The Man Who Cried

Dir. Sally Potter (2000).
Rich with crazy anachronism and ludicrous revelation, Sally Potter’s ultra romantic, yet frugal, extravaganza gives bad movies a good name. The combination of cool visuals and overheated drama renders this tale of pogroms, chorus girls, and sinking ocean liners blatantly dreamlike. While the filmmaker seems humorless, she does not lack lunatic conviction—her resourceful mise-en-scene in the handling of hopeless acting and escalating absurdities recalls poverty-row maestro Edgar G. Ulmer.

Sat., July 10, 8 p.m., 2010