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11:05 PM Starz Citation
Chicken With Plums (2011 FRA-GER-BEL): Written and directed by Iranian emigre Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis), Chicken With Plums relates the tragic story of Nasser-Ali (Matthieu Amalric), an acclaimed musician who loses the will to live after his wife breaks his priceless violin. Set in Tehran circa 1958, the film flits back and forth through time, but concentrates on the week immediately following the unfortunate accident. Blending magical realism, animation, and Sirkian artificiality, this unique and moving feature was adapted from one of Satrapi’s graphic novels. Perhaps the loveliest film ever made about suicide, Chicken With Plums won the Special Jury Prize at the Dublin International Film Festival.

Thursday 7/18/13

1:15 PM Flix
The Last Wave (1978 AUS): I'm still as baffled by this Peter Weir film as I was after first seeing it in the early '80s, but that doesn't make it any less rewarding. It's a puzzle piece about an Australian lawyer (Richard Chamberlain), the five Aboriginal men (including one portrayed by David Gulpilil) he's defending against murder charges, and a prophecy about a bleak and watery future for the Australian continent. Akin to Weir's earlier Picnic at Hanging Rock and Antonioni's Blow-Up, The Last Wave is a film that has actually improved with age, with the threat of global warming lending it an edge not readily apparent on its initial release.

Friday 7/19/13

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Soft Skin (1964 FRA): The mind can play funny tricks. The Soft Skin was one of the very first "foreign" films I scoped out as a youngster, probably on Los Angeles public television in the 1970s, and its "memory" has stuck with me ever since. Specifically, however, I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about the film, which I haven’t seen in almost 40 years – all I can remember is the title and its general tone (romantic). And then there’s this: until now, I had completely forgotten (or perhaps never known!) that it had been directed by Francois Truffaut, a name that meant less than nothing to me in my early teens. Anyhoo, here it is: can The Soft Skin possibly live up to my decades-old, feel-good semi-memories? Online reviews suggest probably not, but I’m eager to find out. It’s followed tonight by further helpings of Truffaut, including (at 9:00 PM) Two English Girls (1971), in which Jean-Pierre Leaud essays a rare non-Antoine Doinel role; at 11:15 PM by the little seen short A Story of Water (1961), co-directed by Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard; at 11:30 PM by The Woman Next Door (1981), in which Gerard "Mr. Potatohead" Depardieu locks lips with Fanny Ardant; and at 1:30 AM by The Man Who Loved Women (1977), Truffaut’s so-so attempt at light romantic comedy.

8:40 PM Showtime Extreme
Lifeforce (1985 GB): Am I the only person who likes Lifeforce? Besides the fact that alien seductress Mathilde May spends the bulk of the film’s running time au natural, this Tobe Hooper joint also features a terrific Dan O’Bannon screenplay (remember him? he wrote a little something called Alien) as well as some nice location footage of London. In fact, the film could be viewed as a precursor to Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, though it doesn’t feature the political or social commentary of Boyle’s zombiefest. Blood sucker May, discovered and brought back to Earth by a space mission, is soon wreaking havoc on the Greater London area, whose denizens seem incapable of withstanding the allure of the willowy blonde bombshell. The film also features Frank Finlay, Patrick Stewart, and - as “vampire #1” - brother of Sir Mick, Christopher Jagger. A throwback to British ‘60s sci-fi efforts like Five Million Miles to Earth and The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Lifeforce is an underappreciated little gem from the man who brought you The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

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