Indie Picks: At The Movies This Weekend

One week after debuting in New York and Los Angeles, Austin is one of just a handful of markets that The Tree Of Life is expanding to in its second weekend. This makes sense, because director Terrence Malick calls Austin home these days and the movie was mostly shot around our area (mostly in Smithville, but Bastrop and Austin too). Last weekend's release in just four theaters broke a box-office record for distributor Fox Searchlight, averaging $88,080 per screen.

The Tree Of Life (Regal Arbor)
Over the course of almost forty years, Terrence Malick has only directed four films (Badlands, Days Of Heaven, The Thin Red Line and The New World). His fifth feature film just walked away with the Palm d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival and has been one of the most talked about films in recent memory.

We can't explain why, but The Tree Of Life is opening exclusively at the Regal Arbor this weekend on two screens. Now, we don't want to hate on the Arbor, but let's be honest here. This is a movie we've all been waiting to see for months. We want to see it on the biggest possible screen with the best possible sound. That just isn't going to happen at the Arbor. Thankfully, their exclusive booking is only for one week. We'll wait for it to turn up at the Alamo South Lamar next Friday.

Whether you end up loving it or hating it, this is a movie that every film lover in town needs to go see for themselves on the big screen.

Incendies (Violet Crown Cinema)
This French Canadian thriller was nominated for an Academy Award this year as Best Foreign Language Film and swept the Genies (Canada's Oscar) with eight awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Director Denis Villeneuve brings us the complicated story of twins Jeanne and Simon. When their mother dies, she leaves them two envelopes. They are asked to deliver one to a father who they've always thought was dead and another to a brother who they didn't know existed. The path to fulfill their mother's dying wish leads them down a path of betrayal and powerful lies which threaten to unravel what's left of their family.

We had the pleasure of seeing Incendies at SXSW this year and it stayed with us long after we left the theater. It's an extraordinary film and one that you won't soon forget.

Building Hope (Violet Crown Cinema)
This inspirational documentary from Austin-based director Turk Pipkin won the Lone Star Audience Award this year after making its World Premiere at SXSW. It follows Pipkin and The Nobelity Project as they set out to build the first high school in a remote Kenyan village.

Also, the Austin date of The Texas Monthly Rolling Roadshow happens on Sunday night at Dessau Hall. That is the location of Marty's bar in the Coen Brothers' classic Blood Simple. The Alamo Drafthouse will be screening the film there in 35mm starting at 9pm.

The event is free, but admission is first come, first serve. Bring your own blankets or chairs and enjoy the only Austin stop on this summer's tour of famous films from Texas!

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Matt Shiverdecker in Arts & Entertainment on June 3, 2011 10:45 AM 0 Comments

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Emma | craigslist pvas

Hi Matt well written piece i have now bookmarked your site, il have to see this movie aswell. I was always going to watch it anyway to see Brad of course.

Matt Shiverdecker

It is not at all hard to believe it is opening at the Arbor, I would just prefer not to see this movie there.

For a lot of indie films, what the Arbor offers is serviceable, but it's hardly known for its quality projection or presentation. There is often sound bleed from the adjacent auditorium and scores of senior citizens asking questions to each other about what just happened.

Personally, I'd rather wait a week and see it with quality digital projection, amazing sound and more comfortable seats at the Drafthouse and, quite frankly, I'm annoyed that I can't do that this weekend because the Arbor has an exclusive booking.

Michael Hanna

Well, I have never been distracted by sound bleed or seniors talking at the Arbor. Quite frankly, one of the advantages of the Arbor is that I don't have to show up 45 minutes before showtime for fear that I will end up sitting in the first three rows because a roving mob of hipsters has descended on a particular theater at 3:30 PM. The Alamo's perceived coolness is not baseless by any means, but it is a problem when I go into a theater well ahead of showtime and cannot sit in a million places because "this seat is saved." The difference between the two viewing experiences is a real thing, but it is not nearly as pronounced as you make it out to be.

mrtexasfreedom

Michael,

I'm right there with you on your disdain for the Alamo. The Alamo is the most commercial bottom-feeding theater in our meager options of 'independent' cinemas.

It's nice to see the distributor recognizing and supporting a theater like the Arbor that's willing to risk a few empty seats by showing multiple screenings of an independent film. Whereas, the Alamo Drafthouse will gladly project TELEVISION content on their screens if it means a full auditorium of food-buyers rather than support independent cinema. That's the same rationalization the big chain theaters like Cinemark make when they choose NOT to program independent films. Why show an unknown like "Cave of Forgotten Dreams" and risk half attendance when these Glee episodes mean a packed house?!? They'll put anything on the screen if it means butts-in-chairs..

Hooray Arbor! Hooray Violet Crown! RIP Dobie....

mtf

Matt Shiverdecker

The Alamo has NEVER set out to be an art house theater. They book a lot of indie content and have tons of special Austin Film Society events that are screenings we would not normally get in town, but that is not their goal and I don't think they've ever tried.

If the Regal had QUALITY projection, decent sound, comfortable seats and didn't subject me to 30 minutes of commercials before the movie, I might be more excited to go there.

I went on opening weekend at the Regal Arbor to see Mike Leigh's ANOTHER YEAR. The print, on its 2nd day, was spliced multiple times, the sound was way too quiet for the movie's thick accents and an audience of senior citizens who couldn't hear half it AND somebody in front of me had a goddamned baby two rows in front of me that cried through half the movie.

Also at a screening of Ozon's POTICHE, there was a woman directly behind me who violently shook through the entire movie and was hooked up to an oxygen tank.

I applaud their bookings, but it's like going to see a movie in a nursing home.

mrtexasfreedom

When you say "The Alamo has NEVER set out to be an art house theater" I realize some polite hospitality should probably be exchanged here.

Welcome to Austin, newcomer! Whereabouts did you recently move from?

Those of us who have lived in Austin for a bit will fondly recall the Alamo Drafthouse on Colorado, which was the first Alamo Drafthouse, and was absolutely an art-house theater.

After several successful years, the proprietors took over a closed cinema in the Village shopping center where they launched an experiment at projecting first-run mainstream films. They made $4 million in their first year of operating the Village.

Eventually, the landlord of the Colorado street location had to raise the lease. There was talk about converting the arthouse theater into a non-profit organization to free the landlord from some of his property tax obligation. That didn't work out. That was the last theater within the Alamo Drafthouse chain that primarily showed independent cinema.

Go check out the new Violet Crown theater. It's amazing. If you find the condition or quality of the experience at the Arbor to be lacking, you'll appreciate the luxury of the Violet Crown. Awesome programming, too. And no commercials for cars or other crap before the features like the Arbor tends to run.

mtf

Michael Hanna

It's not really that hard to believe that The Tree of Life is opening at the Regal Arbor. You do realize that since the Dobie went the way of the dinosaur that the Regal Arbor is the theater where the most new uncommercial films are shown, right? I mean, I love the Drafthouse too, but there are a lot of new films I would not get to see or that I would only have a few opportunities to see on the big screen if it were not for the Regal Arbor. If you have any doubt about this, just look on imdb.com from week to week.