This Week at Maine Cinemas: May 30 - June 5th
Jane Austen + Student shorts + return of DOGMA?! + bunch of other stuff
JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE.
That’s not me being petty towards a seminal author, but rather the title for an appropriately insane rom-com coming out this weekend. However, I have a massive confession for you all: I’ve never read anything by Jane Austen. Please don’t tar and feather me (is that a reference?).
That being said, I feel as though I’ve gleaned a lot about Jane Austen novels simply through being alive. Without further ado, here’s a brief passage from my Jane Austen novel:
I arrived in the antechamber, my parasol absolutely ravaged by the thunderous downpours that came upon my afternoon outing with Lord Malington.
“I can’t believe you convinced me to spend time in nature despite the imminent risk of this wretched rain!” Lord Malington exclaimed as he rushed off to his quarters to change.
As he turned the corner, Mister Fairwell noticed my presence and ran towards me with towel and tea in hand. His eyes showed kindness yet also the ultimately desirable quality of being stunning.
Alright, that’s enough of that. We’ve got some good films for you this week, including the closing film of the Maine Palestine Film Festival, a wild docu-fic 23 years in the making, and the premier of the 4K remaster of a Kevin Smith classic! So let’s do this thing! - Charlie Beck, Playweek Contributor
JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE
All Week | Nickelodeon Cinemas, Portland; Maine Film Center, Waterville; Strand Theatre, Rockland; and a bunch of other spots around the state
Agathe (Camille Rutherford) is a charmingly clumsy young woman working at Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris, dreaming of writing success and Jane Austen-style romance while battling singleness and writer's block. When her best friend (Pablo Pauly) gets her into a Jane Austen Writers' Residency in England, she finally gets her Austen moment—and finds herself in an unexpected love triangle. Agathe must overcome her insecurities to pursue both her romantic and professional dreams.
DIVINE INTERVENTION
Friday, May 30th at 6pm | PMA Films, Portland
CLOSING FILM FOR THE MAINE PALESTINE FILM FESTIVAL - FREE!
A mordant and bleak comedy about Palestinians under Israeli occupation, Divine Intervention mixes brief, interconnected sketches with moments of magical realism. The film follows along in the day of life of a Palestinian man living in Nazareth, whose girlfriend lives several checkpoints away in Ramallah.
Barred from crossing, the lovers' intimate encounters take place on a deserted lot right beside the checkpoint — as they are unable to exempt reality from occupation or to preserve their intimacy in the face of a siege. Against the odds, their angry hearts counter-attack the occupation with spasms of spectacular fantasy.
CAUGHT BY THE TIDES
Sunday, June 1st at Noon | PMA Films, Portland
Jia Zhangke's Caught by the Tides is assembled from 23 years of footage—mixing fiction, documentary, previous film clips, and new scenes. This free-flowing work follows Qiaoqiao (Zhao Tao) as she searches across a changing China for her lost lover Bin (Li Zhubin), who left their city of Datong for better opportunities. Carried more by music than dialogue, the film captures time's passage and China's transformation through Zhao's captivating performance and Jia's poetic vision of love, loss, and an unrecognizable homeland.
THE MAINE MAYHEM FILM FESTIVAL
Sunday, June 1st at 3pm | PMA Films, Portland
FREE! Created by second-year students in SMCC’s Communications & New Media Studies program, this year’s festival features eight incredible short films and 16 micro shorts — each one a testament to our students’ creativity, storytelling, and technical skill. The eight short films being shown are:
Guts – Directed by Maxwell Noyes
Shadows of Me – Directed by Gryphon Vorbach
For Tomorrow – Directed by Abby Lynn Bisson
Freddie – Directed by Luis Miguel Valmadrid
In Your Head – Directed by Tyler Lafontaine
21st Century Killers – Directed by Conor Sullivan
The Oracle – Directed by Dan Whitman
The Little Fight – Directed by Noah Satin
THE GODFATHER
Wednesday, June 4th at 7pm | Nickelodeon Cinemas, Portland
When mafia patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is nearly killed, his reluctant son Michael (Al Pacino) is drawn into the family's criminal world. As Michael transforms from war hero to ruthless don, he systematically eliminates enemies while struggling to protect his loved ones. The film explores loyalty, betrayal, and corruption as Michael becomes the very thing he once sought to avoid.
PRIDE
All Week at 7:10pm | Maine Film Center, Waterville
In 1984 Wales, gay activist Mark Ashton leads "Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners" (LGSM) to support striking coal miners, recognizing their shared experience of police harassment. Targeting the small mining village of Onllwyn, Mark and his allies face resistance from local Women's Support groups and The National Union of Miners, even as many community members begin warming to their cause.
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
Wednesday, June 4th at 7pm | Kinonik, Portland
Presented in 16mm
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American political comedy-drama film directed by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold. The film is about a naive, newly appointed United States senator who fights against government corruption, and was written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story "The Gentleman from Montana.” It was loosely based on the life of Montana US Senator Burton K. Wheeler, who underwent a similar experience when he was investigating the Warren Harding administration.
DOGMA - 4K RESTORATION
Thursday, June 5th at 6:30pm | Colonial Theatre, Belfast
EXCLUSIVE MAINE PREMIERE!
Dogma follows two fallen angels, Bartleby (Ben Affleck) and Loki (Matt Damon), who discover a loophole in Catholic doctrine that could allow them to return to Heaven, threatening the very fabric of existence. To stop them, a group of unlikely heroes—including a faith-struggling woman (Linda Fiorentino), the erased 13th Apostle (Chris Rock), and Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith)—must prevent the apocalypse. With irreverent humor and sharp satire, Dogma explores faith, salvation, and the human experience.
Other Things We Like That You Should See
FRIENDSHIP — Still being shown all over the state!
PRIDE & PREJUDICE (20th Anniversary!) — Maine Film Center
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - THE FINAL RECKONING — Black Bear Cinemas, Orono and Various Theaters
MAYA AND THE WAVE — June 5 | Nickelodeon Cinemas, Portland
Coming Soon
THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME — Opens June 6 | Various theaters
MULHOLLAND DR. — June 7 at 8pm | The Waldo Theatre, Waldoboro
MATERIALISTS — Opens June 13
THE LIFE OF CHUCK — Opens June 13