Editorial

For three years, the film junkies at Mise En Scenesters have risked life, limb, and personal finances to keep great indie cinema pouring into Chattanooga. Now, with help from their over 2,000 regional supporters and movie lovers, they’re gearing up to kick off another year of great indie, obscure, classic, and cult classic cinema.

The MES January-March 2014 line-up includes the films “Here Comes the Devil,” “The Punk Singer,” “The Visitor,” “Fateful Findings,” and “Grand Piano.”

January 18

Here Comes the Devil

“Here Comes the Devil” combines modern indie filmmaking and storytelling with a hint of ‘70s-styled horror. Francisco Barreiro and Laura Caro play parents Felix and Sol, whose preteen son and daughter inexplicably reappear after being lost overnight on a desolate, cave-riddled mountainside after a casual hike. The good fortune of their return soon changes, as the behavior of the children suggests ominous and unspeakable events took place the night they were lost. As loving parents try to care for and protect their children, the ancient and half-whispered legends that surround the caves and the mountain become too strange to believe – but too dangerous to ignore.

Gabe Toro of The Playlist on Indiewire calls the film “one of the most interesting, frightening, and thoroughly alive – both intellectually and viscerally – works of horror and dread this critic has seen in a very, very long time.” Drew McWeeney of Hitfix says it’s “a memorable shocker. Great performances and a script that never quite does what you expect it to.” And Steve Prokopy of Ain’t It Cool News calls it “magnificently creepy.”

January 25

The Punk Singer

In this SXSW 2013 Official Selection, Kathleen Hanna, lead singer of the punk band Bikini Kill and dance-punk trio Le Tigre, rose to national attention as the reluctant but never shy voice of the riot grrrl movement. So in 2005, when Hanna stopped shouting, many wondered why. Through 20 years of archival footage and intimate interviews with Hanna, “The Punk Singer” takes viewers on a fascinating tour of contemporary music and offers a never-before-seen view into the life of this fearless leader.

Pitchfork Media calls the movie “emotional” and “moving.” Eric Kahn of Indiewire says it’s “powerful.” Entertainment Weekly calls it’s “intimate” and “invigorating.”

February 1

The Visitor

In this unforgettable assault on reality – restored and presented uncut theatrically for the first time in the U.S. – and legendary Hollywood director and actor John Huston (“The Maltese Falcon”; “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”) stars as an intergalactic warrior who joins a cosmic Christ figure in battle against a demonic 8-year-old girl and her pet hawk. Multi-dimensional warfare, pre-adolescent profanity, and brutal avian attacks combine to transport the viewer to somewhere between Hell, the darkest reaches of outer space, and Atlanta, Ga. Its baffling all-star cast includes Shelley Winters (“Night of the Hunter”), Glenn Ford (“Superman”), Lance Henriksen (“Aliens”), Franco Nero (“Django”), and Sam Peckinpah (director of “The Wild Bunch”).

Village Voice says “it’s a ridiculously entertaining hybrid of ‘Rosemary’s Baby,’ ‘Close Encounters,’ ‘The Birds,’ ‘Damien: Omen II,’ and more. It’s the schizophrenic mother of all ‘70’s drive-in oddities.”

February 15

Fateful Findings

“Fateful Findings” is a paranormal thriller in which a computer hacker exposes worldwide secrets. Movie critic Devin Faraci wrote ‘’Without a doubt, the next cult classic. Leads to one of the most bravura conclusions in the history of cinema.” The movie is playing well at film festivals, where it’s receiving standing ovations, or, in the case of the Fantasia International Film Festival, “thunderous applause” (Mise En Scenesters).

March 22

Grand Piano

Elijah Wood plays Tom Selznick, a talented pianist who has stopped performing in public because of his stage fright. Years after a catastrophic performance, he reappears in public for a long awaited concert in Chicago. In a packed theater, in front of an expectant audience, Tom finds a message written on the score: “Play one wrong note and you die.” In the sights of an anonymous sniper (John Cusack), Tom must get through the most difficult performance of his life and look for help without being detected.

IGN calls the film “The best movie Alfred Hitchcock never made.” Marjorie Baumbarten of The Austin Chronicle was equally enthusiastic, calling it a virtuosic dazzler “infused with originality and expertly executed. The suspense is as taut and responsive as piano wire.” Todd Gilchrist of Playlist on Indiewire called it “endlessly engaging.”

“The atmosphere at MES events is one I hope film buffs of all types will find warm and inviting,” says Chris Dortch, founder and programmer. “Our audiences are, in my humble opinion, the best people to see a film with in this city. They make the unique films we showcase truly come alive in a way we hope reminds folks that the best way to see a film is in a theatrical settings.”

As an added treat for film fans that show up early, MES features a brief pre-show reel. “That’s our way of putting

our audiences in the right frame of mind to enjoy the film they’re about to see, and to give our audiences a nice, old school night out at the movies kind of experience,” says Dortch.

MES screenings fall on different dates each month. For an up-to-date calendar, check mesfilmclub.com. The calendar on the home page includes another addition just booked for March – the Israeli thriller “Big Bad Wolves.”

Screenings take place at Barking Legs Theater, located at 1307 Dodds Avenue. Snacks, soft drinks, and reasonably priced beers are on the menu.

Tickets cost $7 each – and every nickel goes toward MES paying the costs of bringing the films to Chattanooga. In many cases, they send 100 percent of the proceeds to the filmmakers.

For more information about MES and upcoming screenings, email info@mesfilmclub.com.