<\/p>\n
~~~~~<\/p>\n
Are<\/em> my days of Champaign<\/strong> and roses over? I haven\u2019t kept a home address there for a year and a half as of last week, and the week before marked the one-year anniversary of the last time I set foot in Champaign County<\/strong>. Even though it\u2019s not an impossible task to visit the C-U, I don\u2019t get to travel on a whim from the house on the edge of an American small town. I do<\/em> continue to value the positives I once enjoyed there, such as the modest luxury of slipping on my shoes, walking out the blocky fa\u00e7ade of \u201cBuilding,\u201d crossing through West Side Park<\/strong>, and ambling around a downtown that I knew like a favorite family recipe. It\u2019s unfortunate one of the key ingredients, at least to myself and many former neighbors, was scratched out in late 2019. I\u2019m still a bit salty over it like stale popcorn, but at least an effort has been underway at the nearby Virginia Theatre<\/strong> to provide a space for that sort of cinematic vibe.<\/p>\n As a featured series of their 2021-2022 season, the Virginia established an \u201cArthouse Experience<\/strong>\u201d film program comprised of 10 acclaimed \u201cart\u201d titles from the last 25 years with input from Sanford Hess<\/strong>, a former owner-operator of the Art Theater<\/strong>. Starting with EMMA.<\/strong> in October and continuing through THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI<\/strong> a few weeks ago<\/a><\/span>, the series wraps it up tonight, Wednesday, July 27, at 7 p.m.<\/strong> with a surprise 11th \u201cviewers choice\u201d selection that apparently made a solid impression as part of Roger Ebert\u2019s Film Festival<\/strong> back in April. THE WHITE TIGER<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, a Netflix<\/strong> presentation written and directed by \u201cEbertfest<\/strong>\u201d regular Ramin Bahrani<\/strong> (MAN PUSH CART, GOODBYE SOLO<\/strong>), will be introduced by Hess in the Virginia\u2019s grand auditorium and followed in the East Lobby by a viewing of the Ebertfest panel discussion with Bahrani. TIGER<\/strong> received very limited play in theaters before it joined the Netflix ranks in January 2021<\/a><\/span>, so this is still a rare opportunity to enjoy it in a communal setting.<\/p>\n I have not seen TIGER<\/strong> yet. Given the hard-edged official trailer<\/a><\/span> and the layers of detail conveyed by Roxana Hadadi<\/strong>\u2019s overview posted to the Ebertfest website<\/a><\/span>, this is a production that will ask something of the viewer\u2019s attention and intellect unlike much of what is playing at the north and south poles of town. Underdogs and rifts between lower and upper classes figure into this story, adapted by Bahrani from the prize-winning novel by his friend Aravind Adiga<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, about a self-described entrepreneur named Balram (played by Adarsh Gourav<\/strong>) who attempts to climb his way out of poverty in India<\/strong> by becoming a driver for a landlord\u2019s son, Ashok (Rajkummar Rao<\/strong>), and his wife, Pinky (Priyanka Chopra Jonas<\/strong>). The trailer hints that Balram achieves a sort of success, relieving him of the servitude and denigration he suffers at the hands of this family and their affairs, while the overall tone implies that he\u2019ll pay a price in the end.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n A nice conversation between Hess and foodie, filmaholic, and former Octopus<\/span><\/strong> publisher Paul Young<\/strong> appeared on Smile Politely<\/span><\/strong> in February<\/a><\/span>, wherein the former lays out the approach he and the Virginia are taking with \u201cArthouse Experience.\u201d If I still maintained the Secret MICRO-FILM Headquarters<\/strong> a few blocks away from our resident movie palace, I most likely would have ventured out to see a couple of their choices in curiosity and support. The series also included THE ARTIST, COLD WAR, EIGHTH GRADE, MOONLIGHT, WILD TALES<\/strong>, and three examples from the height of indie and Indiewood<\/strong> mania in the Nineties and early Aughts, ADAPTATION, BIG NIGHT<\/strong>, and THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS<\/strong>. I hope the C-U has turned out for them and management sees fit to program a second series in response. I also hope, although I won\u2019t hold my breath over it, that some future choices will be more adventurous and offbeat.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n