Casting Light on an Elderly Woman’s Lonely ‘Domain’

As part of an otherwise negligible program of shorts, Filmforum presents Britta Sjogren’s astonishing 18-minute “A Small Domain,” a beautifully articulated vignette, light of touch yet shocking in impact, tonight at 8 at Glaxa Studios (3707 Sunset Blvd.). Sjogren first captures the rhythms of the daily routines of a self-sufficient, elderly woman who lives alone in a pleasant house with a lovingly tended garden.

Out of the blue the film takes a radically different tack, illuminating in the process the extreme toll loneliness can exact.

Information: (213) 663-5295.

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Vibrant Beauty: The American Cinematheque’s Alternative Screen series presents Thomas Ethan Harris’ “Vintage: Families of Values” Thursday at 7 p.m. at Raleigh Studios (5300 Melrose Ave.).

Harris spent about five years making this vibrant account of the experiences of three sets of gay African American siblings, starting with himself and his younger brother, Lyle; three sisters, one bisexual, the other two lesbian; and a gay brother and lesbian sister.

Harris touches on racism only when he speculates on its impact on his long-estranged, macho ex-Marine father, and he doesn’t delve into theories concerning the origins of homosexuality. He instead concentrates primarily on the ebb and flow of sibling relationships in his lyrical film, punctuated by fantasies and performance sequences.

The specters of AIDS, sexual abuse and other issues emerge in the conversational give-and-take. No matter how volatile the talk becomes, the underlying love between these people is palpable and possibly has even been strengthened by their participation in this film--for example, the gay brother becomes more accepting of his lesbian sister’s “mannishness” (her own description of herself).

The 72-minute “Vintage” is a beautiful, heartfelt film with a tonic effect.

Playing with it is Jay Rosenblatt’s 21-minute “The Smell of Burning Ants,” a profoundly disturbing and imaginative work in which Rosenblatt uses vintage footage to suggest that much of the violence in American society comes from men becoming systematically detached from their emotions from early childhood.

These films will be followed by a program of short films. Among them are Kevin Duffy’s witty five-minute “Cheap Flight,” in which two gay men and their straight female friend, suffering a romantic setback, wake up in the same bed after a night of partying.

Michael Wallin’s 37-minute “Black Sheep Boy” is a celebration of the beauty of young men and a meditation upon the meaning and consequences of desire; it’s highly sensual, contains much nudity but is not hard-core. Barbara Rose Michels’ clever six-minute “Watching Her Sleep” finds a young woman fantasizing romantically about a drop-dead gorgeous woman in a market checkout line. But is it a fantasy--or a painful chance encounter with a former lover?

The program’s standout, not surprisingly, is Peggy Rajski’s Oscar-winning 18-minute “Trevor,” which confronts with a jaunty affection the horrors of puberty for gay males.

Information: (213) 466-FILM.

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Classic Pickford: “My Best Girl” (1927), one of Mary Pickford’s best pictures, screens Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Silent Movie, which will present the film again on May 17 as a benefit for the Screen Smart Set.

Directed with great skill by Sam Taylor from a Kathleen Norris novel, it is a classic shop-girl romance with a perfect balance between humor and pathos. Pickford plays a 5-and-10 stockroom clerk falling in love with a new fellow employee (Charles Rogers), not realizing he’s the heir to the store’s entire chain.

The versatile Rogers is arguably Pickford’s best leading man--and he subsequently became her husband and widower.

The durably handsome, unpretentious Rogers, vigorous at 91, is celebrated in an affectionate and informative new 22-minute documentary, “Charles (Buddy) Rogers: Any Time Is the Time to Fall in Love,” conceived by Keith Lawrence and outlining Rogers’ rich and varied life.

Information: (213) 655-0352.

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Miles Davis on Film: Rolf de Heer’s “Dingo” (at the Grande 4-Plex Friday for one week) is a laboriously contrived Australian film notable--the American Cinematheque screened it in February 1993--for the late Miles Davis’ only screen appearance.

Davis plays a musician much like himself who leaves a lasting impact on a young boy after a brief encounter in the outback.

Information: (213) 617-0268.