Have you any wool?

MLK weekend M4

God help me, I loves the movies. This trip was characterized by schedule breakdowns, one of which was my fault, one of which I'm not taking the fall for. I'm certain that I got the 1:15 showtime for Sweetgrass--which would leave me time to get popcorn lunch there after the 11 Pierrot le fou (especially since that one was trailerless)--from Film Forum's website. But when I got there at 1:02, I discovered that the posted showtime was 1:00, and to compound the problem, the cashier told me that the feature was probably about to begin already. As a result, I was lunchless until the 4:15 Hausu (and then got the medium combo instead of the large--a laughably small bag of corn and Diet Coke).

I was at the 4:15 Hausu instead of the 4:20 Fish Tank only because, with plenty of time between shows, I happened to notice that I was an idiot. Specifically, I had bought a ticket for the earlier Tank and the 6:20 Hausu even though the running time for the former is 122m. Uh, I used to be good at math, particularly M4 math. Fortunately, the switch was no problem, though by the time I got into the theater for the 6:00 Tank, theater 3 was crammed and I wound up in the front row, far left. Live and learn.

Pierrot le fou

IFC (1965)

Quintessential Godard, which is to say sometimes maddening but never boring, and in this case, fun all the way. Even though the characters themselves repeatedly remind us that the director is really not much interested in narrative, it actually has a very strong narrative. Well, for a Godard film. Jean-Paul Belmondo plays Jean-Paul Belmondo, and who plays him better? Actually, his character is named Ferdinand but persistently called Pierrot (despite his equally persistent corrections) by his love interest, Marianne Renoir (the delicious Anna Karina). Vietnam and African independence movements play supporting roles.

Sweetgrass

FF

Is there anything cuter in the world than running lambs?

A Wisemanesque documentary (actually directed by Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor) about sheepherders driving their charges down from the Beartooth Mountains (complete with toothy bears) in Montana. Gorgeous throughout (though it must be said that sheep look better with their fleece on than they do naked) and captivating in its treatment of tedious routine (reminiscent in that respect of Politist Adjectiv).

Hausu (House)

IFC (1977)

Dargis raved about this, I swear, but try finding the review on the Times site. Anyway, I'm glad to have seen it, but this is about as goofy a motion picture as can be imagined. A 1977 Japanese horror movie finally getting its U.S. release, it does not get too hung up on logic or narrative coherence, nor is it at all scary. But go ahead: rent the upcoming Criterion Collection disc (I shit thee not), invite all your dope-smoking friends over, and check it out some midnight.

Fish Tank

IFC

The single sad-bastard entry on the trip, and the one I'm likeliest to revisit. First-time actor Katie Jarvis plays ballsy Essex 15-year-old Mia (within minutes of the opening titles she head-butts a bitch who's giving her grief), who falls for the first person who has ever been nice to her: unfortunately, her mother's boyfriend.

Harsh and unsentimental but not brutal, and not without redemption of a sort. The final reel gives us one of the best and truest substitutes ever for a farewell hug.

Also noteworthy is Rebecca Griffiths--a dead ringer for little Jodie Foster--as Mia's foul-mouthed little sister.

Trailers

• Off and Running--Gender and race identity focus on an adopted child of a lesbian couple.
• Still Bill--Withers, i.e.; still cool.
• La fille du RER (The girl on the train)--Based on an actual false claim of a hate crime; Catherine Deneuve plays the mother of the titular fille.
• Johnny Weir: Pop Star on Ice--That pretty much says it all; documentary.
• October Country--Another doc: family haunted by ghosts of war.