Here are some of the films Albuquerque’s Guild Cinema — a short distance from the University of New Mexico campus — will show in April.
From April 8-10, the Guild will screen the 1980 film “The Elephant Man” as a part of its continuing tribute to David Lynch, who died in January. The film is a fictionalized account of the life of Joseph Merrick, a 19th-century Englishman with severe facial deformities. Played by John Hurt, he is discovered in a freak show by a doctor, played by Anthony Hopkins, who rescues and takes care of him.
Widely considered one of Lynch’s most accessible works, “The Elephant Man” nevertheless sees the director in familiar thematic territory — finding the poetic in the grotesque. Complete with breathtaking black-and-white cinematography, “The Elephant Man” is a beautiful story from a master of his craft.
Sci-fi filmmaker Alex Proyas’ 1998 cult classic “Dark City” will screen at the Guild on April 11 at 10:30 p.m. Starring Kiefer Sutherland and Jennifer Connelly, the film is set in a dystopian world of perpetual darkness, where an amnesiac is wrongfully accused of murder and sets out to prove his innocence.
When “Dark City” was originally released, it was presented in a truncated version intended to make the film more digestible to audiences, according to Paste. The Guild will present the film in its director’s cut, which restores Proyas’ original vision.
On April 25 at 10:30 p.m., the Guild will present the 1977 Japanese film “Hausu” — or “House” in English. One of the definitive midnight movies, director Nobuhiko Ôbayashi’s most famous work is a surreal horror film about a teenage girl who visits her aunt’s house in the country alongside several of her friends, wherein a series of increasingly bizarre events occur.
While “House” is a campy curiosity on the serious, it also serves as a metaphor for Japan’s collective trauma after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Equally frightening, funny and thought-provoking, “House” is an unforgettable cinematic experience.
Hong Kong filmmaker Lam Nai-Choi’s 1991 film “Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky” can be viewed on April 26 at 10:30 p.m. Another East Asian film that has attained a cult following in America, “Riki-Oh” is an ultra-stylized, incredibly gory martial arts film in which the titular man has to fight his way through an endless quantity of bad guys.
Infamous among genre enthusiasts for its near-constant barrage of violence, “Riki-Oh” is a perfect choice for the adventurous moviegoer.
The Guild will present the 2024 documentary “Porcelain War” on April 29 and 30. Winner of the United States documentary grand jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 and a nominee for Best Documentary Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards, the film centers around a group of Ukrainian artists pursuing their passions and careers amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Directed by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev, “Porcelain War” stands as a powerful and timely example of how art functions as a method of resistance for people living under oppression.
A complete list of the Guild’s upcoming showings can be found on its website.
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Elijah Ritch is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. They can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
