todd Graff leaps offstage with his cinematic directorial debut, Camp. Hailed as the Fame for a new generation, it lives up to its promise as a feel-good, energetic flick about misfit kids who sing and dance their way to a sense of community at a stereotypical theater camp. The requisite gay boys bunk together, with Robin de Jesus’ Michael, a self-doubting Latino, providing the stand-out performance of the film. Joanna Chilcoat plays Ellen, a love-lorn teenage girl devoted to her gay male campmates, with grace and humor, and falls for the seemingly sole straight camper, Vlad (Daniel Letterle), the less-than-captivating Romeo of her romance. The theme is somewhat tired—we all know what it’s like to not fit in at high school—but the music and choreography are great. Besides, what could beat a cameo performance by Stephen Sondheim, replete with stretch limo? Only the uproarious reaction of these Broadway babies to his arrival at summer camp. (ABM)

Lost in Translation

Fulfilling the boundless promise exhibited in her debut effort, The Virgin Suicides, director Sofia Coppola crafts a sublime love letter to both Tokyo and transitory friendship with her newest film, Lost in Translation. Hollywood star Bob Harris (Bill Murray) has been shipped off to Japan to hawk Suntory whiskey to the natives. There he encounters Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), the beautiful wife of a photographer who spends much of her day staring out her window in hopes of somehow finding herself within the city’s skyline. The pair are soon discovering Tokyo culture and a profundity in their friendship that is lacking in their respective marriages. Johansson perfects the prolonged sulk, while Murray delivers his best performance yet, donning the hats of weary voyager, droll companion and cynical mentor with equal comfort. There are plenty of belly laughs to be had along the way, but what remains with the viewer is the significance of the fleeting connection that these two people share. Coppola dreamily lingers on every scene, adorning each of them with the sensation of the aftermath of a first kiss. (BYC)

The Magdalene Sisters

Set in an unconventional nunnery in 1960s Ireland, The Magdalene Sisters is a film about hypocrisy, dogma and the horrible deeds committed as a result of religious hysteria. This fact-based story focuses on the lives of three women who, in one sense or another, are judged by the Catholic Church as having been “sinful” and, as a result, are essentially sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor and abuse at the hands of the Sisters of Mercy in what was known as a Magdalene Laundry. The sins of these women extend from the merely unthinkable—flirting with boys—to the purely satanic bearing a child out of wedlock or being raped by one’s cousin. In reprisal for these transgressions, the nuns of the Laundry subject the women to humiliation, threats of eternal damnation, and pure outright sadism, all of which all but force the women—many of whom had been entirely sexually innocent prior to their arrival—to sell themselves for the slightest opportunity of escape. Not so much an attack on Catholicism as all religion, this film depicts the needless abuses inflicted upon women in the name of faith. (SNJ)

The Secret Lives of Dentists

Alan Rudolph’s adaptation of Jane Smiley’s novella “The Age of Grief,” features projectile vomiting on the scale of Spirited Away but manages to make it charming. Three young girls, sickeningly cute even with the flu, steal the show from their parents, dentists and partners-in-practice David (Campbell Scott) and Dana Hurst (Hope Davis). The blond babes are also the only thing rooting David to the roost—he thinks he has witnessed his wife stealing a kiss backstage at her debut singing Verdi as an amateur soprano—and his visions of her infidelity envelop him as the movie progresses. These fantasies are spurred by David’s ethereal companion, Slater (Denis Leary), his most difficult patient, who follows him home in spirit to tap his repressed emotions. Through accomplished acting and exacting direction, the cast manages to achieve wonders with a somewhat limited script, presenting a look as if through a keyhole at the crossroads of a contemporary relationship. (ABM)

Swimming Pool

François Ozon’s Swimming Pool is a sexy, mysterious thriller that seamlessly weaves fantasy and reality into a single plotline which will leave viewers either completely confused or entirely satisfied. Sarah Morton, as played by English actress Charlotte Rampling, is an accomplished mystery author whose career has descended from critical acclaim to popularity among bored housewives and her peers’ mothers. Insecure and unable to write, she travels from London to her publisher’s house in southern France. Looking for peace and solitude, she instead encounters her publisher’s French daughter, Julie, whose reckless and promiscuous lifestyle is exactly what Sarah is trying to escape. Thrown together, the reluctant housemates enter an odd relationship in which both simultaneously disapprove of and are fascinated by the other. The result is a complex and subtle mystery that transcends standard thriller and mystery cliches. Swimming Pool will be rewarding for more cerebral viewers; for others, it may be hopelessly confusing. (SNJ)

Thirteen

Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) and Evie (Nikki Reed) have just become teenagers in Thirteen, the story of a nice dorky girl who befriends the most popular girl in junior high and is led into the seedy underbelly of teenage life: drugs, sex and petty crime. Co-written by Reed and based on her own experiences, Thirteen has a refreshingly true perspective: it doesn’t blame anyone for Reed’s interest in the cool clique, it just shows her desire to be a part of it. As Wood follows Reed deeper and deeper into the hole they create for themselves, the movie becomes more and more over the top, but the strong acting keeps it from becoming a cheap, cautionary after-school special. But the key is Holly Hunter, playing Wood’s divorced mother. She embodies a mother who is both easy to hate and rebel against and then, finally, to come back to in an ending that lets the audience forgive all her maternal mistakes in the aura of the true love she shares with her daughter. (ASW)

Under the Tuscan Sun

A bit of late-summer escapism unfolds on the other side of the pond, as a recent divorcee (Diane Lane) flees to Italy, purchases a villa and finds a mysterious foreign love interest. Adapted for the screen by Audrey Well—who also produced and directed—from author Frances Mayes’ bestselling memoir, with a number of departures from the book. In the past, Wells has been responsible for such mixed fare as George of the Jungle, The Truth About Cats and Dogs, and The Kid; here she strives to transcend the cliches of the typical romantic romp. An array of complications and subplots flesh out the simple story of one woman falling in love with a countryside estate, a beautiful landscape and a new life. (SWVL)

Happening was edited by Tiffany I. Hsieh ’04 and compiled by Nathan K. Burstein ’04, Tina Rivers ’05, Jordan Walker ’07, M. Patricia Li ’07, William S. Payne ’07, Simon W. Vozick-Levinson ’06 and Alex S. Wasserstein ’07.

To submit an event for inclusion in Happening, please e-mail listing information to listings@thecrimson.com. Event details must be submitted by the Monday prior to the issue’s publication.