The mark of Xorro

Damsels in Distress

Crit

It's Whit Stillman's long-awaited science fiction movie, set on a distant planet whose inhabitants have evolved exactly like us physically but have delightfully alien notions about what college is and how the race should be preserved and perpetuated. Mumblecore goddess Greta Gerwig reaches her apotheosis (though I guess if she was already a goddess . . . well, never mind; I've been infected by the film's loopy logic) as the constitutionally philanthropic Violet, whose ambition for improving the world, naturally, is to invent an international dance craze. When she succeeds, the eponymous song is written by "Lightning Strikes Again" Lou Christie, who, it turns out, is a regular contributor to Stillman's films.

A lot of people will hate this film for reasons every bit as good as mine for loving it. That's OK: someday they'll learn their colors.