A Zed and Two Noughts

The boldest and arguably the best of Peter Greenaway’s fiction features to date, this extremely odd and perverse conceptual piece certainly isn’t for every taste, although Sacha Vierny’s cinematography makes it so luscious that you may find yourself mesmerized in spite of yourself. The title refers to a European zoo; the curious plot involves two brothers who work as the zoo’s curators and who lose their wives in a freak auto accident. Only partially a narrative film, this elegant puzzle also involves amputees, painting, a menage a trois, and decomposing animals–along with many other things–which are intricately interrelated thanks to Greenaway’s icy brilliance. Definitely a one-of-a-kind movie and experience. With Andrea Ferreol, Brian and Eric Deacon, Francis Barber, and Joss Ackland. (Music Box, Tuesday and Wednesday, February 2 and 3) Read more