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carrying the painting is empty. Simon claims that he can’t remember where he hid the
painting after he received a vicious blow to the head. Franck hires a hypnotherapist (a
stunning performance by Rosario Dawson, in her best role) to “unlock” the information
hidden in Simon’s damaged brain. It’s an unbelievable, goofy premise, but Boyle and
his talented actors invest it with utter conviction and life-or-death gravity; the real
kick to the film, though, is how this “journey into the subconscious” allows Trance to
play with the fabric of reality in ways that go beyond what even Nolan attempted
in Inception. Trance puts audiences in a kind of trance too, returning us to a state
of mind when cinema was still magical, even though we knew it was a magician’s
trick. Call it a rollercoaster ride, a Rubik’s Cube of a film, or an old-fashioned
“head movie,” Trance is one of the most audacious, unpredictable, and dementedly
entertaining films of the year.
Mud
JUN 28-JUL 4
FRI 5:30 8:00 p.m.
SAT & SUN 2:00 5:00 7:30 p.m.
MON-THURS 5:30 p.m. ONLY
Rated PG-13 for some violence, profanity, mature themes, and smoking; 130 minutes.
With his latest film, writer-director Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter) builds his reputation
as one of today’s most assured, sensitive filmmakers. Set in rural Arkansas, Mud is a
coming-of-age story about teenage friends Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob
Lofland). They discover Mud (Matthew McConaughey in an amazing performance),
a hermit living in a boat on top of a tree on an island in the Arkansas River. Mud’s on
the run, having killed the man who impregnated (and then beat up) the woman Mud
has loved since childhood, Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). But to Ellis, Mud’s a heroic,
romantic figure, a combination of Peter Pan and Tom Sawyer; a preferable role model
to his father, whose unsuccessful fishing business—and reluctance to live away from
the river and move into town—is fueling constant marital squabbling. On top of this,
Ellis is also suffering from a love of his own, with an older girl who doesn’t feel the
same passion for him. With youthful idealism, Ellis and Neckbone let themselves get
drawn into Mud’s plan to run away with Juniper. But reality doesn’t favor storybook
endings, and questions of “right” and “wrong” aren’t as simple as Mud and his young
protégées want to believe. The result is a bittersweet but powerful film enhanced by
excellent performances: Tye Sheridan, seen recently in The Tree of Life, is a standout,
but the film draws its strength from McConaughey’s virtuoso turn as the primeval
man-child living in a protective cocoon of self-regard and undeniable charm. Colorful
supporting players also make big impressions: Sam Shepard plays Mud’s only adult
friend, a grizzled ex-CIA agent; Michael Shannon provides comic relief as Neckbone’s
sad sack uncle; and even Ellis’s parents (Raymond McKinnon, Sarah Paulson) are
drawn with empathy and compassion. Mud has the graceful simplicity of a fable,
but with considerable grit, intelligence, marvelously offbeat details, and astute
observations into human nature—it’s one of the best films of the year.
Films at the Cinema are sponsored in part by:
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films in JUNE
ADMISSION PRICES
$6.00 SAC Members
$7.00 Seniors/Students (with valid ID)
$8.00 Adults
Membership card must be shown for discount. R or MA rating requires purchase of
ticket by parent or guardian of person under 17.

The Gatekeepers
MAY 31-JUN 6
FRI 5:30 7:30 p.m.
SAT & SUN 2:00 5:00 7:15 p.m.
MON-THURS 5:30 p.m. ONLY
Rated PG-13 for violent content and disturbing images; in English and Hebrew with
English subtitles; 101 minutes.
From director Dror Morek comes this spellbinding look at the Shin Bet, the covert
agency that protects Israel from suspected terrorists (its name translates roughly as
“to provide safety”). What makes the film so compelling is not the exploits of the Shin
Bet—although its background and history are fascinating—but the debate about how
this “homeland security” agency may have ultimately undermined the peace process,
rendered Israel less safe, spawned more terrorism, and deprived Israel of the moral
high ground in its dealings with Palestinians. The heart of The Gatekeepers is a series
of extraordinarily perceptive interviews with six former Shin Bet directors. They’re
a surprising ideological range and all of them are insightful, intelligent, and honest
speakers. Morek is even-handed in his film, refusing to vilify the Shin Bet or cop out
with a clichéd “the ends justifies the means” argument to excuse their “strike first”
philosophy (which often results in lots of collateral damage—i.e., the deaths of innocent
civilians). A former cinematographer, Morek is adept at getting emotional responses
from different kinds of footage: he uses dry, formal newsreels like we’re used to seeing
in nightly news reports from the pre-CNN era; he also employs rough, hand-held,
street-level video which brings viewers directly into the action and brings the skirmishes
too close for comfort; and he includes aerial point-of-view shots of missile strikes that
compel audiences to side with the aggressors rather than the victims. All of this is edited
masterfully to create a richer overview of the Shin Bet and its historical context, resulting
in one of the best documentaries of the decade—a film with as much to say about human
beings as it does about war.
The Place Beyond the Pines
JUN 7-13
FRI 5:30 8:15 p.m.
SAT & SUN 2:00 5:00 7:45 p.m.
MON-THURS 5:30 p.m. ONLY
Rated R for profanity, some violence, drug use, and underage drinking; 140 minutes.
Actor Ryan Gosling and director Derek Cianfrance, who stunned critics and
viewers with Blue Valentine, reunite for this equally powerful but much more ambitious
look at how difficult it is for people who love and need each other to express their
feelings. Gosling is always great, and here he’s matched by Bradley Cooper, Eva
Mendes, Ben Mendelssohn, and young actors Dane DeHaan and Emory Cohen. They’re
all outstanding, holding together a complexly structured tapestry of tempestuous
relationships, family secrets, guilt, and cycles of retribution. Blue Valentine focused on
the dynamic between a young husband and wife; The Place Beyond the Pines examines
father-son relationships. Gosling is Luke Glanton, a motorcycle stunt rider who learns
that he has a son by former lover Romina (Mendes). Certain that money will persuade
Romina to let him have a place in his son’s life, Luke joins auto shop owner Robin
(Mendelssohn) in a scheme to rob banks, using his motorcyclist skills for the dangerous
getaways. The Place Beyond the Pines is bold, epic story-telling that makes a vivid
statement about the unbreakable bond between fathers and sons. It’s a beautiful film;
thrillingly acted, challenging, and truly poetic.
Disconnect
JUN 14-20
FRI 5:30 7:45 p.m.
SAT & SUN 2:00 5:00 7:30 p.m.
MON-THURS 5:30 p.m. ONLY
Rated R for nudity, graphic sexual content, violence, profanity, and drug use; 115 minutes.
In the Internet Era, we’re made to think we know everything about everyone (privacy
is a quaint notion)—when in truth, we don’t know how little we know. People hide
behind avatars and user names, talk in shorthand, spew political and racial invective
on blogs, and bully others in cyberspace; the ability to really “connect” with each other
has never seemed easier—or less possible. Director Henry Alex Rubin and screenwriter
Andrew Stern explore these themes in separate stories: one centers upon a married
couple (Alexander Skarsgård and Paula Patton) dealing with identity theft, possibly by
a chat room friend. Another story concerns a TV reporter (Andrea Riseborough) who
gets involved with an interview subject, an 18-year-old webcam sex-performer (Max
Thieriot). The third story deals with a cyberprank; not just from the perspectives of the
teenage victim (Jonah Bobo) and the perpetrators (Colin Ford, Aviad Bernstein), but also
the victim’s father (Jason Bateman), whose search for the truth forces him to confront
his own parental failures. Disconnect is a risky proposition, a film that could easily have
become a pedantic cautionary tale about the Evils of online communication—like an
internet Reefer Madness. But the film’s tone is wary and reserved, not hysterical. The
actors without exception bring individuality and depth to their characters, making
their stories resonate with viewers. Disconnect is an arresting, thought-provoking
commentary on where society is today—a vision that includes as much hope as it does
despair, and remains compelling throughout.
Trance
JUN 21-27
FRI 5:30 7:30 p.m.
SAT & SUN 2:00 5:00 7:15 p.m.
MON-THURS 5:30 p.m. ONLY
Rated R for profanity, graphic violence, gruesome imagery, nudity, and sexual content;
101 minutes.
Director Danny Boyle is celebrated for going places no other filmmaker
dares go. In his latest film, he takes us on an Inception-like journey into the mind
itself. Trance combines pulp fiction, melodrama, deadpan humor, and bizarre imagery
to create a funhouse of a film, where nothing is what it seems and everything is meant
to be questioned. On the surface, the story is pure, unabashed B-movie suspense
schlock: British auctioneer Simon (James McAvoy) serves as an inside man for an art
theft masterminded by vicious hood Franck (Vincent Cassell). They successfully steal
a priceless masterpiece by Goya—or was the theft successful The bag supposedly