Even though the Rakontur showcase is over, the high caliber of movies around town has not stopped. At the Miami Beach Cinematheque, the salute to the Dardenne brothers' French films continues with "The Kid With a Bike" and "L'Enfant." And taking the typical "teacher changes students lives for good" movie and turning it around, Adrien Brody stars in "Detachment," playing at Cinema Paradiso.
Most notably, O Cinema is screening the gory "Battle Royale," boasting that the iconic Japanese penchant for blood is finally uncensored and unrated. You're not alone if the kids-killing-kids plot sounds suspiciously like "The Hunger Games." Read on.
Battle Royale
April 6 and 7 at 11 p.m., April 8 at 9 p.m.
Tickets: $7.50 to $10.50
In the apocalyptic Japan of the future, the youth has turned to crime. Once a year, students from a certain ninth grade class are sent to a remote island to battle to the death -- until only one survivor remains. (Sound like a certain movie everyone’s going crazy for right now?) If you're in the mood for a gory horror film, catch O's late-night screenings of the movie, available uncensored and unrated for the first time in the U.S. In Japanese with English subtitles.
The Forgiveness of Blood
April 5 at 7 p.m., April 6 at 9 p.m. April 7 at 5 and 9 p.m. and April 8 at 3 and 7 p.m.
Tickets: $7.50 to $10.50
Director Joshua Marston, known for “Maria Full of Grace,” brings us another film set in Albania, in which teenager Nik gets tangled in a blood feud when his father is accused of being involved in a murder. His life is forever changed when he becomes the target of the ancient code that a life must be given in exchange for one lost.
Pina
April 5 at 9 p.m., April 6 at 7 p.m., April 7 at 3 and 7 p.m. and April 8 at 1 and 5 p.m.
Tickets: $7.50 to $10.50
Nominated for best documentary at the Academy Awards, this is Wim Wender’s tribute to choreographer Pina Baush, who died in 2009. Watch dance unlike any you’ve seen before, where dancers take to the busy streets, beaches, mountains of Germany -- anywhere, and break into dance. As Pina said, “Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost.”
A Separation
April 2, 3 and 4 at 7 p.m.
Tickets: $8 to $10
Set in Iran, Simin is desperate to leave Iran with her husband, Nader, to improve their daughter’s future. When he refuses to leave his father with Alzheimer’s behind, she sues for divorce. The couple split up and Nader hires a maid to help take care of his father -- a lie she tells changes his life.
We Need to Talk About Kevin
April 2, 3 and 4 at 9:15 p.m.
Tickets: $8 to $10
Based on the book by the same name, every mother’s worst nightmare comes true in this creepy film. Tilda Swinton plays Eva, who fights for years to shake the feeling that her son, Kevin, is the manifestation of evil. Everyone else thinks she’s just seeing things -- her husband, played by John C. Reilly, comforts her, “He’s just a sweet little boy.”
L’Enfant
April 5 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $8 to $10
Another film by the Dardenne brothers, thief Bruno and his wife Sofia find themselves at the end of their rope when they decide to sell their newborn son on the black market.
The Kid With a Bike
April 6 at 6:45 and 8:45 p.m., April 7 and 8 at 2:45, 4:45, 6:45 and 8:45 p.m.
Tickets: $8 to $10
When Cyril is abandoned by his father at a state-run farm, a local hairdresser takes him in as a foster child. Even as he acts out, gets into trouble and is relentless to find his father, she never gives up on him. It's a film by the Dardenne brothers and winner of four awards, including the 2011 Cannes’ grand prize.
Chico & Rita
April 2, 4 and 5 at 4:30, 6:30 and 8:30 p.m., April 3 at 5, 7 and 9:30 p.m.
Tickets: $6 to $11
This illustrated film tells the story of jazz pianist Chico and the beautiful singer Rita. When they come together in 1940s Havana, their love takes them to the United States and back to Cuba in time for the revolution. The 7 p.m. screening on April 3 is a continuation of the ongoing “Cinema Conversations” series, with an introduction of the film as well as a discussion with jazz radio WDNA general manager, Maggie Pelleya, afterward.
Detachment
April 3 and 6 at 8 p.m. and April 4 at 6 p.m.
Tickets: $6 to $10
In this film, by “American History X” director Tony Kaye, Adrien Brody plays a substitute teacher (alongside a power-packed cast) who makes all efforts to never bond with his students or fellow teachers. However, at a new school, he encounters frustrated teachers and angry students, and finds himself connecting with those around him.
Check out the theatre’s other films this week:
We Need to Talk About Kevin
April 3 and 5 at 6 p.m., April 4 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $6 to $10
The Kid With a Bike
April 6 at 6 p.m., April 7 at 7:30 p.m. and April 8 at 5:45 p.m.
Tickets: $6 to $10
The Deep Blue Sea
April 6 at 8 p.m., April 7 at 5:30 p.m. and April 8 at 7:45 p.m.
Tickets: $6 to $10
Inspecteur Lavardin
April 8 at 3 p.m.
Tickets: $6 to $10