2 more Oscar contenders, plus some familiar faces

‘Never Look Away’

Short version: A German history-based drama by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck following the life of a painter (Tom Schilling) growing up in Nazi Germany and becoming an artist in the East-West divide of a country it became. Loosely based on the life of modern German master Gerhard Richter, the movie has two Oscar nominations this year: best foreign-language film and best cinematography.

Critics say: They’re loving it, even at a running length of more than three hours. “Donnersmarck has crafted an unparalleled masterpiece, a three-plus-hour epic that leaves you wanting more,” Tribune News Service critic Katie Walsh wrote in her 4-star review.

Rating/running time: R, for nudity, sexuality and brief violent images; 189 minutes (in German with English subtitles).

‘Capernaum’

Short version: In Lebanon, a street-smart 12-yearold boy decides to sue his parents because they committed a crime: They gave him life.

Critics say: Director Nadine Labaki made “Capernaum” with a cast of nonprofessionals and a script and a filmmaker’s eye that have drawn solid acclaim, including the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, and a nomination for this year’s best foreignlanguage film Oscar. For some critics, the story’s downbeat trajectory was too much: “This impassioned if ambiguously focused story often feels like an exercise in psycho-emotional stamina,” Washington Post critic Ann Hornaday wrote in her 21⁄2-star review.

Rating/running time: R, for language and some drug material; 126 minutes (in Arabic with English subtitles).

UWM Festival of Films in French

The 22nd film festival celebrating contemporary cinema in that lovely language kicks off its 10-day sojourn Friday at UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. All movies are in French, have English subtitles, offer a first-rate cultural exchange and they’re free. For a full schedule, go to uwm.edu/french-filmfestival. Highlights of the first week include:

❚ “Valley of Love,” a 2015 drama starring Isabelle Huppert and Gerard Depardieu as a famous acting couple, long-divorced, who are brought together by the final request of their late son. 9 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday.

❚ “Django,” a 2017 tribute/biopic of guitar legend Django Reinhardt, set in wartime Paris. 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

❚ “Belle and Sebastien 3: Friends for Life,” the final chapter in the gentle animinated trilogy. Noon Sunday (also noon Feb. 24).

❚ “Elevator to the Gallows,” Louis Malle’s uber-influential French New Wave thriller from 1958, with an

original score by Miles Davis (yes, that Miles Davis) and co-starring Maurice Ronet and Jeanne Moreau. 7 p.m. Monday.

❚ “Parisian Pleasures,” this silent 1927 story of a dancer’s rise at Paris’ iconic Folies Bergere features Jazz Age legend Josephine Baker in her cinematic debut. Showing with live piano accompaniment. 7 p.m. Tuesday.

❚ “Taxi for Tobruk,” French commandos join forces with a German officer to survive the desert during World War II in this 1961 war movie, starring the late singer-actor Charles Aznavour.

The week’s best 7 off-the-grid movie picks

❚ Best picture marathons: With just two weekends to go till the Academy Awards, it’s that time again, when movie theater chains pile a bunch of best-picture nominees into mini-marathons, and the Oscar faithful make a day of it. Saturday is Round One both for AMC Theatres’ Mayfair Mall 18 and Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex Southridge and Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge and South Shore cinemas. AMC’s part-one marathon starts at 11 a.m. with “The Favourite,” then “BlacKkKlansman” at 1:20 p.m. and “Bohemian Rhapsody” at 4 p.m. Tickets are $25; info: amctheatres.com. Day 1 of Marcus’ best-picture nominee festival also starts at 11 a.m. Saturday with a program of this year’s live-action shorts nominees, followed by “Green Book” at 1:35 p.m., “A Star Is Born” at 4:20 p.m., and “BlacKkKlansman” at 7:10 p.m. Tickets for Marcus’ fest are $28; info: marcus

theatres.com. (Round 2 for both chains is next week.)

❚ “Iron Giant”: Before he made “The Incredibles” or directed a “Mission: Impossible” movie, Brad Bird made this lovely, gentle 1999 animated fable about at a lonely boy who befriends a giant robot that has a particular set of skills that aren’t exactly playful. 10:30 a.m. Sunday at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave., as part of its “Party Like It’s 1999!” series. $11, $9 for seniors and Milwaukee Film members, and $6 for kids younger than 12. Info: mkefilm.org/orientaltheatre.

❚ “Vel Phillips: Dream Big Dreams”: The 2016 documentary on the rise and triumphs of Milwaukee’s first African-American alderwoman gets an encore presentation at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave. A conversation follows at 7:30 p.m. Admission to the movie is free. Info: Vel Phillips Dream Big Dreams Facebook event page.

❚ “My Fair Lady”: The Oscar-winning 1964 musical based on the hit Broadway show based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” gets a 55th anniversary screening. 5 p.m. Sunday and 3 p.m. Wednesday at Marcus Theatres/ Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge and South Shore cinemas. $12.50. Info: marcustheatres.com.

❚ “The Untouchables”: For all its faults, Brian DePalma’s 19i87 gangster drama, with Kevin Costner as G-Man Eliot Ness trying to bring down Al Capone (Robert DeNiro), has been a touchstone for the modern mob movie. Noon Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday at Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex Southridge and Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Ridge and South Shore cinemas. $5. Info: marcustheatres.com.

❚ “Magic Mike XXL”: Maybe it’s a belated Valentine’s gift. The sequel to Channing Tatum’s semi-autobiographical male-stripper drama is minus original director Steven Soderbergh and costar Matthew McConaughey, but still includes fellow eye candy Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello. Showing in 35-millimeter at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Oriental Theatre. $11, $9 for seniors and Milwaukee Film members, and $6 for kids younger than 12. Info: mkefilm.org/ori ental-theatre.

❚ “Coming to America”: Prince Akeem returns to the U.S. of A. in this 1988 Eddie Murphy comedy (filmmakers recently announced a sequel is in the works). 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Avalon Theater, 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. $5. Info: avalonmke.com.

CALEB DESCHANEL/SONY PICTURES CLASSICS Tom Schilling plays a painter navigating his life and art through postwar Germany in “Never Look Away.”

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS “Capernaum” from Lebanon is one of five movies nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign-language film this year.

SUBMITTED Jeanne Moreau co-stars in Louis Malle’s “Elevator to the Gallows” (1958), part of the 22nd annual Festival of Films in French at UWM Union Cinema.

JOURNAL SENTINEL FILES Vel Phillips, shown speaking in 2007 at the 40th anniversary of the March on Milwaukee, is the focus of the documentary “Vel Phillips: Dream Big Dreams.”