MSPIFF 2011: Week 3

Feathered Cocaine

If this wild documentary study of weirdly named falconer Alan Parrot doesn't raise at least one of your eyebrows, nothing will. Parrot, a.k.a. Hari Har Singh Khalsa, claims the U.S. government has ignored evidence that Osama bin Laden can be found near Tehran through homing beacons attached to the Al Qaeda leader's beloved falcons. These rare and magnificent creatures have for decades been smuggled and traded throughout the Middle East -- a crime Perrot seems to consider more dastardly than terrorism. "Feathered Cocaine" may not succeed in aiding an odd bird's cause, but it's surely a hoot. (Iceland, 81 min.) --Rob Nelson

Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

"These were our home movies. Until my dog peed on them. I thought it looked cool." So begins Pip Chodorov in his admittedly surface-scratching look at experimental cinema from 1920s filmmaker Hans Richter to, uh, himself. Having grown up in proximity to avant-garde film giants such as Stan Brakhage and Ken Jacobs, Chodorov claims he'll tell the stories of "my friends," but contrives to squeeze in some non-pals (e.g., Maya Deren) while omitting countless others (and making a footnote of Andy Warhol). Clips from Len Lye's "Rainbow Dance" and Robert Breer's "Recreation" do look cool, though, even without dog pee. (France, 82 min.) --Rob Nelson

The Sleeping Beauty

Following "Bluebeard," this is director Catherine Breillat's second fairy tale revision, and, if anything, its surreal images are even more indelible. The bulk takes place within the vivid dreams of 6-year-old Anastasia (Carla Besnainou), whom fairies have blessed with a century-long catnap. Before she wakes at age 16, Anastasia rides cross-country on a doe looking for Peter (Kerian Mayan) -- who, as another fairy tale would have it, has been abducted by the Snow Queen (Romane Portail). Fans of the filmmaker won't be surprised to discover that, aside from a steamy Sapphic liaison, Anastasia's adolescence is rather less than dreamy. (France, 85 min.) --Rob Nelson

Friday 4.29

HESHER

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, usually cleancut and winsome, goes scary crackhead in this deranged coming-of-age comedy. Looking like a tattooed roadie for Motörhead, he veers from scary-cool to total Molotov cocktail in a blink. He walks in the door of a 13-year-old boy (Devin Brochu) mourning the loss of his mom, and his devastated, pill-popping father (Rainn Wilson in a solid dramatic performance). Hesher plunks down on their sofa in his BVDs and becomes the troubled family's grief counselor/repressed id. Natalie Portman is a bespectacled sad-sack cashier who becomes the boy's first crush. Gonzo, grungy, one of a kind. (USA, 100 min.) --Colin Covert

"Tyrannosaur"

TYRANNOSAUR

Actor Paddy Considine ("In America") goes behind the camera to expand on his 2007 short film "Dog Altogether" with the same lead actors. Joseph (an excellent Peter Mullan), a widower and alcoholic, struggles to keep his life intact until he meets Hannah (an impressive Olivia Colman), a devout Christian. When Joseph and Hannah form an unlikely bond, their friendship is threatened by her abusive husband, James (Eddie Marsan). Considine's film is bleak and harrowing but shows a minimalist approach to his subjects and injects enough levity to make this an eye-opening affair. (United Kingdom, 91 min.) --Jim Brunzell III

"Illegal"

ILLEGAL