Movie of the Week:
Cléo From 5 to 7. Agnés Varda's feature-film debut injected an unprecedented woman's perspective into the all-male world of the nouvelle vague, its lighter-than-air tone making the gravity beneath the surface all the more deeply felt. We are with a pop singer with the stage name of Cléo Victoire, and we stay with her for 90 minutes of almost real time as she awaits the results of a doctor's test for cancer. Varda's Cléo is an exhilerating and deeply penetrating film: Just beyond the beguiling surface, the specter of mortality is always waiting. UC Irvine, Humanities Instructional Building 100, Campus N W. Peltason drs., Irvine, (949) 824-7418; www.filmandvideocenter.com. Thurs., March 6, 7 p.m. $3-$5.
Also Showing:
Hangover Square/Mystery of the Wax Museum. Laird Cregar stars as a musician who may or may not be a killer in Hangover Square. In Mystery of the Wax Museum, Glenda Farrell plays a reporter investigating the owner of the titular museum. Could he be stealing corpses from the local morgue and using them for his figures? The Friday Film Forum will present a preshow program of shorts, cartoons and surprises. Long Beach School for Adults, 3701 E. Willow St., Long Beach, (562) 997-8000. Fri., 7 p.m. $1 materials fee.
The Shining. In 1980, The Shining came to theaters, forever destroying the idea of “getting away with the family.” Shot by the notoriously obsessive perfectionist Stanley Kubrick (holding the record for most takes with dialogue: 127, poor things!) and really exploring the possibilities of the Steadicam (which was operated by the inventor of the contraption that would dominate future filmmaking), it's a story of madness, haunted hotels, not being very cool to your wife or child, and an always impeccably dramatic and hilarious Jack Nicholson. It's also a moral tale: If you choose to be a writer, you'll inevitably go insane and try to kill your family. (Guest written by Chesney Higgins) Regency South Coast Village, 1561 W. Sunflower Ave., Santa Ana. Wed., 7:30 p.m. $6.50.
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