On a ‘Death Trip’

In 1973 writer Michael Lesy published “Wisconsin Death Trip,” in which he juxtaposed photos taken in the town of Black Rivers Falls, Wis., between 1890 and 1900, with accounts from the Badger State Banner that suggest this particular community was cursed. Lesy’s disturbing book, which gave the lie to the myth of idyllic small-town life in 19th century America, was received with much acclaim.

Writer-director James Marsh’s “Wisconsin Death Trip,” which the American Cinematheque’s Alternative Screen series presents tonight at 7:30, is a painstaking endeavor, sometimes darkly humorous, certainly revealing--but it’s also tedious, more academic than alive.

There isn’t much mystery as to why Black River Falls became so mortally afflicted. It was settled largely by Germans and Norwegians lured with the promise of cheap land that proved infertile. The economic collapse of 1893 hit the town hard, closing the mines, and an epidemic, most likely diphtheria, swept the area and claimed many lives. No wonder so many shot themselves or others or ended up in the nearby Mendota insane asylum.

Marsh structures his film according to the seasons, and his most inspired touch is to punctuate each with cuts to present-day Black River Falls, shot in warm colors and shown as inviting and wholesome as a Norman Rockwell illustration. We’re left wondering whether this Chamber of Commerce view of today’s community of 3,700 is as misleading as our sentimental view of America’s rural past. “Wisconsin Death Trip” begins a one-week run at the Grande 4-Plex, 345 S. Figueroa St., downtown L.A., Friday.

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The Imax nature film receives dramatic dimension as Robert M. Young’s 50-minute “China: The Panda Adventure” (opening Friday at the Universal Studios Cinemas) tells the true story of how New York socialite fashion designer Ruth Harkness (an elegant Maria Bello) goes to China’s border with Tibet in search of the giant panda. The Imax captures the beauty of China’s wilderness and the surefire charm of the pandas. The film calls attention to the grim news that the animals are more endangered today than when Harkness first brought them to the world’s attention. (310) 777-FILM, No. 171; (818) 508-0588.

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Adapted from Donnie Jarman’s stage play by Jarman, George LePorte and director Lawrence Simeone, “Go Fish” screens as part of the Temecula Valley Film Festival Friday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Movie Experience at Tower Plaza, Ynez and Rancho California roads, Temecula.

Too theatrical in tone in its opening sequences, “Go Fish” settles into an involving family drama buoyed by strong performances. It offers an uncompromising view of the difficulty, if not downright impossibility, of redeeming the past. Four adult siblings have gathered at their parents’ mountain retreat following the death of their mother. They are resisting grappling with what to do with Timmy (Jarman), their husky, sweet but often hyper mentally retarded brother. Richard (Michael Maguire), is a successful Los Angeles attorney; Alan (LePorte), a trouble-prone drifter, remains consumed with guilt over the childhood boating incident in which Timmy nearly drowned and was denied oxygen long enough to impair him permanently; Sammy (Polly LePorte), is a waitress who apparently has struggled to overcome substance abuse. Alan baits Richard constantly as the group struggles to come to an accord. Warm but tragic, “Go Fish” has the ring of truth. (909) 699-6267.

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The Laemmle Theaters’ World Cinema 2001 series continues Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m at the Sunset 5 with Aku Louhimies’ “Restless,” a box-office sensation in Finland for its envelope-pushing sexual explicitness. It’s an otherwise glum account of a Helsinki ambulance doctor (Mikko Nousianen) who spends his free time in nonstop seduction. Forthright about his inability to love, he begins a relationship with a stunning blond (Laura Malmivaara), who falls hard for him despite his warning. Apparently Louhimies is trying to comment on the difficulty some people have feeling emotion in such a liberated society, but in the absence of wit and irony, “Restless” plays like a tony update of the old sexploitation pic. It screens Sept. 22 and 23 at the Monica 4-Plex at 11 a.m. Sunset 5: (323) 848-3500; Monica 4-Plex: (310) 394-9741.

Among the films screening in the second edition of the edgy Silver Lake Film Festival, which runs Sunday through Sept. 23, is Todd Hughes’ amusingly campy yet provocative “The New Women” (Tuesday at 8 p.m. at the Vista Theater). Mary Woronov, resilient Andy Warhol alumna, stars as the oft-betrayed, miserable middle-aged wife of the sheriff of a drab desert community suddenly struck by a rainstorm that renders its men comatose. Woronov is transformed from ineffectual housewife to resolute leader in adventures to ensure the survival of the species. “The New Women” has the look and scope of vintage black-and-white sci-fi epics, and Woronov is terrific, funny but also a three-dimensional woman, as are her friends and neighbors. Screening Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Vista is Scott Lew’s documentary “Welcome Sinners: The Velvet Hammer,” a lively though unfocused documentary on young women attempting to bring back burlesque--at least for one night a year. (323) 993-7225.

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Outfest’s Wednesday evening film series at the Village at the Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place, presents on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. “Unseen Africa,” composed of three short films dealing with the plight of gays and lesbians in Africa. Celine Gilbert’s understated “Surrender” is a period vignette set in an idyllic seaside village in which a father is forcing his gay son into an arranged marriage. Robbie Hart’s “Rainmakers II: Tina Machida in Zimbabwe” profiles a resolute lesbian activist in a nation with a president who calls gays “perverts undermining the moral fiber of the country.” In “Forbidden Fruit,” Zimbabwe filmmaker Sue Malawa Bruce narrates a fictional tale of two rural lesbians who dare to follow their hearts. (323) 960-2394.

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Note: The Silent Movie is screening Charles Chaplin’s haunting “Limelight” (1952) Friday through Sunday as part of a monthly offering of the major Chaplin features before they go out of distribution at the end of the year. (323) 655-2520.