21
WEDNESDAY
In Ang Lee’s 1999 film, Ride With the Devil, the charactersyawnobey the laws of physics. Tobey Maguire, Skeet Ulrich, and Jewel (yes, that Jewel) Kilcher star in this Civil War tale of young disillusioned Southerners who decide that the battle would be better fought within the ranks of a guerrilla army. The special effects are limited to bleeding gunshot and arrow wounds, the fighting takes place on the ground, and the women are allowed to kick ass only through their mean cornbread and chitlins. In other words, cinéastes who were recently introduced to Lee via the spectacular Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon might be disappointed. Come see the softer side of Lee (and giggle when Jewel says things such as “My, aren’t you Bushwhackers the gentlemen”) when the film screens at 8:30 p.m. at the American Film Institute National Film Theater, in the Kennedy Center’s Hall of States. $7. (202) 785-4601. (Tricia Olszewski)