The International Latino Cultural Center presents the 23rd Chicago Latino Film Festival, with screenings Friday, April 13, through Thursday, April 26, at Chicago History Museum, Facets Cinematheque, Landmark’s Century Centre, Pipers Alley, and smaller venues throughout the city and suburbs. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $9-$10, and a festival pass, good for ten screenings, is $80. Discounts are available for students, seniors, the disabled, and ILCC members. For ticket orders or additional screenings visit latinocultural
A Place Within A newspaper reporter decides to declare his feelings to a woman he’s loved since high school, but their date is cut short when she’s called away by her business partner; after she vanishes without a trace, his search for her yields few clues, as everyone who knew her disavows her existence. Directed by Andres Ramirez, this 2006 Puerto Rican thriller mimics the style and tone of its Hollywood counterparts, dispensing a variety of implausible plot developments and a denouement that explains them all away. 83 min. (JK)
Shared Secrets A serial killer in Buenos Aires befriends a pickup artist in this 1998 Argentinean thriller by Alberto Lecchi, recipient of this year’s lifetime achievement award. 97 min. a Pipers Alley, 8:30 PM.
When the Waves Break A boy learns that his grandmother always wanted to attend the annual rose dance and sets out to make her dream come true. Riccardo Gabrielli directed this 2006 Colombian feature. 95 min. a Landmark’s Century Centre, 4 PM.
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The Clown Usually clowns leave me cold, but this engaging if slight 2006 drama from Puerto Rico earns points for its naturalism while firing some well-aimed satirical shots at multinational corporations. A disgruntled clown (Israel Lugo) runs away from the circus, abandoning his down-and-out colleagues while he pursues his big break in San Juan as a fast-food spokesman. Easy money and a new romance begin to turn the hero into an insufferable jerk when he gets a smackdown from reality. Under the direction of Pedro Adorno Irizarry and Emilio Rodriguez, the lyrical circus sequences elevate art over marketing, and Lugo’s aquiline face and supple body are highly expressive. 104 min. (AG) a Landmark’s Century Centre, 6 PM.
a Facets Cinematheque, 6 PM.
Some Kind of Sadness A Peruvian art film (2006) by Juan Alejandro Ramirez. 41 min. a Facets Cinematheque, 8:30 PM.
