HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, KIDS

No two people live in the same world and certainly no two people ever see the same film.  In the movies, perspective is a matter of life and death, as exemplified by a sexy double-header playing at Cinematheque this Saturday, June 20.  Bunny Lake Is Missing, part of an Otto Preminger retrospective, begins with a kidnapping and then later asks us if there ever was a kidnappee:  Carol Lynley drops her daughter off at her new school and then, when she goes missing, is informed that she never had a child. 

Preminger relies as much on strong writing as richly textured atmosphere, and the big screen is the only way to see this black-and-white masterpiece. Blowup by Michelangelo Antonioni is easily described, plot-wise:  a photographer notices a possible murder in a photo he’s taken during a shoot and pursues it to his undoing.  In execution the film is another world: challenging and frustrating, Antonioni explores the boundaries of image and sound, playing the voyeur at the same time that he challenges our notion that seeing is believing.  Upon its release studio executives were up in arms about its structure, audiences lined up around the block to see the (then-provocative) nudity, and the Cannes jury capped off its zeitgeist, chart-topping madness with a sweet 1967 Palme D’Or.  Visit www.cinemathequeontario.ca for details about tickets.

If cinema isn’t your speed but you’re still interested in heady themes, run to the Xbase at 58 Ossington for the official Pride Event Deathwatch by Jean Genet.  Director Jonathan Seinen is, thankfully, back in Toronto and helming this very auspicious production of the controversial author’s work.  The show features the inspired talents of Cole J. Alvis, Indrit Kasapi, John Bryans and the unstoppable Ryan Symington.  It runs from June 17 to 20 at 8pm (plus 2pm on the 20th).  Visit www.deathwatchtoronto.wordpress.com for more details.