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This past Sunday, I went to the Anthology Film Archives to see Veronique Doisneau, a 32-minute film from 2004 about a Paris Opera Ballet dancer on the eve of retirement. After spending her career dancing in the background as a corps de ballet member, she is for the first time alone on stage in front of a huge audience. In a humorous and sadly earnest mix of spoken word and dance, she takes us through a history of her career, touching on her experiences and dreams. Having no real connection to or knowledge of ballet, I was surprisingly moved by the end of the piece.  It’s a stark reminder of the simple beauties in life.

The showing was part of PERFORMA 07, and unfortunately it doesn’t look like there will be another showing in NYC in the near future, but if you happen to be able to catch it anywhere, I really do recommend it.

Last night I saw the film Control at Film Forum with the very smart, very sexy LRS, and I highly recommend it, especially if you can score the same date.

Control is Anton Corbijn’s black-and-white biopic about Ian Curtis of Joy Division, one of the most influential post-punk bands ever. The film follows the young Curtis, played by actor Sam Riley, as he comes of age in 1970s Macclesfield, England, a suburb of Manchester. While his marriage to wife Deborah falls apart (partly on account of his affair with Belgian journalist Annik Honoré), the band’s success steadily grows, and the pressure becomes too much for Curtis. Joy Division’s music beautifully soundtracks the tragic and untimely end of Curtis’s life, the legacy of which is still relevant today.

Control is playing at Film Forum on W. Houston through Tuesday, October 23rd. I would highly recommend seeing it before the end of its run. In the meantime, definitely familiarize yourself with Joy Division’s music if you haven’t yet done so.

I’ve seen an inordinate amount of movies in the theater this week: two. But usually I never really see any, so this week has been out of control. On Sunday, I saw Transformers, which was entertaining and action-packed but kind of felt like one big Chevy commercial. Either way, it was fun. Even more fun though was last night’s sneak preview of The Ten, written by Ken Marino and David Wain, and directed by Wain.

If you’re a fan of Wet Hot American Summer, Reno 911!, The State or anything by the same crew of comedians, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out. Absurd humor at its best. Highlights include the Mexican love affair and the prison rape sketch (screenshot above). I never thought I’d laugh so hard at prison rape, but hey, that’s what makes it rape, right?