Now in its third week, the European Union Film Festival continues Friday through Sunday, February 20 through 22, at the Film Center, Art Institute, Columbus Drive at Jackson. Admission is $6, $3 for Film Center members. For further information call 312-443-3737.
The Unfish
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
A modern fairy tale of fabulous complexity, this 1997 Austrian film involves a preserved whale whose interior is outfitted as a tourist attraction in a mountain village. When the citizens discover that the whale will grant one wish to anyone making love inside it, a line forms and near chaos ensues. A young woman turns her rival into a dog, then takes on man after man, hoping one of them will reverse her evil deed, but they all have other ideas. In part a comedy of manners, the film offers new twists on the familiar theme of magic wishes gone wrong–a farmer’s new Rolls gets stuck in the mud, etc–but it’s marred by a cloying cuteness. The music and narration constantly remind us how charming the story is, as if director Robert Dornhelm didn’t think the film could sustain itself otherwise. (FC) (7:45)
Storm the Skies
Character
