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Respecting the Balance

Posted on by Chris Forrester

A woman in a robe stands over a younger woman's naked body with stitches down her spine in a white-tiled room

A biological miracle with disastrous consequences in The Substance

Chris Forrester connects Coralie Fargeat’s award-winning body-horror sensation The Substance to its B-movie roots.

As is now something of a tradition with buzzy festival hits, The Substance (Fargeat, 2024) almost immediately became the subject of a discourse whose least productive concerns have more or less eclipsed much of the actual film they relate to. It’s an annual practice in the more knee-jerk segments of Film Twitter for questions like “Did (actor) have enough lines to count as a character?” or “Is this obvious critique an endorsement?” to loom like storm clouds over films at least worthy of more nuanced conversation, if not actual praise, but with The Substance the particular topics of argument seem to have steered the conversation directly away from the film’s most successful qualities. As Demi Moore’s Elisabeth Sparkle, an aging TV personality with a live-taped fitness program who begins taking a mysterious chemical to renew her lease on life (and youth) after losing her show due to her age, is told time and again by a never-identified voice on the phone when capital-S Substance abuse begins to cause problems (more on that later), we must “respect the balance.” The following is, I hope, something of a corollary to the discourse — an effort to tip the scales back toward equilibrium.

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Knowing Death and Understanding the Secret of Life in Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)

Posted on by Establishing Shot

Close-up of a woman with a cuff around her neck

The Female Monster of Flesh for Frankenstein

Underground Film Series curator Justin Bonthuys contextualizes Paul Morrissey’s cult classic.

In his book on comedy-horror films, screenwriter and actor Bruce Hallenbeck describes the irony in the script of Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) as “[giving] the film a winking detachment, so that you find yourself convulsed with laughter during some of the goriest scenes ever filmed.”

Flesh presents perhaps an ideal representation of the compulsions, contradictions, and aspirations at the “heart” of much of avant-garde underground cinema — no pun intended. The film was originally released under the title of Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein in the United States and West Germany, and although Warhol was only a producer on the project, he likely appreciated the association of his name with this ubiquitous icon of mass culture in a manner similar to his paintings of Campbell’s soup cans and bottles of Coca-Cola. The true “brains” behind the film were those of director Paul Morrissey, who collaborated with Warhol on some of his early films and largely took charge of directing at The Factory after a failed attempt on Warhol’s life in 1968.

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Paranoia, Suspicion, and Resilience in The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Posted on by Noni Ford

A man looks at his two daughters suspiciously as they stand in a room

Missagh Zareh, Mahsa Rostami, and Setareh Maleki in The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Noni Ford considers the familial tensions at the heart of Mohammad Rasoulof’s thriller.

There’s a conversation that appears between a husband and wife where they discuss the moral ethics of the actions that the husband’s job is asking of him. We see him wrestling with his instincts and questioning this pathway forward in his career while also considering the social benefits to be gained from his choices in this moment. It’s a scene that is potentially one of the most important ones in Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig. The story shows the ties in a family devolving as we sink into the narrative and this scene proves so pivotal because it shows how far things fall apart by the conclusion of the film. 

A woman and her two daughters stand by a window, looking at each other

Soheila Golestani, Mahsa Rostami, and Setareh Maleki in The Seed of the Sacred Fig

When Iman is given the role of an investigative judge in Tehran, he sees a life presented to him that would naturally lead to better accommodation and wealth for his family. Yet attached to this offer is the high degree of risk his job opens up to him and his family. He is given a gun for protection, which he at first seems somewhat careless of until mounting protests begin to spread as people rally against the authoritarian government of the country. Suddenly his gun is kept with him everywhere he goes and as physically close to him as possible. What once was a careful and loving family man becomes consumed with paranoia as he starts to fear his anonymity and safety are being threatened.  Soon after an argument at dinner with his daughters, who share their skepticism of the government, he wakes up the next morning to find his gun has gone missing.

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International Art House Series presents: Green Border (2024)

Posted on by Establishing Shot

A man kneels with his hands on his head next to a little girl while a soldier gestures with his hands

In the treacherous and swampy forests that make up the so-called “green border” between Belarus and Poland, refugees from the Middle East and Africa are lured by government propaganda promising easy passage to the European Union. Unable to cross into Europe and unable to turn back, they find themselves trapped in a rapidly escalating geopolitical stand-off.

Thirty years after Europa Europa, three-time Academy Award-nominee Agnieszka Holland brings a masterful eye for realism and deep compassion to this blistering critique of a humanitarian calamity that continues to unfold. Called “an angry and urgent masterpiece” by the Guardian, “unforgettable” by Vulture, and “flawlessly executed” by the Hollywood Reporter, learn more about Green Border with director Holland’s interview with Kino Lorber, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Democracy Now; critic John Powers’s episode on NPR’s Fresh Air; and our very own “Learning with Lili” reel on Instagram.

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“Tricks for Pictures”: The Fall (2006) as an Example of Magical Cinema

Posted on by Jesse Pasternack

Poster for The Fall

Poster for The Fall (2006)

Jesse Pasternack describes what makes the cult classic The Fall such an intoxicating piece of cinema.

If I had to describe The Fall (2006) in one word, it would be “enchanting.” Every element in every shot creates an experience that is astounding in a way which is delightful. It is fitting, then, that it exemplifies what I like to call “magical cinema,” which is a type of film that embodies the beauty and wonder of the human imagination. Few films do that as well as this one.  

The Fall announces its intention to embody a reality that owes more to fairy tales than realism via a title card saying that it takes place in “Los Angeles — once upon a time.” In the silent film era, recently injured stuntman Roy Walker (Lee Pace) recuperates in a hospital where he bonds with a young girl named Alexandria (Catinca Untaru). Eager to cheer her up while she recovers from a broken arm, Walker tells her a story about a group of bandits trying to defeat the evil Governor Odious (Daniel Caltagirone). Both Walker and Alexandria will ultimately be changed forever by the story and its telling.

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Succumb to the Big Screen

Posted on by Establishing Shot

A woman is suspended in the air as she looks at the shadow of Nosferatu behind a curtain

Still from Nosferatu (2024)

IU Cinema Director Dr. Alicia Kozma reveals the Cinema’s connection to Robert Eggers’s latest hit.

We all know that IU Cinema is the best place to see a film on the big screen — our projection technology, rigorous quality control, and theatrical experience standards are well known on campus and in our broader community. But it’s not just our physical infrastructure that makes this possible; it’s the dedicated staff — our technological experts — who make our screenings come to life. We’ve all been the beneficiaries of the collective knowledge and care of Elena, Seth, Ryan, Grayson, and Monisha, and now thousands of others across the country are also the recipients of the IU Cinema standard, as our reputation for theatrical excellence has spread far and wide.

This past summer Elena Grassia, our director of cinema technology, was tapped by Focus Features/Universal to be the cinematic expert responsible for preparing, inspecting, and managing the 35mm celluloid prints for Robert Eggers’s critically and audience acclaimed film Nosferatu. In the fall, Elena spent multiple days in Los Angeles doing exactly that: prepping eleven 35mm prints of the film for exhibition across the country. During her time, she inspected 130,680 feet of film and liaised with venues in Brooklyn, San Francisco, Texas, Nashville, Boston, Portland, Chicago, greater Los Angeles, and Hollywood on receiving their prints and presentation specifications, bringing the IU Cinema screening standard to show after show of enraptured audiences.

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