New developments in the case of an artist arrested for bioterrorism (from the doc Strange Culture), lead us into a web of noir (Murder, My Sweet) and an unexpected look at No Country for Old Men. All of which reveal the sinister culture of PARANOIA!

 

 FilmCouch #68 - Paranoia [27:37m]: Play Now | Download

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FilmCouch #68 - Paranoia

Strange Culture, Murder, My Sweet, No Country for Old Men

Yesterday, a judge threw out all charges against Steve Kurtz, the artist who had spent the past four years defending himself against false accusations of bio-terrorism, as detailed in Lynn Hershman-Leeson’s must-see hybrid doc Strange Culture. The AP has the story, via GreenCine Daily. I wrote about the film, which earned a mention on my Best of 2007 round-up, on SpoutBlog when it screened in New York last year; I originally covered the film and interviewed the director when it premiered at Sundance.

• Above: John C. Reilly, in character as Dewey Cox, performs Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab.” I still think Walk Hard looks terrible, but I have to admit, he’s got the hip swivel down… [Via The Playlist]
• OMG, it IS real! The A.V. Club taste tests Brawndo: “I can’t see slamming one of these, or even drinking more than one a year, but it beats the flavor of most energy drinks. And you’re doing your part to help the world of forgotten film with every can.”
• Whitney at Pop Candy points out that Strange Culture, my favorite doc from Sundance 2007, is premiering on the Sundance Channel tonight at 9:35 ET. I’ve written about the film here and here.
• Michael Guillen announces a Val Lewton Blogathon. Karina marks her calendar. [Via GreenCine Daily]

With 49 days to go until the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival, expect to see some space here devoted to previews of some of the films I’m particularly interested in. The first thing that really caught my eye upon skimming the schedule was Derek, a film about Derek Jarman directed by Isaac Julien. Executive produced by actress/Jarman muse Tilda Swinton and produced by film historian Colin MacCabe, the World Documentary Competition entry purports to “combine document with fiction, and experiment with narrative” to fashion “a timely reappraisal and celebration of the work of one of Britain’s most important artist filmmakers.” There’s a bit of an expanded synopsis on Julien’s web site. After Sundance, the film will be part of an exhibit devoted to Jarman curated by Julien, at the Serpentine Gallery in London.

I’m generally fan of what I know of Jarman’s work, but I’m mostly interested in this because lately I’ve been kind of a sucker for non-fiction films that take huge liberties with documentary form. In a recent interview with BOMB magazine, Julien actually spoke of Derek not as a documentary, but as “a strange kind of biopic about [Jarman's] life.” All in all, it’s classification in the doc competition seems a little strange, but it maybe another sign of Sundance 2008’s swing towards a more adventurous programming attitude. Strange Culture, another non-fiction film involving Swinton that incorporated narrative elements, premiered at Sundance last year in the marginalized Frontier sidebar, which I thought was unfortunate–it was hands down the best documentary I saw at the festival last year, but got little attention out of competition.

Jarman, who died of AIDS in 1994, is fairly well represented today on YouTube. More after the jump.

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Oooh, this is exciting. One of my favorite films from Sundance 2007, Lynn Hershman-Leeson’s Strange Culture has booked a two-week engagement at the Cinema Village here in New York.

Strange Culture is an experimental documentary about Steve Kurtz, an artist with the renowned Critical Art Ensemble who was arrested on fraud charges after the FBI searched his home found biological testing materials from an art installation, which they misconstrued as weapons of mass destruction. Because Kurtz is barred from speaking on camera about the details of his case, the director hired actors, including Tilda Swinton and Thomas Dean Ryan, to star in dramatizations, which are woven with testimony from Kurtz’ friends and colleagues. It’s a fairly academic approach, but the finished film is persuasive, and as a document of what happens to art in a post-terrorism climate of paranoia, it’s surprisingly moving. Check out the trailer above, and for more info on when and where Strange Culture might be playing near you, check out the film’s website.