Film

Explore Madison’s art-house screenings and the adventurous corners of local cinema.

A long-haired character, Tomona, in a purple kimono, sings and strums the biwa (a Japanese lute). To their left, a shirtless character, Inu-Oh, in a monkey mask, stares forward. Both sit on a bright, grassy hillside beneath a gnarled tree.

Medieval Japan goes glam in anime musical “Inu-Oh”

By Lewis Peterson ● Film ● August 7, 2023

Masaaki Yuasa’s surrealistic period drama commences the 2023 Rooftop Cinema series at MMoCA on August 10 at dusk.

Latest in Film

A man (Al Pacino) in a white button-down shirt in the center of the frame stares out at an unseen crowd on the street. Pacino is in motion with a fiercely angry expression, and his mouth is open.

The progressive social commentary of “Dog Day Afternoon” informs a remarkable Pacino performance

By Edwanike Harbour ● Film ● July 25, 2023

Sidney Lumet’s New Hollywood biopic screens in a new restoration at UW Cinematheque on July 28.

In a convent's lamplit chambers, a nun in a habit (right) shows a young woman in a nightgown the bottom of a wood-carved Virgin Mary.

“Benedetta” offers satirically profane, stimulating visions of sanctity

By C Nelson-Lifson ● Film ● July 21, 2023

Paul Verhoeven’s transgressive religious period piece screens at OutReach LGBTQ+ Community Center on July 26.

The scruffy "Dude" (Jeff Bridges) stares half-puzzled and half-amused at a mirror on the wall with a red border that reads: "Man of the Year / TIME." In the lower right-hand corner, smaller diagonal text reads: "Are You A Lebowski Achiever?"

What to do when he tells you his favorite movie is “The Big Lebowski”

By Alisyn Amant ● Microtones ● July 21, 2023

A film critic faces the cinematic relationship trauma of her past.

Four teenage boys sit on a sparsely grassy hill, all staring intently to the right of the frame. Daniel, the youngest and smallest among them, wears a white button shirt with long sleeves.

“My Little Loves” lovingly and candidly renders teenage angst

By Alisyn Amant ● Film ● July 18, 2023

Jean Eustache’s 1974 coming-of-age drama screens in a new restoration at UW Cinematheque on July 21.

The five siblings of Mustang wear white dresses, slightly bowing their heads towards a camera below at a medium shot. Their heads form the general shape of a star.

Turkish feminist fairy tale “Mustang” bursts with vitality amid oppression

By Jason Fuhrman ● Film ● July 17, 2023

Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s coming-of-age drama screens at UW Cinematheque on July 20.

Five women, including members of the band The Kelly Affair / The Carrie Nations, stare down at the camera with varied expressions from a raised wooden platform. They're dressed in colorful late-1960s attire.

“Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls” is Meyer and Ebert’s happening, and it freaks us out

By Lewis Peterson ● Film ● July 13, 2023

The cheeky send-up of the ’60s music industry screens at UW Cinematheque on July 19.

Kaho and Tomoya sit on a tan-colored couch in formal clothing, loosely clasping each other's hand. Kaho leans towards Tomoya, resting her head on his shoulder with a distraught expression. Tomoya stares pensively into off-screen space.

“Passion” confronts a world of fraying relationships on both cynical and miraculous terms

By Grant Phipps ● Film ● July 10, 2023

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s 2008 romantic drama gets its local premiere at UW Cinematheque on July 13 at 7 p.m.

A photo of the mixing console in one of the main WORT studios. JoAnne Pow!ers' "Wages Of Cinema" notes from June 27 and a pair of headphones rest on top of it. The host mic is angled down on the boom arm in the center of the photo.

“The Wages Of Cinema” comprehensively catalogs Madison’s public screenings

By Grant Phipps ● Film ● July 6, 2023

JoAnne Pow!ers’ Tuesday afternoon film calendar endures, and thrives, on WORT.

The top image from "Twilight" captures a funeral in a rural field under an overcast sky. Barren trees and a gravestone with a large cross populate the margins of the image. The bottom image shows a man (Lars Rudolph) in "Werckmeister Harmonies" sitting against a pillar reading a journal with various broken appliances in the background.

“Twilight” and “Werckmeister Harmonies” slowly unravel the existential plight of modern existence

By Lewis Peterson ● Film ● July 5, 2023

The two Hungarian art films by György Fehér and Béla Tarr screen in new restorations at UW Cinematheque on July 7 and 14.