Commentary by Gregg Rickman (greggr1@mindspring.com). Times compiled from information available Tuesday; it's always advisable to call for confirmation. Price given is standard adult admission; discounts often apply for students, seniors, and members. For additional Reps Etc. listings, go to sfweekly.com.
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ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE
345 Bush (at Polk), 775-7755, www.afsf.com. French-language films shown on projected video screen as part of a twice-weekly "Cine-Bistro," complete with meal. $30 general, $25 members on Wednesdays; $25 general, $20 members on Saturdays.
WEDNESDAY (May 29): Michel Serrault and Isabelle Huppert are a father-daughter pair of con artists in Claude Chabrol's The Swindle (1992) 7 p.m.
SATURDAY (June 1): A Jean-Paul Belmondo series begins with the pre-New Wave Just Another Pretty Face (1958), directed by Marc Allégret and Henri Verneuil, and co-starring Alain Delon and Mylène Demongeot. Anticipating Godard's Pierrot le Fou by seven years, Belmondo plays a character called "Pierrot" 2 p.m.
ARTISTS' TELEVISION ACCESS
992 Valencia (at 21st Street), 824-3890, www.atasite.org. $5 save as noted. This venue offers all manner of strange and unusual video and film.
THURSDAY (May 30): "Mera Nam Emerging," a program of recent works by Indian-Americans, features a live reading and films by writer/director Kirthi Nath 8 p.m.
FRIDAY (May 31): Uni-monikered Internet filmmaker Lev offers "Fun With Anxiety and Politics," a screening of his series Tales of Mere Existence and other works. For more Lev, check out www.ingredientx.com 8 p.m.
SATURDAY (June 1): "Messages for the Mess-Age," an evening of live music plus film and video by Mack McFarland, Heidi Diehl, Brian Traylor, and more 8 p.m.
BALBOA
3630 Balboa (at 38th Avenue), 221-8184. $7. This pleasant old house normally runs double-bill programs on its two screens; see Showtimes for details. There's a special program this Thursday.
THURSDAY (May 30): The international animators' society ASIFA presents a "Chuck Jones Tribute" to the late master, with several working animators picking their favorite Jones cartoons 7:30 p.m.
CASTRO
429 Castro (at Market), 621-6120, www.thecastrotheatre.com. $7 save as noted. Short-run rep in a spectacular 1922 Greco-Roman-themed palace designed by Timothy L. Pflueger. Evening intermissions feature David Hegarty or Bill McCoy on the Mighty Wurlitzer.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Bill Weber and David Weissman's documentary The Cockettes (2002); see Ongoing for review 7, 9:30 p.m.; also Wed 2, 4:30 p.m.
STARTS FRIDAY: Jean-Pierre Denis' Murderous Maids (France, 2000) screens through June 12. See Opening for review 7, 9:30 p.m.; also Sat, Sun, & Wed 2, 4:30 p.m.
DANZHAUS
1275 Connecticut (off Cesar Chavez), (510) 464-4640 and www.verticalpool.com/hysterinfo.html for more information. $8.
THURSDAY & SATURDAY (May 30 & June 1): Antero Alli's Hysteria (2002), with filmmaker in person. See Opening for review 8 p.m.
FILM ARTS FOUNDATION
346 Ninth St. (between Folsom and Harrison), 552-FILM and www.filmarts.org/events.
FRIDAY (May 31): A free "Open Screening" offers a "spontaneous mix" from local filmmakers 7 p.m.
FINE ARTS CINEMA
2451 Shattuck (at Haste), Berkeley, (510) 848-1143, www.fineartscinema.com. $8 save as noted. Berkeley's innovatively programmed art house puts on some of the most conceptually daring double bills in town.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Women trap men in Hiroshi Teshigahara's erotic Woman in the Dunes (Japan, 1964; 7:15 p.m.) and Orson Welles' neurotic The Lady From Shanghai (1948; 9:40 p.m.).
FRIDAY: A preview of Finn Taylor's Cherish (2002) 7:15 p.m. The Best of NOMAD Videofilm Festival screens several works, including Andrea Tapia-Urzua's Loverdosis (2000), Antero Alli's Fears (2001), and Mark Haren's Sleepless Movie (1999). Dial (510) 464-4640 or www.verticalpool.com for more information. $7 separate admission 10 p.m.
SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY (June 1-6): A thriller set in Paris' Algerian community, Abdelkrim Bahloui's Night of Fate (France/Algeria, 1997; 7:15 p.m.), screens with Carl Franklin's underrated adaption of Walter Moseley's L.A. detective tale Devil in a Blue Dress (1995; 9:05 p.m.; also Sun 5:15 p.m.).
FOREIGN CINEMA
2534 Mission (between 21st and 22nd streets), 648-7600, www.foreigncinema.com. Free with meal. This restaurant screens foreign films, usually in 35mm, on the back wall of its outdoor patio, with drive-in speakers available for the tables of those who want to watch while they dine. Closed Mondays.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY: Franco Zeffirelli's film of Verdi's opera La Traviata (Italy, 1982), with tenor Placido Domingo and soprano Teresa Stratas 8:45, 10:30 p.m.; also Fri & Sat midnight.
MONDAY: Venue closed.
STARTS TUESDAY: The popular farce La Cage aux Folles (Edouard Molinaro, France, 1979) screens through June 23 8:45, 10:30 p.m.; also Fri & Sat midnight.
ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI CULTURA
425 Washington (at Battery), Suite 200, 788-7142, www.sfiic.org. A free series of recent Italian films screens without subtitles.
TUESDAY (June 4): A series honoring comedian Maurizio Nichetti continues with Ho fatto splash (1980) 6:30 p.m.
LUMIERE
1572 California (at Polk), 352-0810, www.landmarktheatres.com. This multiplex is only partly a "calendar house" rep theater; for the rest of the Lumiere schedule, see our Showtimes page. $7.50.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: Eric Rohmer's The Lady and the Duke (France, 2001). See Ongoing for review. Call for times.
FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY (May 31-June 6): Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (India, 2001). See Opening for review. Call for times.
MECHANICS' INSTITUTE LIBRARY
57 Post (near Market), 393-0100 for reservations and information. $5. This cultural asset of long standing offers a spring/summer "CinemaLit" series of projected video of classics, with salon-style discussions after the films.
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