Our Critics' Picks

THURSDAY 5/29

FassbinderALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL In just 16 years of manic intensity, German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder completed more than 40 features and the massive 12-hour miniseries Berlin Alexanderplatz. This piercingly simple 1974 melodrama makes a good starting point for anyone wanting to explore Fassbinder’s monumental body of work. A nod to Douglas Sirk’s glorious Technicolor weepie All That Heaven Allows, the movie stars Brigitte Mira as a dumpy, reserved German cleaning woman who strikes up an affair with a much younger, dark-skinned Moroccan (El Hedi ben Salem). Their love brings them great joy, but it brings out the racist resentment in everyone around them, from her children to the neighborhood grocer. Salem, who seems the soul of gentleness here, stabbed three people and killed himself in prison in 1982, the same year his lover Fassbinder died of an overdose. The director himself appears here as the woman’s bigoted son. In German with English subtitles, the film concludes the “Directions” series curated by Nashville filmmaker Harmony Korine, whose Mister Lonely continues its hit run in Hillsboro Village. 7:30 p.m. at The Belcourt —JIM RIDLEY

MusicLAIR OF THE MINOTAUR W/WITHERED Featuring members of Pelican and 7000 Dying Rats, Lair of the Minotaur offer exactly what you’d expect from a band whose latest album is entitled War Metal Battle Master. With epic mythological battles depicted with a zeal that lands somewhere between J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft, the potential for overboard campiness is ever-present. Luckily LOTM’s no-frills proto-thrash is pretty damn convincing. Withered’s blackened death metal rounds out the darker half of a colossal lineup that also includes rising stars The Ocean and sludge rockers Kylesa. 9 p.m. at The End—MATT SULLIVAN

ComedyJIMMY FALLON Jimmy Fallon took SNL’s goofy guy with a guitar mantle from Adam Sandler and ran with it. He first peaked his head above the late night sketch show’s teeming masses with holiday-themed pop song parodies on “Weekend Update,” which he eventually co-hosted alongside the excellent Tina Fey. Fallon had a boyish charm, but also a tendency to appear exceedingly pleased with himself—and to burst into laughter during sketches. After a stab at being a romantic lead (Fever Pitch anyone?), Fallon heads back behind the desk as Conan O’Brien’s replacement on Late Night in 2009. In the interim, he’s hitting the road with his observational stand-up (boys and girls use different kinds of loofahs) and musical parodies (“Mr. Jones” as a potential troll doll jingle—you guessed it: “Mr. Troll”). Thursday-Sunday at Zanies—LEE STABERT

TheaterA BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY After a significant layoff, Actors Bridge Ensemble returns to action with the Nashville premiere of this early Tony Kushner (Angels in America) work examining the sociopolitical landscape of Weimar Germany in 1932 in the months leading up to Nazi control of the government. Kushner utilizes a controversial linking device, flashing forward intermittently to the middle 1980s, where a bookish character rails against the Reagan administration, venturing comparisons between the president and Hitler. Kushner’s portrait of left-wing intelligentsia powerless against the tide of history promises sharp wit and a rigorous point of view, which director Don Griffiths will attempt to bring to life with a cast of eight featuring both reliable veterans and newer faces. The ensemble includes Nettie Kraft, Timothy Orr Fudge, Marc Mazzone, Zack McCann and Jessika Malone. May 29-June 7 inBelmont’s Black Box Theater—MARTIN BRADY

MusicTHE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS W/SCRATCH TRACK The Fundamental Elements are St. Louis’ answer to Maroon 5: another group of white dudes churning out slick, tight funk-pop—only they’re getting paid much less to do it. For their new album, The Cycle We’re Living In, the Elements took a step closer to Maroon 5-dom by adding keyboards to their existing configuration. As The Cycle shows, they’re good at matching up strong hooks and propulsive, seductive grooves. Lead singer Russ Mohr may not quite have the vocal agility of Adam Levine, but—unlike Levine—he can whip out his trumpet and play a few licks. Scratch Track have a new album out too—The Legend of Wild Bill. The acoustic hip-hop duo have steered their no-frills approach (Josh Hamlin on acoustic slide guitar and DJ Lee singing and beat boxing) a bit closer to blues this time. Their sound is unique and refreshingly minimalist for hip-hop, though you might wish for more variation from their syncopated guitar-and-beat-boxing combination. 9:30 p.m. at 3rd & Lindsley —JEWLY HIGHT

FRIDAY 5/30

The Kids Are AlrightPHOTOGRAPHY FROM FATHER RYAN AT TENNESSEE ART LEAGUE You can feel it in the air: School’s out! Soon, all will be sunshine and shenanigans. The prematurely nostalgic among you who just can’t get enough of those good ol’ school days may want to run out and catch this show of work by photography students at Father Ryan. Hurry, before May ends, and another school year completely fades away. Through May 30 in the TennesseeArt League’s Poston Gallery —JOE NOLAN