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By Mia Vicino
Mad Max: Fury Road—Black & Chrome (2015)
Mad Max may get top billing, but the true star of this film is Imperator Furiosa, who proves hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Screening in gorgeous black-and-white, this Oscar-winning action adventure follows the two as they liberate a group of enslaved women from the post-apocalyptic desert. All ticket proceeds go to Planned Parenthood. Hollywood, May 22.
Three Colors: Blue (1993)
In the first of Krzysztof Kieslowski's loosely connected Three Colors trilogy, the always excellent Juliette Binoche stars as a musician coping with a deep personal loss. At once a heartrending exploration of grief and a beacon of hope, Blue is an orchestral love letter to the melancholic color. NW Film Center, May 24.
Woman in the Dunes (1964)
After a Tokyo entomologist heads to the sand dunes to study insects, the villagers of a seaside town force him to live with a woman whose life's purpose seems to be fruitlessly shoveling sand. Enigmatic, erotic and avant-garde, this Japanese New Wave thriller works brilliantly as an allegory for the ancestral myth of Sisyphus. 5th Avenue, May 24-26.
Babylon (1980)
A Jamaican man with a passion for reggae navigates the racism and classism of London, all leading up to a brutal climax. Since its original release almost 40 years ago in the U.K., where it received a murderous X rating, 2019 marks the first time this criminally underseen drama has been theatrically released in the U.S. NW Film Center, May 24-26. Hollywood, May 27.
Seven Samurai (1954)
Universally considered one of the most influential triumphs in cinema history, Akira Kurosawa's epic tells the classic tale of a band of—you guessed it—seven samurai who pledge to protect a village from bandits. Don't let the 207-minute runtime put you off—the film flies by faster than the warriors' slashing swords. Clinton, May 27.