Weird Movie Club Twin Cities

Ingmar Bergman's "Persona" (1966, 83 min.) is known as the second-most-analyzed movie in history, after only "Citizen Kane." It's the surreal story of a troubled actress and her nurse, and the rest is up for interpretation. If you've never seen a Bergman film, "Persona" might not be the best introduction to his work, as it's much weirder than most of his movies. It is his most beloved among cinephiles, consistently ranking among the top 25 films of all time.

After a Fellini and a Bergman, it's time for a Breen. "Fateful Findings" (2012, 100 min.) is one of the great entertaining good-bad movies, a la "The Room" and "Plan 9 From Outer Space." It's the passion project of independent director/producer/star Neil Breen, a man of incredible hubris and incompetence. Almost every scene of "Fateful Findings" offers some bizarre choice you've never seen in a movie before.

I'll get to the library around 1:30 p.m. and try to set everything up in time for a 2 p.m. start. Get there early so you don't miss a minute. The library closes at 5, so we'll have to wrap up discussion before then. Discussions tend to last no more than about half an hour.

It's all free. We'll be in the Andy Boss Community Room on the 4th floor of the George Latimer Public Library in downtown St. Paul.

Street parking is possible, but you might consider using the light rail. A great place to park and ride is the Western Avenue stop of the Green Line. There's always parking on Aurora Avenue, one street south of University. If you're willing to pay $15, the parking lot for the Science Museum is close by and always has spots.

"Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" (2009, 122 min.) is a bizarre mash-up of bizarre ideas and people. Inexplicably, someone wanted to make a spiritual sequel (i.e., there is no real connection) to the 1992 film "Bad Lieutenant," which was not a hit but made a name for itself, sort of, for being so gritty and brutal that it was one of the few major films to get an NC-17 rating. To manifest this inscrutable vision, they hired one famously unusual person, Werner Herzog, to direct, and Hollywood's strangest star, Nicholas Cage, to play the titular lieutenant. The result is certainly weird. But be forewarned: There is a scene of sexual assault.

"Vampyr" (1932, 73 min.) is an early horror talkie that sometimes uses the techniques of silent film. Its director, Carl Theodor Dreyer, is best known for one of the greatest and most important silent films ever, "The Passion of Joan of Arc." It feels like he transitioned to sound in the midst of making "Vampyr," and its odd juxtaposition of silent and sound styles makes it more eerie, to me at least. Don't expect big shocks or jump scares; the horror of "Vampyr" is more of a strange dread.

I'll get to the library around 1:30 p.m. and try to set everything up in time for a 2 p.m. start. Get there early so you don't miss a minute. The library closes at 5, so we'll have to wrap up discussion before then. Discussions tend to last no more than about half an hour.

It's all free. We'll be in the Andy Boss Community Room on the 4th floor of the George Latimer Public Library in downtown St. Paul.

Street parking is possible, but you might consider using the light rail. A great place to park and ride is the Western Avenue stop of the Green Line. There's always parking on Aurora Avenue, one street south of University. If you're willing to pay $15, the parking lot for the Science Museum is close by and always has spots.