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    ‘Bushman’ Review: Outsider Art

    A 1971 indie whose making was disrupted by its star’s deportation finally receives a release in New York.A film of and ahead of its time, David Schickele’s “Bushman” — first shown in 1971 and featured at New Directors/New Films in 1972 but never formally released in New York — is finally opening in a pristine restoration. Its status as a half-forgotten outsider of American independent cinema makes a weird sort of sense.It isn’t a masterpiece, but it probably couldn’t have been. The star, Paul Eyam Nzie Okpokam, was arrested and deported before shooting finished, and Schickele (who died in 1999) had to adapt. Fifteen minutes before it ends, “Bushman,” having already blurred fiction and nonfiction, becomes a documentary about the real-life circumstances that led to its unraveling. “The guy that was playing the part of Gabriel — well, he ain’t here no more,” a man explains to the camera.Until then, Okpokam, who had appeared in a previous documentary that Schickele filmed in Nigeria, has indeed played Gabriel, a Nigerian living in the hippie-radical ferment of San Francisco in 1968 — a turbulent year both domestically and in Nigeria, which was embroiled in civil war.“Bushman” could accurately be called a fish-out-of-water movie, but part of the conceit is that Gabriel, who happily identifies as a bushman, seems more settled than everyone else. (At the outset, he provides language instruction for the Peace Corps — “then they go over to Africa and teach us civilization,” he quips.) His girlfriend, Alma (Elaine Featherstone), insisting that he can’t relate to people “on the block,” tries to explain how he should “talk Black.” (Soon after, her brother makes fun of her for code switching.)After she departs from his life (and the film) for Watts, where she grew up, Gabriel encounters various others. A sociology student (Ann Scofield) regards him in academic terms (“McLuhan would really appreciate this”). A man (Jack Nance, before “Eraserhead”) tries to talk him into sex.But the jarring switch to documentary gives “Bushman” its added charge. Paul’s legal troubles — it’s strongly suggested that he was framed — amplify the echoes between the film and life. Misunderstandings no longer seem trivial. The state can only see an innocent abroad as guilty.BushmanNot rated. Running time: 1 hour 13 minutes. In theaters. More

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    Is TikTok Over?

    The app once offered seemingly endless chances to be charmed by music, dances, personalities and products. But in only a few short years, its promise of kismet is evaporating.How much time do I spend on TikTok? I can tell you which chiropractor is demonstrating their technique without even seeing their face. I know which fashion content creator is partial to Rei Kawakubo, and who has a preposterous Carol Christian Poell collection. I know which New York City microinfluencers go on vacation together, and which creators are building a modest following joking about the music of a small scene of rappers who make Playboi Carti sound like Kendrick Lamar.Through endless hours of scrolling — an hour a day, at least, for several years now — I’ve been accumulating hyperniche expertise predicated on my interests, conscious and subconscious. The result has been a gathering of online characters that, at this point, shape my cultural consumption far more than any celebrity or news source.This is what TikTok intends to do, tapping into pure id, drilling down on what you know and what you might want to know in hopes that you never leave the app’s forever scroll. Of all the social media platforms, it holds the greatest promise of kismet. It’s the one that has seemed most in tune with individual taste and most capable of shaping emerging monoculture.But increasingly in recent months, scrolling the feed has come to resemble fumbling in the junk drawer: navigating a collection of abandoned desires, who-put-that-here fluff and things that take up awkward space in a way that blocks access to what you’re actually looking for.This has happened before, of course — the moment when Twitter turned from good-faith salon to sinister outrage derby, or when Instagram, and its army of influencers, learned to homogenize joy and beauty. (Some apps, like the TikTok precursor Vine, were shuttered before ever becoming truly tiresome.) Similarly, the malaise that has begun to suffuse TikTok feels systemic, market-driven and also potentially existential, suggesting the end of a flourishing era and the precipice of a wasteland period.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    ‘Skin Deep’ Review: A Different Kind of Therapy

    A sensitive relationship drama in sci-fi trappings explores big questions about bodies, souls and intimacy.The persistence of body-swapping as a plot device — “Freaky Friday,” “Being John Malkovich,” the recent “Jumanji” series — suggests something profound: We ache to know who we’d be if we inhabited someone else’s body. It’s a serious question, but onscreen it tends to turn into a comic showcase for the actors, who get to revel in performing the incongruity of one stable, established self invading another. Physical bodies are treated as vessels; the “real” you is in some nonphysical self that can jump blithely around.“Skin Deep,” directed by Alex Schaad, has something more philosophically profound on its mind. A reflective bit of realism wrapped in science fiction, it starts from a simple premise: What if you could go to a body-swapping retreat? The point here isn’t comedy, nor is it the mechanics, the science, or the plausibility of any of it. With the ability to switch taken for granted, it goes deeper into its premise, emerging with unsettling and profound thoughts about love, and trauma, and gender, and intimacy.I don’t want to rob you of this movie’s pleasure of skillfully constructed discovery. “Skin Deep” unfolds without hurry. What I can say is that it centers on Leyla (Mala Emde) and Tristan (Jonas Dassler), who love one another deeply but have hit one of those indescribable rough patches brought on by not quite being able to connect as they once did. They’ve boarded a ferry and headed to a two-week retreat on a tranquil remote island, invited by an old university friend of Leyla’s. Once there, the strangeness begins. “What is this place?” Tristan asks, but Leyla does not quite know.Perhaps the plot is better left there. Schaad wisely constructed “Skin Deep,” a movie about trying on someone else’s view from the inside, to replicate that experience as much as possible for the audience. Much of the film is shot with a hand-held camera, which gives the audience a sense of intimacy, as if we’re present in the room, another character in the drama. The choice to only gradually unfurl what’s going on — there are no clunky expository speeches here to establish the rules of the world for us — draws us in. We’re right there with Leyla and Tristan, just trying to figure out what is happening. Strong performances by Emde and Dassler, along with Dimitrij Schaad, Maryam Zaree, and in particular Thomas Wodianka, make the swapping less funny and more moving.But once you’ve accepted the more fantastical trappings, the film moves into a different mode. There are metaphors for body image issues and for the experiences of transgender people, rendered in a way that feels unforced. Each swap brings new questions. If you loved someone, and they were suffering, what would it mean to give them your body? If your lover finally felt like themselves in a new body — even one of a different sex — would that change your relationship? When we love someone, what does that actually mean? We love their body? Their soul? Are they even separable?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    ‘Barbie’ Conquered the World. Are the Grammys Next?

    Songs from the soundtrack to Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster have 11 nominations on Sunday night, led by Billie Eilish’s heart-wrenching “What Was I Made For?”The Grammy Awards have long faced criticism for spotlighting the work of older, male artists. But at the 66th annual ceremony on Sunday night, young women dominate the nominees: SZA earned nine. The R&B singer and songwriter Victoria Monét picked up seven. Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Miley Cyrus and the band boygenius all nabbed six. And one very recognizable lady has the most nods of all: Barbie.“Barbie: The Album,” the soundtrack to the director Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster, will enter Sunday’s pre-telecast and prime-time ceremonies with 11 nominations across seven categories. (In best song written for visual media, four of its tracks will compete against one another.) Five of Billie Eilish’s six nominations this year honor “What Was I Made For?,” her spare, aching “Barbie” ballad, written with her brother, Finneas.“It’s really cool to be part of the ‘Barbie’ family,” said Eilish, who could win her third record of the year trophy for the song.“Barbie” charmed viewers at the box office with grosses of $1.4 billion worldwide, became one of last year’s inescapable cultural touchstones and scored eight Oscar nominations. How did its soundtrack become a powerhouse, too?In terms of attracting talent, “It was Greta, hands down,” said Mark Ronson, one of the soundtrack’s producers, explaining how he conscripted an A-list roster that also includes Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, Lizzo and Sam Smith. “Everybody admired her work — I feel like there wasn’t anyone who hadn’t seen ‘Lady Bird’ or ‘Little Women’ and didn’t love both of those films.”Working with Gerwig was certainly part of the allure for Eilish, who first met the director when they were grouped together at a 2019 gala dinner. “I remember being like, ‘Greta Gerwig sitting next to us is so cool,’” she said in an interview. “‘She seems like somebody I would be friends with already.’”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Stream These 11 Movies Before They Leave Netflix in February

    “Dune” and “Snowpiercer” are among the action epics, dramas and teen comedies leaving soon for U.S. subscribers. Watch them while you can.Family fun, action epics, historical dramas, teen comedy — there’s a little something for everyone among the titles leaving Netflix in the United States in February. (Dates indicate the final day a title is available.)‘Chicken Run’ (Feb. 14)Stream it here.With the long-awaited made-for-Netflix sequel “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” having hit the service barely six weeks ago, you’d think Netflix would have licensed the original installment for a bit longer. Frankly, they should keep it around even if there weren’t I.P. to service — this is one of the most delightful family pictures of the 2000s, a fast-paced and very funny riff on “The Great Escape” and its ilk. Assembled with the customary care and wit by the stop-motion masterminds at Aardman Animations (the crew behind Wallace and Gromit), it’s a delight for kids and grown-ups alike.‘Prometheus’ (Feb. 14)Stream it here.In 1979, the director Ridley Scott had his first big hit with “Alien,” an ingeniously conceived and cleverly executed mash-up of an alien adventure and a haunted-house horror movie. The series continued in the hands of directors like James Cameron and David Fincher, while Scott continued to hone his distinctive style; this 2012 installment was his return to the franchise. Some were disappointed that the results weren’t merely “Alien” redux, but credit to Scott for making “Prometheus” an exploration of the themes and aesthetics that preoccupied him at that point in his long career, rather than merely retreading a past success. The special effects are astonishing, the production design is spot-on and the performances (particularly Charlize Theron as a villainous upper manager and Michael Fassbender as an enigmatic android) are memorable.‘Real Steel’ (Feb. 14)Stream it here.It’s not exactly a promising premise: a washed-up boxer turned sleazy promoter finds a champion on the underground robot-boxing circuit, bonding with his estranged son in the process. To call it hypercalculated is an understatement (our critic parsed its DNA as “‘Transformers’ meets ‘E.T.’ meets ‘Rocky’ meets ‘The Champ,’” and that’s not far off), but as Roger Ebert liked to say, it’s not what a movie’s about, but how it’s about it. The director Shawn Levy orchestrates the events with earnestness, refusing the urge to look down on the material (or the audience), and he has an invaluable partner in the movie’s star, Hugh Jackman, who plays the slimy lead without pulling his punches, yet retains enough of his inherent charisma to make us root for his inevitable redemption arc.‘Operation Finale’ (Feb. 19)Stream it here.Oscar Isaac is in fine form as a tough but sensitive Nazi hunter tasked with finding and extracting Adolf Eichmann (Ben Kingsley), one of the architects of the Final Solution, from his hide-out in Argentina to stand trial in Jerusalem. This true story is efficiently dramatized by the director Chris Weitz (whose filmography, which includes such divergent efforts as “American Pie” and “About A Boy,” might not make him an obvious choice for a tough historical drama), and though Matthew Orton’s screenplay includes juicy supporting roles for the likes of Nick Kroll, Mélanie Laurent and Haley Lu Richardson, its best scenes put Isaac and Kingsley toe to toe and watch them work.‘Babylon Berlin’: Seasons 1-3 (Feb. 28)Stream it here.This German crime epic became an international sensation when it began airing in 2017 — reportedly the most expensive television program ever produced in its home country. Based on the best-selling novels by Volker Kutscher and brought to life by a trio of writer-directors (Achim von Borries, Henk Handloegten and Tom Tykwer, the latter of “Run Lola Run” and “Cloud Atlas”), this sprawling, handsomely mounted narrative is set in the underworld of Germany during the Weimar Republic, the wild and fruitful period that preceded the Third Reich. It’s dizzyingly complex and giddily entertaining, but also timely; as Handloegten noted on its premiere: “All these people didn’t fall from the sky as Nazis. They had to become Nazis.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Universal Music Group Threatens to Remove Music From TikTok

    The company has been renegotiating the contract that licenses its vast catalog of songs to the social media platform. The agreement expires on Wednesday.Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, said it would revoke the licenses for its vast catalog of songs from TikTok after its current contract expires on Wednesday if the two companies could not reach a new deal addressing Universal’s concerns over artist compensation, artificial intelligence and other issues.In an open letter posted late Tuesday, Universal accused TikTok of responding to its requests with “indifference, and then with intimidation,” creating a public squabble in the remaining hours of the two companies’ existing contract. If the talks fail, TikTok users would be unable to use music by Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, U2, Bad Bunny and thousands of other artists in their videos.TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, is one of the world’s most popular and fastest-growing social media platforms, with more than a billion users, and its influence on youth culture around the world is unmatched. The company says it is used by more than 150 million Americans. For a majority of TikTok users, music is an integral part of the experience, with songs — often comically sped up — playing over the short clips that fill users’ feeds.In its public letter, Universal said that during negotiations it asked TikTok to address its concerns over three issues: compensation for artists and songwriters, online safety for TikTok’s users and “protecting human artists from the harmful effects of A.I.” Universal accused TikTok of allowing the platform to be “flooded” with songs created by artificial intelligence, which Universal said dilutes royalties for real, human artists and amounts to “sponsoring artist replacement by A.I.”In response, TikTok accused Universal of putting “their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.”“Despite Universal’s false narrative and rhetoric, the fact is they have chosen to walk away from the powerful support of a platform with well over a billion users that serves as a free promotional and discovery vehicle for their talent,” TikTok said in a statement.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Can a Piano Capture the Grandeur of Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Music?

    Inon Barnatan has created a solo transcription of “Symphonic Dances” in which he tries “not to imitate an orchestra, but to embody it.”Sergei Rachmaninoff composed two versions of “Symphonic Dances,” his last major work. One was the grand, orchestral score most often performed today; the other, a piano duet.But could it also work on one piano?Solo transcriptions have popped up in the decades since the 1941 premiere of “Symphonic Dances” — a colorful, harmonically adventurous journey through nostalgic melodies and grotesque waltzes, culminating in a cosmic showdown between life and death. And there exists a poor but precious recording of Rachmaninoff playing through the piece at the piano, vocalizing with his music as he ran through it for the conductor Eugene Ormandy in 1940.Now, the pianist Inon Barnatan has made a fresh case for the score’s viability as a solo transcription, through a new version of his own that he recorded for the Pentatone label — and that he will perform at the 92nd Street Y, New York on Friday.Barnatan, who has long loved the “Symphonic Dances,” has played the four-hands version in concert. But after hearing the Rachmaninoff recording, he wanted to try something similar, and the early, homebound days of the pandemic presented an opportunity.“I thought, this is my chance to see if this thing can work,” Barnatan, 44, said over coffee in his SoHo apartment. He gestured nearby and added: “I basically sat at that window with it from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. I didn’t look up, I was so engrossed.”In the interview, Barnatan explained why the piece lends itself to piano, and how it has changed his relationship with Rachmaninoff and his own playing. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Popcast (Deluxe): Will Taylor, SZA or Olivia Win Big at the Grammys?

    Subscribe to Popcast!Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicThis week’s episode of Popcast (Deluxe), the weekly culture roundup show on YouTube hosted by Jon Caramanica and Joe Coscarelli, includes segments on the 2024 Grammy Awards, which will take place on Sunday. The hosts discuss who is likely to win (and who deserves to win) in the major competitions — album of the year, record of the year, song of the year and best new artist — as well as awards in the country, rap, pop and Latin categories.Connect With Popcast. Become a part of the Popcast community: Join the show’s Facebook group and Discord channel. We want to hear from you! Tune in, and tell us what you think at popcast@nytimes.com. Follow our host, Jon Caramanica, on Twitter: @joncaramanica. More