Russian Ark

Opening:

THE FLAT—An Israeli documentarian examining the apartment of his late grandparents finds evidence connecting them to a Nazi official. Directed by Arnon Goldfinger (The Komediant). Reviewed this issue. Eastern Hills

A LATE QUARTET—Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener as members of a string quartet struggling against tensions in their 25th year together. Co-starring Imogen Poots and Wallace Shawn. Directed by Yaron Zilberman (Watermarks). Eastern Hills

LINCOLN—Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th president of the United States. With Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones, John Hawkes, Jackie Earle Haley, Bruce McGill and Tim Blake Nelson. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Reviewed this issue. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Amherst, Flix, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE SESSIONS—Based on the true story of Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes), a man crippled by polio who sought to lose his virginity with the aid of a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt). Co-starring William H. Macy, Adam Arkin and Rhea Perlman. Directed by Ben Lewin (Paperback Romance). Reviewed this issue. Amherst, Eastern Hills

SMASHED—Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a woman trying to sober up and learning that alcohol is all that has been holding her marriage together. With Aaron Paul, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally and Mary Kay Place. Directed by James Ponsoldt. Reviewed this issue. North Park

TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN PART 2—Sequel. Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Directed by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls). Flix, Lockport Palace, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, New Angola, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

ETC:

AIDA—Verdi’s much-loved opera, from an open-air staging at Austria’s St. Margarethen featuring more than 400 participants on stage. Tues 7pm Screening Room

I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A DREAMER—Experimental documentary comparing the cities of Detroit and Dubai. Directed by Sabine Gruffat. Reviewed this issue. Hallwalls

LED ZEPPELIN: CELEBRATION DAY—Concert film of the band’s 2007 reunion show in London. Fri—Sat 9:15 pm. Screening Room

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO—Erwin Schrott, Miah Persson, Jonathan Veria, and Gerald Finley head an all-star cast in David McVicar’s production of Mozart’s opera from the Royal Opera House in London. Directed by Antonio Pappano. Amherst, Eastern Hills

RUSSIAN ARK (Russia, 2002)—An amazing feat: a 96-minute film consisting of a single, unbroken shot, made in the massive Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. (Cameraman Tilman Büttner, who shot Run Lola Run, covered nearly a mile in the process). The story is a shifting evocation of Russian history, with which you need not be familiar to enjoy this: sit back and be enveloped in a dream—and do not plan to see it on video, where it is a greatly diminished experience. Directed by Alexander Sokurov, whose films are not widely known in the United States but who is considered the heir to Andrei Tarkovsky. Presented as part of the Buffalo Film Seminar. Tues. 7 pm. Market Arcade.

SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952)—The one Hollywood musical that everyone likes, even people who hate musicals. A story parodying the movies’ transition from silents to sound is the backdrop for some still astonishing dance numbers featuring Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor (whose “Make ‘Em Laugh” sequence is one of the most amazing things you’ll ever see.) With Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, Rita Moreno and Cyd Charisse. Fri, Sat, Sun & Wed 7 pm Screening Room

THE STORY OF FILM AN ODYSSEY—The fourth installment of the epic documentary by Irish film critic Mark Cousins, an ambitious history of cinema that covers the global filmmaking community from the 1890s through the present day. If you don’t have four years to spend in film school, this is the next best thing. Sun 4:30 pm Screening Room