Still Bill
Pop music is filled with assholes: Axl Rose. Kid Rock. Those guys in 3OH!3. Bill Withers is not like any of them. The humble singer-songwriter was 32 years old when his first single, "Ain't No Sunshine," became a hit. By the end of the '70s, he reached the Top 10 three more times, scoring a No. 1 with his greatest song, "Lean on Me." Raised in a small West Virginia coal town, Withers wasn't built for a flashy life. He stopped releasing records in 1985, although friends claim in this absorbing documentary that he never quit making music. The filmmakers follow Withers to his hometown to hang with old friends, watch him record with his daughter, and talk to fans like My Morning Jacket's Jim James about his influence. By the time he gets onstage at the end of the film to sing "Grandma's Hands," you'll be cheering for this great man. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 9:45 p.m. Friday, July 16, and 6:30 p.m. Sunday, July 18. — Michael Gallucci
Agora
Get a sneak peek at the latest epic by Alejandro Amenábar (who made The Others and The Sea Inside). Rachel Weisz stars as a fourth-century Egyptian astronomer dealing with Christian fundamentalists, who were uptight whiners even back then. Cleveland Museum of Art Morley Lecture Hall. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 14.
Animal Crackers
The Cinematheque continues its Marx Brothers retrospective with their second movie (from 1930). This is the one where Groucho shoots an elephant in his pajamas. How he got in his pajamas, we don't know. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7:45 p.m. Thursday, July 15, and 5:30 p.m. Saturday, July 17.
Bluebeard
The latest adaptation of the classic fairy tale about some dude who kills his wives comes from French director Catherine Breillat. You'd think after the third or fourth one dies, these ladies would catch on. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 17.
The Complete Metropolis
One of the greatest films ever made gets a boost with 25 minutes of previously unseen footage. So if you've been confused for the past 83 years about what's happening, here's your chance to figure it all out. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 7 p.m. Friday, July 16, and 9:10 p.m. Saturday, July 17.
Home
Award-hogging Swiss film about a family whose life turns upside down after a highway opens near their house. Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque. At 5:45 p.m. Thursday, July 15, and 8:10 p.m. Sunday, July 18.
My Tale of Two Cities
Filmmaker Carl Kurlander will answer questions after both screenings of his new film about Pittsburgh's rebirth. Maybe you can ask him about Ben Roethlisberger. Cleveland Museum of Art Morley Lecture Hall. At 6:45 p.m. Friday, July 16, and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, July 18.
Winter's Bone
After a meth-dealing deadbeat dad puts up the family home as bail and then disappears, his vengeful 17-year-old daughter hunts him down in the Ozark Mountains. Based on Lohan family adventures. Opens Friday at the Cedar Lee Theatre.
