some stuff showing in nyc this weekend: nov 2 - 3
plus reflections on the timothée chalamet lookalike contest and the irl community/clout chasing nexus
Bowen Fernie for GQ.
reflecting on the timothée chalamet look alike contest nearly a week later:
Almost from the moment posters advertising a “timothée chalamet look alike competition”1 began appearing in the West Village several weeks back, the internet embraced it, and seemed determined to make a thing of it.
Users speculated on whether it was a Trap-style operation to apprehend “Club Chalamet,” a notorious stan account run by a polemical middle-aged woman. Haley Mills (of Parent Trap and, more recently, Trap, fame) made no appearance, but sure enough, the man himself did.
1:00 PM - The contest apparently kicks off, but I was late.
As I approached, I could see throngs and throngs of people gathered near where the arch meets meets 5th (famously where the eponymous Harry first dropped off Sally in When Harry Met Sally), the crowd was a healthy mix of obviously very online NYU students, other Timmy fans in their early 20s, and bewildered tourists.
And their phones. So so so many phones.
Something like one in every third person had their phone up and filming. An uneasy feeling began to marinate in my stomach. Do people really want to be here? Or were they just after some proof that they were here?
1:07 PM(ish) - The crowd appears to start marching up 5th avenue. Possibly to a second location? Or was it some kind of trick to get everyone to join a march, someone jokes near a reporter. No one seems to know.
A few short minutes after the 1 PM start time, rumors begin to circulate through the crowd that the competition was “over” and that someone had already been crowned. Twitter later confirms that this is not true, and that it took a bit longer to gather everyone at a second location where the winner was determined based on audience applause.
1:12 PM - Cops begin to shut down the event and forcefully herd people back from the street.
Answering one of my (many) burning questions: did the organizers obtain a permit? Apparently not.
1:27 - POLICE! Brutality at the timothée chalamet lookalike contest.
For the next several minutes, the still-expectant crowd seems to at once thin and get more rowdy. Like at a protest where the energy shifts and you can feel the crowd debating whether to riot or dissipate.
The cops keep herding and yelling. I debate leaving, because nothing much seems to be happening. A Timmy appears to be put in handcuffs and in the back of a squad car. The comments on the AP livestream declare “this is fascism!”
“That’s two Timmys now,” says the girl next to me. “Diva down!”
1:32 - LISAN AL GAIB!
Then, the energy shifts rapidly.
It’s not clear if it’s the arrest, or if something else is going on. The crowd buzz is rising and — “There he is!”
I turn toward the arch just in time to see the Hell’s Kitchen native wearing a navy baseball cap and a causal smirk (and sporting some very unconvincing facial hair) moving west through the crowd, before taking off down the street and disappearing into a waiting car.
(If you’re wondering whether my heart skipped a beat — don’t! That’s none of your business!)
“Wow,” shrieks someone near me, from whom I later got video, “I can’t believe he really showed up.”
1:??? - The contest moves to a second location and the winner is crowned based on crowd reactions. I’d left by this point.
The last year or so of film-loving culture has been sign-posted by live events gaining massive traction online, specifically Barbenheimer and the mobile Criterion closet, which to some suggest that the “children yearn for the monoculture” — or at least, that young film lovers sincerely want some form of in-person community with other aspiring cinephiles — a desire this newsletter aspires to nurture.
Though these phenomena differ in scale and impact, one thing they have in common is that, a photo (usually to be posted online for “clout”), whether of contrasting pinks and noirs or your three Criterion pulls, is the explicit end goal. Both experiences feed into a desire extract something, if not material, then semi-permeant, out of ephemera. To have “proof” that we were there. That not only did we witness an important shared cultural event, but we got the shot. This cycle has the tendency to turn even live, in-person events into online clout chasing — a major topic of conversation, ironically, online. It seems like every week someone needs to voice their observation that young people have lost the ability to experience live events without having their phones out.
I don’t bring this up to lecture — I’m just as guilty as anyone else. I went to the contest for “clout” too, phone in hand. I’m writing about it now, claiming my clout for the 4 - 9 people who will read this. In fact, this experience led me to wonder how often I get myself out to screenings just to post about it on Letterboxd or to my meager Instagram following.
One of the (many many) paradoxes of online life is that it has us accustomed to being connected to all people at all times — with the precise exception of those in our actual proximity. This is what leads us to decry our “lack of community” but live in fear of making small talk with our neighbors.
I got back to my apartment later that day, just in time for my book club. One of our other participants was late, as he was coming straight from the mobile Criterion closet pop-up in Brooklyn. He happily told us all about it and his picks when he joined the call.
Like I said before, the Criterion van at NYFF, drawing five-hour lines, in many ways exists at the “clout/in-person community” nexus. On the one hand, it’s a straightforward marketing gimmick, in which participants are mined for free social media content — but my book club buddy still managed to feel like he was participating in something meaningful and earnest with other people who love film history and care about preserving it.
So, can a sincere desire for in-person communities of film lovers exist in a culture ordered by insatiable, clout chasing algorithms?
I’d like to think the answer is an unlikely yes. One of the essential conceits of this newsletter (to get you out of your house and to the cinema) is that experiencing something live with other people is an end unto itself. That the act of witnessing something physically in-person with others can make us more open, more empathetic, more human. What would it be like to reclaim our desire to be “seen” from the robots? To decide that perceiving something with our own eyes is enough?
Someday I’d like to find out.
Read more:
“The Agony and Ecstasy of the a Timothée Chalamet Lookalike Contest.” GQ.
“Arrested Timothée Chalamet Lookalike Matt Mannix Doesn’t Know ‘What the Hell’ to Think About All This.” Teen Vogue.
new releases
Anora (2024)
“Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.” - Letterboxd
Where to watch this weekend: AMC, Regal, Angelika & Nitehawk, and like, basically everywhere (FINALLY!).
Here (2024)
“An odyssey through time and memory, centered around a place in New England where—from wilderness, and then, later, from a home—love, loss, struggle, hope and legacy play out between couples and families over generations.” - Letterboxd
Where to watch this weekend: AMC, Regal, & Angelika but serious question — why would you want to?
A Real Pain (2024)
“Mismatched cousins David and Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the pair’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.” - Letterboxd
Godzilla Minus One (2023)
“In postwar Japan, Godzilla brings new devastation to an already scorched landscape. With no military intervention or government help in sight, the survivors must join together in the face of despair and fight back against an unrelenting horror.” - Letterboxd
Where to watch this weekend: Alamo Drafthouse, Regal, Angelika
Juror #2 (2024)
“While serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, family man Justin Kemp finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer.” - Letterboxd
Where to watch this weekend: AMC, Regal, Alamo Drafthouse
Conclave (2024)
“After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with managing the covert and ancient ritual of electing a new one. Sequestered in the Vatican with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders until the process is complete, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could lead to its downfall.” - Letterboxd
Where to watch this weekend: AMC, Alamo Drafthouse, Regal, & Angelika
Dahomey (2024)
“November 2021. 26 royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey are about to leave Paris to return to their country of origin, the present-day Republic of Benin. Along with thousands of others, these artefacts were plundered by French colonial troops in 1892. But what attitude to adopt to these ancestors’ homecoming in a country that had to forge ahead in their absence? The debate rages among students at the University of Abomey-Calavi.” - Letterboxd
Where to watch this weekend: IFC & Film at Lincoln Center
Emilia Perez (2024)
“Rita, an underrated lawyer working for a large law firm more interested in getting criminals out of jail than bringing them to justice, is hired by the leader of a criminal organization.” - Letterboxd
Where to watch this weekend: Alamo Drafthouse, IFC, The Paris Theater & more.
Blitz (2024)
“In World War II London, nine-year-old George is evacuated to the countryside by his mother, Rita, to escape the bombings. Defiant and determined to return to his family, George embarks on an epic, perilous journey back home as Rita searches for him.” - Letterboxd
Where to watch this weekend: Film at Lincoln Center
ANGELIKA FILM CENTER
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - 10 PM
Sweethearts Brad and Janet, stuck with a flat tire during a storm, discover the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite scientist. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including a rocking biker and a creepy butler. Through elaborate dances and rock songs, Frank-N-Furter unveils his latest creation: a muscular man named ‘Rocky’. - Letterboxd
NY Cat Film Festival - 12 PM
“The NY Cat Film Festival™ is an exploration through film of the fascinating felines who share our lives, creating a shared audience experience that inspires, educates and entertains.” - Cat Film Festival
BAM
Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) - 2 PM
“When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it’s up to Shaun and the flock to return everyone safely to the green grass of home.” - Letterboxd
Je Tu Il Elle (1974) - 7 PM
“A woman suffers a subdued psychological breakdown in the wake of a devastating breakup.” - Letterboxd
Tabu (2012) - 4:30 PM
“Lisbon, Portugal, 2010. Pilar, a pious woman devoted to social causes, maintains a peculiar relationship with her neighbor Aurora, a temperamental old woman obsessed with gambling who lives tormented by a mysterious past.” - Letterboxd
FILM FORUM
Black Box Diaries (2024) - 12:45 PM
“Journalist Shiori Itō embarks on a courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in an improbable attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender. Her quest becomes a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country’s outdated judicial and societal systems.” - Letterboxd
Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat (2024) - 1 PM, 4 PM, 7:30 PM
“In 1960, United Nations: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe denouncing America’s color bar, while the U.S. dispatches jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the Congo to deflect attention from its first African post-colonial coup.” - Letterboxd
The Sacrifice (1986) - 1 PM, 4 PM, 6 PM, 7:10 PM
“Opening with a small group of familiar players in a tense isolated situation, Tarkovsky’s final film unfolds to encompass the director’s cosmic view as faced with nuclear holocaust, a mystic sacrifice must be offered to restore the world — with unforeseen results. Produced in Sweden with a cast headed by Bergman star Erland Josephson and shot by his cinematographer Sven Nykvist. “Unrivaled in the history of cinema in the expression of sheer dread.” – Time Out
The Burmese Harp (1956) - 3 PM, 5:30 PM, 8 PM
“In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.” - Letterboxd
Let’s Get Lost (1988) - 3:15 PM, 8 PM
“Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.”
Part of Bruce Webber.
FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) - 12 PM
“In the Carpathian Mountains of 19th-century Ukraine, love, hate, life and death among the Hutsul people are as they’ve been since time began. Ivan is drawn to Marichka, the beautiful young daughter of the man who killed his father. But fate tragically decrees that the two lovers will remain apart.” - Letterboxd
No Other Land (2024) - 8:45 PM
“Made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective, this documentary shows the destruction of the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli authorities and the unlikely friendship that blossoms between Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham.” - Letterboxd
IFC
High Tide (1987) - 10:45 AM, 4:05 PM, 8:45 PM
“A backup singer gets stranded in a small coastal town after losing her job in a band. She winds up in a caravan park only to encounter, by accident, the teenage daughter she deserted following her husband’s death.” - Letterboxd
Post-screening Q&A with dir. Marco Calvani & Ira Sachs at 8:45 PM
METROGRAPH
Silence of the Lambs (1991) - 2:30 PM
“Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI’s training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.” - Letterboxd
Presented by The Drift.
The Graduates (2023) - 7:30 PM
“A year after her boyfriend dies from gun violence, a young woman prepares to graduate high school as she navigates an uncertain future alongside a community that is searching for ways to heal.” - Letterboxd
Q&A with director Hannah Peterson, and actors Mina Sundwall and Yasmeen Fletcher, on Friday, November 1st, moderated by filmmaker Rachel Lambert, and Saturday, November 2nd, moderated by Genevieve Yue, associate professor of Culture and Media at The New School
MoMA
What Shall I Do with This Sword? (1975) - 1:30 PM
“By cross-editing footage of Portuguese workers protesting against NATO forces and various movies, Monteiro shows how one ‘sword’ can confront the army.” - Letterboxd
Clínica Popular Comunal da Cova da Piedade (1975)
“The question of abortion and other issues related to the lives of Portuguese women.” - Letterboxd
The Memories of a 75-Year-Old Man (2007) - 7:30 PM
“A documentary from the point of view of an 75 years old man about the history of Melli bank of Iran and it’s first days.” - Letterboxd
MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) - 5:30 PM
“A group of five young friends face a nightmare of torment at the hands of a depraved Texas clan.” - Letterboxd
THE ROXY
Megalopolis (2024) - 3 PM
“Genius artist Cesar Catilina seeks to leap the City of New Rome into a utopian, idealistic future, while his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero, remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero, the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.” - Letterboxd
Suspira (1977) - 5:45 PM
“An American newcomer to a prestigious German ballet academy comes to realize that the school is a front for something sinister amid a series of grisly murders.” - Letterboxd
Turn in the Wound (2024) - 7 PM
“Abel Ferrara explores human conflict and the search for peace and balance through the music and words of Patti Smith and the experiences of people at war in Ukraine.” - Letterboxd
Scream (1996) 35 MM - 9:30 PM
“A year after the murder of her mother, a teenage girl is terrorized by a masked killer who targets her and her friends by using scary movies as part of a deadly game.” - Letterboxd
ANGELIKA FILM CENTER
NY Dog Film Festival - 12 PM
“The Festival is a two-hour medley of animated, documentary and narrative short films from around the world with a canine theme. The Festival premieres every year in New York City, then travels to theaters across the United States and Canada with 10% of every ticket benefiting a local dog rescue.” - NY Dog Film Festival
BAM
Modern Times (1936) - 2 PM
“A bumbling tramp desires to build a home with a young woman, yet is thwarted time and time again by his lack of experience and habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” - Letterboxd
To Sleep so as to Dream (1986) - 4 PM
“An aging silent film actress hires a private eye and his wacky but helpful assistant to track down her missing daughter, Bellflower. The two follow a succession of bizarre, obscure clues, until they track down the location of the kidnappers and the daughter.” - Letterboxd
The Suitcase (1963) + The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (1978) - 5:50 PM
The Suitcase: “Absurdist short about a man with a suitcase and a man inside that suitcase.” - Letterboxd
The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting: “Two narrators, one seen and one unseen, discuss possible connections between a series of paintings. The on-screen narrator walks through three-dimensional reproductions of each painting, featuring real people, sometimes moving, in an effort to explain the series’ significance.” - Letterboxd
FILM FORUM
The Great Dictator (1940) - 11 AM
“The Little Tramp becomes the Little Jewish Barber, breezily shaving a customer to Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody,” while his doppelganger Adenoid Hynkel, “Der Phooey,” longingly dances with a globe; Jack Oakie’s Benzino Napolini steals scenes; and Ghetto spitfire Paulette Goddard tangles with stormtroopers.” - Letterboxd
Bruce Webber Short Films - 1:30 PM
Backyard Movie (1991); The Beauty Brothers (1987); Gentle Giants (1995); Wine and Cupcakes (2007); The Teddy Boys of the Edwardian Drape Society (1996); Liberty City Is Like Paris to Me (2009)
Part of Bruce Webber.
FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) - 12 PM
No Other Land (2024) - 8:45 PM
METROGRAPH
The Outfit (1973) 35 MM - 4:50 PM
“A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother’s death. Earl Macklin is a small time criminal who is released from prison after an unsuccessful bank robbery only to discover that a pair of gunmen killed his brother.” - Letterboxd
Presented by n+1, introduced by n+1’s acclaimed film columnist A. S. Hamrah.
MoMA
Portuguese Cinema: Revolution Hunters - 1:30 PM
“Fifty years ago, the “Carnation Revolution” ended four decades of fascism in Portugal and initiated an experiment that fascinated the Western world: an “Ongoing Revolutionary Process” to bring about a utopian sociopolitical structure. Another revolution was also underway by 1974: a wave of films that, under the weight of censorship, broke distinctions in how reality and fiction were framed onscreen. Before the notion of “hybrid cinema” gained traction worldwide, Portuguese cinema was using tools from documentary filmmaking to create fiction (and vice-versa) and offer a new realm for the senses; like a revolutionary process, it threaded a link between daily lives and the political confluences affecting their course.” - Screen Slate
Time of Darkness (1988)
The Revolution Hunter (2014)
Revolution (1975)
The Law of the Land (1977)
Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal (1977) - 4 PM
“Combining newsreel footage, still photographs, interviews, and analytical narration, this documentary focuses on the antifascist, anti-imperialist efforts of labor groups, peasants, and working-class soldiers to liberate Portugal from the control of the government of Antonio de Oliveira Salazar.” - Letterboxd
Mohammad Reza Aslani Program 2 - 4:30 PM
Chigh (1995)
Tarikhaneh (1972)
Our Cultural Heritage (1971)
THE ROXY
Megalopolis (2024) - 2 PM
Dancer in the Dark (2000) 35MM - 4:45 PM
“Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, escaping life’s troubles - even if just for a moment - by dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.” - Letterboxd
Turn in the Wound (2024) - 7:30 PM
“Abel Ferrara explores human conflict and the search for peace and balance through the music and words of Patti Smith and the experiences of people at war in Ukraine.” - Letterboxd
Q&A with Abel Ferrara and Sean Price Williams following 11/03 screening.
It feels important to note the use of the phrase “lookalike competition” over the much more common “contest.” To me, at least, “competition” implies a certain demonstration of actual skill, where contest is slightly more laid back. As though appearing as Timmy is more performance than mere genetic triumph. The group chat agrees with me btw.