Movie Night with MFAH Films “Bacurau” March 23, 2020
The Museum’s film program is currently dark, joining all U.S. movie theaters in responding to necessary directives. We send our audiences best wishes during these challenging days.
We are dedicated to the big-screen experience of watching movies together in Brown Auditorium Theater. But we’re pivoting in the weeks ahead, participating in the #MFAHatHome Virtual Experience by offering access to unique films online.
Online Theatrical Release
Our #MFAHatHome films launch on Wednesday, March 25, with the bold Brazilian movie Bacurau, originally scheduled for this year’s Latin Wave film festival. Bacurau is offered within a brand-new initiative: Kino Marquee. The film distributor Kino Lorber, source of many memorable movies we’ve screened over the years, is offering an innovative online theatrical release. You can purchase a screening of Bacurau, just as you’d buy a movie ticket, and you can watch the film at home through April 7.
A Community Coming Together
Bacurau is a cathartic and enigmatic film. Described as a 21st-century Western, it has a familiar premise. A group of strangers arrives in a rural town, and the locals become suspicious. When the violence happens, it’s shocking, so this movie may not be for all viewers. Bacurau’s prevailing theme is a community coming together during difficult times.
Cultural Connections
The MFAH has a history with co-filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho. We’ve premiered his two previous features: Neighboring Sounds, about his hometown of Recife, Brazil; and Aquarius, starring legendary Brazilian actress Sonia Braga (who’s also in Bacurau). Filho is a film critic and curator, too. He organized a retrospective of films by Robert Frank from the MFAH circulating collection that screened at museums in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in 2017.
Last May I saw Bacurau premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Award. After screenings at film festivals worldwide, its U.S. theatrical premiere happened in New York City three weeks ago, with the national rollout scheduled to follow.
Latin Wave has been postponed, but we’re very proud to offer Bacurau in this unique way.
► See a screening of “Bacurau” at home. Your purchase ($12.99) or rental ($4.99) supports the MFAH. WATCH NOW
