Since he was never quite so strongly identified with a specific Japanese genre as Kurosawa (samurai) or Ozu (domestic melodrama), Kenji Mizoguchi (1898–1956) hasn't been treated to as many retrospectives or DVD box sets. Western notice came late in his long career—the Venice Film Festival awarded its top prize to his 1953 Ugetsu, which begins this Northwest Film Forum showcase of seven classic titles (through Feb. 27). Set in the 16th century, it's a ghost story with a moral, a parable relating how two peasants attempt to rise above their station during a time of feudal warfare and social upheaval. One, a potter, falls for a mysterious aristocrat in town while forgetting about his wife and son back in the village. The other, a farmer, abandons his wife for dreams of being a samurai. (Finding a severed head in a bag is his ticket to glory—or so he thinks.) The eerie, enchanted interlude between Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyo takes place at the threshold between the real and the ethereal. Kyo, the ghost, wants to experience carnal love, while Mori wants to trade the hardships of peasant life for a fantastic idyll. It's a deluded, poignant affair between two realms—one that has its tragic parallel when the potter finally returns to his home village. Only there, Mizoguchi suggests, can the living and the dead coexist in harmony. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 267-5380, www.nwfilmforum.org. $35–$50 (series), $5–$8 (individual). 7:30 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
Nightlife
Columbia City Cabaret
Every Friday night, Tamara the Trapeze Lady (pictured) keeps South Seattle spark-ling with a two-hour extravaganza of glitz, glitter, comedy, and (of course) striptease. As host of the variety night, which rotates performers from Seattle's vast and talented burlesque pool, Tamara also displays her silk skills—aerialists perform gravity-defying acrobatic feats in midair with a rope or trapeze for support—during each show. The fluid rhythms of an aerialist's routine can be stunning to watch, and tonight there'll be two of them, with guest aerialist Quyn Horton. In between leaps and twirls, gypsy violinist Chris Fairbanks and performers Miss Indigo Blue, the Fuchsia Fox, and Maque Davis (of Fremont Players and the Moisture Festival) will no doubt keep the audience in laughs and gasps. Columbia City Theatre, 4916 Rainier Ave. S., 605-9920, www. trapezelady.com. $20. 21 and over. 7 p.m. RACHEL SHIMP
THURSDAY
- Emotional and aesthetic ravishment; mallet-wielding as a vociferous musical threat.
By Mark D. Fefer and Gavin Borchert
FRIDAY
- A burlesque heroine at the Triple Door; evolving images of water and landforms; and adultery, forced suicide, and a tender, melting love duet.
By Gavin Borchert, Rachel Shimp, and Aja Pecknold
SATURDAY
- Mexican rock 'n roll, and big statements at the Tacoma Art Musuem Biennial
By Sue Peters and Jessica Ramirez
SUNDAY
- Storytelling: The Human-Orca Connection
By Gavin Borchert
MONDAY
- Teaching Seattle what jazz is; and how NOT to make a lame-ass Valentine's Day card
By Rachel Shimp and Erik Neumann
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I Am My Own Wife
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Looking for America
She’s been on 11 blind dates in the last two months; not one of the me... More>> Lisa Harris Gallery, Daily from Mon., May 19 until Sat., May 31, 10:30am-5:30pm
Corigliano Quartet
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Circus Contraption's The Show to End All Shows
I have to admit, those white-faced circus freaks were always a little scary... More>> Theo Chocolate, Every week Thursday, Friday, Saturday from Fri., May 16 until Sun., June 22, 8:00pmEvery week Sunday from Sun., May 18 until Sun., June 22, 7:00pm, $20-$25
I Am My Own Wife
The Pulitzer- and Tony-winning I Am My Own Wife had a long and complicated ... More>> ArtsWest, Every week Sunday from Sun., May 25 until Sun., June 1, 3:00pmEvery week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday from Wed., May 14 until Sun., June 1, 7:30pm, $10-$29
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