The Syrian Bride

The Last Western
Documentarian Chris Deaux takes an interesting look into an astonishing example of Americana: Pioneertown. Built on the edge of the Mojave Desert as a set for B-Westerns, this tiny hamlet of corner saloons and dust streets enjoyed a brief heyday as a themed resort town where singing cowboys such as Gene Autry and Roy Rodgers kept homes. Pioneertown quickly fell into decay, and, by the Sixties, had been taken over by the Hell's Angels. Now in the sunset of its strange existence, the town is unrecognized by the government and is a home to a variety of misfits, whom Deaux follows with keen interest. Among these are a grizzled, somewhat reformed former drug dealer; an irritable aging flower child with a penchant for knocking off execrable pop songs; and an ancient party girl, originally the piano player in Pioneertown's saloon, who watches old 8mm films of the town's heyday, happily pointing out that she was drunk in every shot. 65 min. "The Last Western" shows Sat., Apr. 22 at 2:45 p.m. at the Oak St. (Max Sparber)

Shut Up and Shoot Me
A peculiar Anglo-Czech co-production about a grieving English widower (the dogged and portly Andy Nyman) and the Prague handyman he enlists to murder him. The latter role is limned by Czech superstar Karel Roden, best known to American actors as a villain in films such as "Hellboy." Roden brings a scruffy melancholy to this role, often gracing the screen with his face partially obscured by blind-mice sunglasses and a knotted scarf, so that the only feature visible is a magnificent scowl. First time writer/director Steen Argo paces the film slowly, so that we're halfway done with the film by the time the actual plot kicks in. This details the two men's somewhat contrived conflict with a Czech gangster called The Butcher of Prague, a silent, hulking figure who carries a small dog with him like a suitcase. At this point, the film's body count starts to rise in scenes that are, when effective, blackly humorous. 90 min. "Shut Up and Shoot Me" shows Mon., Apr. 24 at 5 p.m. at the Bell. (Max Sparber)

Kuss Kuss
This is a good first film by German director/writer Soren Senn. It's a familiar theme about the limits of good intentions. Katja, a young doctor, finds Saida, an illegal Algerian immigrant, hiding under a cabinet. She wants to help her. She feels protective, but by bringing this passionate and simple girl into her sophisticated and urbane world she runs the risk of shattering the fragile foundations of her own life. "Kuss Kuss" shows Tue., Apr. 25 at 5 p.m. at the Edina. (Ed Felien)

Kibbutz
Communal living is not for everyone, but "Kibbutz" is a documentary that offers insight into the lives of those who embrace this unique Israeli dream. Pioneers, socialists and Utopians started the kibbutz in the 1930s in Palestine; some survived and some perished. The film is about failure, not because of dishonesty or the abuse of power, but due simply to the lack of management skills. Archival flashbacks depict a vigorous and thriving community, while the present represents a disintegrated one.

Filmed inside a kibbutz, the story begins with a suicide—a man who's just lost his job working in the orchard hangs himself on one of the fruit trees. Everyone in the community is deeply shaken, but the film focuses on three elderly women who describe their lives, their hopes, their regrets and what is happening in the kibbutz.

The movie depicts an unforgiving, sad, hardscrabble life in which change—not greed or capitalism—overtakes them. "Kibbutz" helps us understand their plight. It shows Sun., April 23 at 1 p.m. at the the Bell. (Erica Bouza)

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