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7:30 PM Sundance
White Night Wedding (2008 ICE): No Billy Idol or Dan White here, I'm afraid. Instead, White Night Wedding is an Icelandic comedy-drama based on a play by Anton Chekov. Hilmar Snaer Guonason stars as university prof Jon, a divorced older man planning to marry former student Thora (Laufey Eliasdottir). As the big day approaches, Jon begins to wonder if he's not about to make a huge mistake, and spends the night before in a welter of alcohol and self-incrimination. Though it's not as good as director Baltasar Kormakur's earlier rom-com 101 Reykjavik, White Night Wedding was a huge hit at home, captured seven Edda Awards, and was Iceland's official entry in 2008's Best Foreign Film Academy Award race. It airs again 11/30 at 9:20 PM.

Thursday 11/26/09

2:00 AM Showtime 3
The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008 GER): In and out of American art-houses in the blink of an eye, this controversial German feature makes its small screen debut this morning. Directed by Uli Edel (whose journey from Christiane F. to The Little Vampire is one of the most unlikely in film history), it's the story of The Red Army Faction, Germany's radical urban guerrilla movement of the early 1970s. Led by Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) and Andreas Baader (Moritz Bleibtreu), the RAF bombed, kidnapped, and assassinated their way through the decade, striking fear into the shrivelled hearts of heartless capitalists and greedy oligarchs throughout the Bundesrepublik. Bruno Ganz co-stars as the policeman in charge of bringing an end to their reign of terror and Johanna Wokalek scores points as Baader moll Gudrun Ensslin. The Baader Meinhof Complex was accused by some critics of glamorizing "terrorists"; I disagree, but understand that Edel's comfort level with elements of exploitation cinema could lead to such a (mis) interpretation. Perhaps it's time to watch Christiane F. again...

Friday 11/27/09

3:30 AM IFC
Last Days (2005 USA): It's definitely not for everyone, but Gus Van Sant's anti-biographical depiction of the last days of a rock star – "Blake", a not-terribly-well-disguised stand-in for the late Kurt Cobain - is a strangely mesmerizing and eerie look at one man's appetite for self-destruction, and the willingness of all around him to overlook same. Michael Pitt is simply awesome as the lank-haired rocker, who wanders aimlessly around his rural mansion, occasionally picks up a guitar for some spirited noodling, and almost gets talked into buying an ad in the Yellow Pages by a very convincing salesman (Thaddeus Thomas). In the meantime, his band-mates, lovers, and assorted hangers-on enjoy the trappings of Blake's success whilst blithely ignoring the man himself. I run hot and cold on Van Sant - I found his prior film, Elephant, far too cold and clinical - but his shtick works very effectively in Last Days, even though he succumbs as always to the temptation to stick in a gratuitous gay sex scene. Also airs at 9:00 AM.

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Psychomania (1973 GB): How many times did I watch Psychomania as a child? Too many times to tell. It seemed like this British horror film was on KTTV 11 at least once a month, and I never failed to miss it. Nicky Henson stars as Tom, the leader of a group of motorsickle enthusiasts known as The Living Dead, the second toughest gang of British bikers ever (the first, of course, being Hell's Grannies). The Living Dead enjoy long drives in the moonlight and cavorting with the Devil, who convinces them to kill themselves in exchange for an eternal afterlife of biking, boozing, and bonking. It's a really strange and oddly low-key film, featuring George Sanders (in his last screen role), Bill Pertwee, Beryl Reid, Robert Hardy, and a memorable post-psychedelic score by John Cameron. If you haven't seen Psychomania at least once, you haven't lived. Or died.

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