Fidelio Film Series
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Scene from Eyes Wide Shut
Each film, in ways either direct or roundabout, is a thriller; all are concerned with the catastrophe that emerges from civilians coming into contact with great power; all reflect real-life figures, or at least force acknowledgement of what we imagine is happening behind closed doors. The Film Stage considers its fortune teaming with our movie-loving and ferociously political friends at Movie Mindset. We look forward to seeing you at the Roxy.
WELCOME TO NEW YORK
Abel Ferrara’s dramatized account of Dominique Strauss-Kahn engendered controversy the second it premiered, not least for a threatened lawsuit from its thinly disguised subject. Though among the harshest works in Ferrara’s scorched-earth filmography, Welcome to New York is also a remarkable showcase for Gérard Depardieu (eerily presaging the actor’s current legal entanglements) and a granular, nearly journalistic detail of political power in horrible play.
EYES WIDE SHUT
ABSOLUTE POWER
What would’ve seemed a hilariously paranoid vision of the American Presidency in 1997 was strangely vindicated just one year later; from 2024’s vantage, Absolute Power is almost utopian for its vision of justice served in the highest corridors of power. The enforcer is none other than Clint Eastwood, who leads and directs this gem of his airport-thriller period, featuring an absurd collection of disguises and Gene Hackman as an arrogant, criminal Commander in Chief.
THE GHOST WRITER
One of Roman Polanski’s greatest films also holds an odd mirror to his own sins and circumstances. The director is at home in this perfectly tuned thriller about evading charges and extradition treaties––one whose story of an outsider sucked into the terrifying whirlpool does more than a bit to echo Chinatown––but its thrills are largely an excuse for conspiracy du vibe: wintry skies, deeply enviable beachside real estate, sweaters, suit jackets, athleisure, and a playful Alexandre Desplat score handily supplant plot. Just as few movies have used Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, or Olivia Williams better, almost nothing from the last decade matches The Ghost Writer for pure entertainment.