David Cronenberg can be considered the progenitor of the entire subgenre now known as body horror. Beginning with early, low-budget shockers that explored extreme iterations of sexually transmitted diseases (Rabid) or pregnancy (The Brood), on through efforts that smuggled his corporeal concerns into Hollywood products (The Fly, Dead Ringers), the Canadian auteur never abandoned his fascination with the ways psychological or societal pathologies can manifest in fleshly forms, even as he expanded his cinematic palette and matured into an elder statesman. But none of his previous films have addressed head-on the ultimate, inevitable degradation of death and decay we all must face to the degree that his latest, The Shrouds, does.

This most poignantly personal of Cronenberg’s films was inspired, if that’s the word, by the death of his wife Carolyn Zeifman in 2017. From his grief came a concept as morbid as it is almost maudlin. The protagonist of The Shrouds, Karsh (Vincent Cassel, done up in what amounts to Cronenberg drag), has, following the death of his wife Becca (Diane Kruger), invented a new type of cemetery—one in which each gravestone bears a monitor on which the deceased’s loved ones can watch a live stream of their corpse as it decomposes. It’s a powerful and versatile metaphor that prompts musings about the relationship between body and, for lack of a better word, soul, and about what it is we grieve when we lose someone. One thing believers and atheists (Karsh, like Cronenberg, being demonstrably the latter) generally agree on is that bodies are just shells, but that doesn’t stop us from venerating those leftover bits, whether on a video screen via advanced technology or as a jar of ashes on a shelf.

Although Cronenberg struggles to spin an entire feature from this conceit, he tosses enough other material in to keep the film engaging. It’s been several years since Becca’s death, and Karsh is beginning to date again. He’s been set up by his dentist (grief is rotting his teeth, you see) with a woman who lives in the home designed by her architect ex-husband, and they meet in the restaurant Karsh owns next to his cemetery. He also has dalliances with Becca’s sister Terry (also Kruger) and is forced to deal with the bumblings of Terry’s ex-husband Maury (Guy Pearce, continuing the late-career gusto of The Brutalist). After several of the graves in Karsh’s cemetery are mysteriously vandalized, and he believes he detects odd, tiny growths on her skeletal remains, the movie morphs, somewhat disappointingly, into a sort of cyber-espionage thriller.

The most haunting scenes, however, are Karsh’s flashback/memory/dreams of him and Becca in their bedroom, each one depicting her increasingly cancer-ravaged form. Now a breast is missing, now an arm, but as she becomes more fragile and desiccated, he continues to express his desire for her. (This is probably Cronenberg’s horniest film since Crash, which you can take as a warning if you wish.) These scenes return to the larger themes of The Shroud, and I wish they had been explored further. Except, at a certain point, even a vaunted master of the macabre must reach a point where grief and pain exceed the power of words and images to capture. (Cinema 21, Regal Fox Tower, Eastport Plaza, Lloyd Center, and other locations)

Also this week

On Swift Horses: Three of our most attractive and promising young actors front this sun-dappled melodrama that feels like it wants to be the movie Douglas Sirk would have made in the 1950s if he hadn’t been bound by the production code. That’s an admirable goal, but the result, while eminently watchable, only makes one appreciate more the way Sirk and his ilk could smuggle verboten concepts into ostensibly straight-laced cinema. Just after the Korean War, Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Will Poulter) have settled in San Diego following the death of Muriel’s mother back in Kansas. When Lee’s rapscallion of a brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) shows up, he forms a quick bond with Muriel, in whom he senses a fellow free spirit. She’s disappointed, then, when he heads off to Las Vegas to make a living as a casino worker, but gets her own thrills by surreptitiously (and successfully) playing the horses at Del Mar. Gambling, and its recognition of the inevitable randomness of life, are key themes, as are forbidden desires. Julius enters into a passionate relationship with his co-worker Henry (Diego Salva), who has amoral ambitions, while Muriel finds herself drawn to her neighbor Sandra (Sasha Calle), who has a pixie-cut and a political conscience. Poor Lee, then, is the unsuspecting straight sap who has no idea everyone around him is having so much fun. Veteran TV director Daniel Minahan helms his first feature, which is based on Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel, and it’s an eminently well-crafted piece of work, from the almost too-pretty cinematography of Luc Montpellier to the appropriately soaring score from Portland’s Mark Orton, following up his wonderful work on 2023’s The Holdovers. If there’s something that keeps On Swift Horses from truly achieving greatness, it’s that hermetic feel. A messier, rawer style may have allowed these tortured but constrained characters to come across more fully human, instead of largely symbolic figures trapped in a world they never made. (Regal Fox Tower, Clackamas Town Center, Bridgeport Village, and other locations)

Yadang: The Snitch: South Korean crime thrillers are a staple of that country’s film industry, and even limited to the ones that make it stateside, they can be a dime a dozen. But this stylish, smart, and morally ambiguous entry, set in the apparently brutal Asian drug trade, is worth the attention of genre fans. Unfolding in flashbacks and flash-forwards, it follows the relationship between Kang-soo (Kang Ha-neul, one of the stars of Squid Game Season 2), a charismatic convict who agrees to work as an informer, and prosecutor Koo Gwan-hee (Yoo Hai-jin), who employs Kang in an effort to boost his own profile and power. Just as ambitious, but with a moral center, is narcotics detective Sang-jae (Park Hae-joon), who finds his work constantly thwarted by the collaboration of the other two. “Yadang” is a term for a drug-deal middleman, and Kang’s M.O. is to broker a deal, tip off Koo, and then collect a reward, while the prosecutor is able to cut deals with prominent crooks, such as the son of a presidential candidate who gets caught up. Corruption, betrayal, and cynicism are on full display, but there’s also time for brutal action scenes including the classic “ten guys with steel pipes versus one car” motif. There’s also a crazy bit involving drugs being smuggled inside aquaria full of slimy eels. The primary appeal, though, is Kang, whose cocky bad boy portrayal steals every scene it’s in. (Eastport Plaza)

Streaming

Grand Tour: The latest from Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes is a wonderful and unique mélange of modern-day travelogue and vintage road movie. The narrative spine involves Edward (Gonçalo Waddington), a minor British civil servant in 1917 Burma, who flees Rangoon just ahead of the arrival of his fiancé Molly (Crista Alfaiate), who he hasn’t seen in seven years and doesn’t really want to marry anymore. Edward’s desperate, some might say cowardly, escape sends him by train, ship, and foot across Asia, from Bangkok to Singapore to Japan to China and then some. At most of his stops, he receives telegrams from the pursuing Molly begging him to wait, but he soldiers on. Only at the film’s halfway point does Gomes shift to give us Molly’s perspective on her romantic quest, at which point it becomes clear that she’s far pluckier and charming than the pathetic Edward has any right to deserve. These 1917 scenes are shot in a shadowy black-and-white, and on deliberately artificial sets. (They were filmed, apparently, during COVID lockdown on a soundstage.) Gomes juxtaposes them, however, with present-day documentary footage from each of the locales our travelers visit, which creates a fascinating frisson between the often exoticized portrayals of Asia in Western cinema and an almost hypnotic sense of suspension between these two realities. None of this ever feels didactic, however. Gomes, as evident from his breakthrough 2012 film Tabu, has an affection, tempered with an appreciation of the absurd, toward cinema’s ability to both preserve and warp memory. Wistful, poignant, and thought-provoking, Grand Tour failed to earn a Portland theatrical release, but is now streaming on MUBI.

On demand

Finding Groovopolis: I first saw a work-in-progress version of Wil Kristin’s personal documentary hybrid at the Eastern Oregon Film Festival in 2023. The film was inspired by Kristin’s discovery of a screenplay penned by his late father, which told the story of a white-collar worker who gets marooned on a tropical island inhabited by a group of free-living, dance-crazed natives. Combining filmed re-creations of scenes from the screenplay with reminiscences of his father’s eccentric, sometimes tumultuous life, Kristin crafts a memorable tribute to his dad and a film that speaks to universal, intergenerational issues. Having played additional festivals (including last week’s Portland Panorama) Finding Groovopolis has been released to watch on demand via Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and all the rest, as well as for free (with library card) via Hoopla. In addition, the jacket worn by Kristin’s father when he had a small role in The Terminator has been added to the collection of memorabilia on display at Movie Madness. His legacy lives on.

Also this week

Chasing Chimeras: “The existential crisis of climate chaos offers two paths we can take. We can make dramatic changes that meaningfully reduce carbon emissions. Or we can accept the fossil fuel industry’s self-serving climate solutions—renewable diesel, hydrogen, renewable natural gas, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and carbon offsets. This new documentary by Barbara Bernstein tells stories of people living in the crosshairs of these proposals, working to expose the dangers that these projects pose to their lives, homes, communities and the planet. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmaker and people featured in the film.” (Cinema 21, Sunday 4/27)

Linda’s Last Trip: “64-year-old Linda Patchett, with the support of her family, courageously attempts a groundbreaking, and legally tolerated, new therapy in order to come to terms with her terminal diagnosis. After being diagnosed with an incurable cancer, Linda struggles to make peace with her mortality. Having lived a challenging life with astonishing resilience, Linda is determined to make the most of her final months. Encouraged by her son, the first doctor in Ontario to treat a palliative patient with “magic” mushrooms, Linda takes a high dosage while under the care of her psychotherapists. This trip, and the events leading up to and following it, change the course of the end of her life.” Presented by the Portland Psychedelic Society, and followed by a panel discussion. (Cinema 21, Monday 4/28)

New Constellations: “This special presentation of three short films by Takashi Makino, a Tokyo-based experimental filmmaker widely considered to be one of the most influential Japanese moving-image artists of his generation, will include ANTI-COSMOS, CONSTELLATION and the world premiere of his latest piece, IMAGINATION. Live sound for CONSTELLATION will be provided by Liz Harris. Makino’s films incorporate layers upon layers of sound, image, and light to create densely-textured, hypnotic works. He has described his own work as a ‘creative collaboration with filmmaker and audience,’ the sheer experience of it ‘giving birth to a new cosmos… an act of true creativity.’” (Hollywood Theatre, Monday 4/28)

Portland Saturday Market: “Celebrate five decades of creativity in the heart of Portland’s Old Town. Experience the evolution of this beloved cultural institution, from humble parking lot beginnings, to the established waterfront marketplace that it is today. Through a blend of voices, including a market founder, former and current artists, food vendors, performers, and loyal customers, a compelling collection of stories are told, bringing to life the atmosphere of Portland’s iconic Saturday Market. A film by Portland artist Keelan Booth.” (Cinema 21, Tuesday 4/29)

Also opening

The Accountant 2: “Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) applies his brilliant mind and illegal methods to reconstruct the unsolved puzzle of a Treasury chief’s murder.” (wide)

Cheech and Chong’s Last Movie: “Exploring their 5-decade career performing stand-up, making records, and starring in hit films. It covers their lives, comedy partnership, and lasting influence on pop culture.” (Hollywood Theatre, Regal Fox Tower, Clackamas Town Center)

The Legend of Ochi: “In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy girl is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when she discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.” (wide)

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith: “As the Clone Wars nears its end, Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) pursues a new threat, while Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) is lured by Chancellor Palpatine into a sinister plot for galactic domination.” 20th anniversary re-release. (wide)

The Teacher: “A Palestinian schoolteacher struggles to reconcile his risky commitment to political resistance with the chance of a new relationship with volunteer-worker Lisa and his emotional support for one of his students, Adam.” (Living Room Theaters)

Until Dawn: “A group of friends trapped in a time loop, where mysterious foes are chasing and killing them in gruesome ways, must survive until dawn to escape it.” (wide)

Repertory

This week, the Hollywood Theatre’s David Lynch tribute “In Heaven” continues with both the standards (Eraserhead, Wild at Heart, etc.) and titles that have been harder to catch on the big screen, even in the wake of Lynch’s January death, such as The Elephant Man and The Straight Story. Meanwhile, Cinemagic devotes its screen to a quintet of zombie films, the opening of David Cronenberg’s latest, The Shrouds, inspires showings of Videodrome (Cinema 21) and Crash (Academy), and the Clinton Street continues its April Animation series with a Wes Anderson classic and the first Asian cartoon feature ever made. That film, 1941’s Princess Iron-Fan, and the Senegalese master Ousmane Sembène’s 1975 classic Xala (at PSU’s 5th Avenue Cinemas) are the two rarest opportunities on tap.

Friday 4/25

• Armageddon [1998] (Tomorrow Theater)
• Crash [1996] (Academy Theater, through 5/1)
• The Goonies [1985] (Kiggins Theatre, through 4/29)
• Hackers [1995] (Hollywood Theatre)
• Lost Highway [1997] (Hollywood Theatre)
• Rolling Thunder [1977] (Academy Theater, through 5/1)
• Shaun of the Dead [2004] (Cinemagic, also 4/28, 5/1)
• Superbad [2007] (Academy Theater, through 5/1)
• Train to Busan [2016] (Cinemagic, also 4/28, 5/1)
• Videodrome [1983] (Cinema 21, also 4/26)
• Wild at Heart [1990] (Hollywood Theatre)
• Xala [1975] (5th Avenue Cinemas, through 4/27)

Saturday 4/26

• Burn After Reading [2008] (Salem Cinema, also 4/29)
• Cry-Baby [1990] (Kiggins Theatre)
• The Elephant Man [1980] (Hollywood Theatre, also 4/29)
• Eraserhead [1977] (Hollywood Theatre, on 35mm)
• The Fantastic Mr. Fox [2009] (Clinton St. Theater)
• Hook [1991] (Tomorrow Theater)
• Night of the Living Dead [1968] (Cinemagic, also 4/27)
• Return of the Living Dead [1985] (Cinemagic, also 4/27, 4/28, 4/30)
• Zombie [1979] (Cinemagic, also 4/29, 4/30)

Sunday 4/27

• The Heiress [1949] (Tomorrow Theater)
• Somewhere in Time [1980] (Tomorrow Theater)
• The Straight Story [1999] (Hollywood Theatre)

Tuesday 4/29

• The Last Unicorn [1982] (Clinton St. Theater)

Wednesday 4/30

• Onibaba [1964] (Hollywood Theatre, in 35mm)
• Princess Iron-Fan [1941] (Clinton St. Theater)

Thursday 5/1

• Metropolitan [1990] (Cinema 21, with director Whit Stillman in attendance)