I-BE AREA: The backup doesn't always got your back
Ryan Trecartin plays multiple roles, who in turn have multiple identities, in his 2007 hyperkinetic meditation on identity, clones, avatars, and new media.
Click here for Now Showing in Madison, August 11–18, 2025
I-BE AREA | Ryan Trecartin | USA | 2007 | 107 minutes
Screening at Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Rooftop Cinema, Thursday, August 14, after sunset, approximately 8:30pm
Part of me doesn’t want to say anything about Ryan Trecartin’s I-BE AREA. I just want to press play on Thursday night at Rooftop Cinema, and then sit somewhere near the front so that I can look back into the audience and observe their reactions. But if I’m going to do that, I suppose I owe it to you, the reader, to share some of the reactions I’ve had to this transgressive and often inspired mix of performance art, artist video, and experimental narrative.
It might take first-time viewers a few subsequent viewings to piece together exactly what is going on. The action shifts so abruptly that it takes a while to understand how a new scene relates to what we have already seen and heard. But even before you start to make sense of I-BE AREA, it will mesmerize you. The performance style(s) often recall the theater kids you knew in high school (on and off-stage), but taken up to an 11. Dialogue is delivered with a kind of Southern swish with syncopated rhythms. The mise-en-scene mixes the mundane with the surreal, all punctuated by colorful and sometimes horrific makeup and costumes. And the videography mixes pixelated digital zooms with early 2000’s video effects (already ungainly by 2007).
A few narrative threads emerge. I-BE 2 (Trecartin) seems dismayed by the original I-BE’s new appearance and identity, “Me-You.” I-BE 2 decides to accept a “transparency trade” with a young girl named Oliver from Ohio who wants someone to take over her identity so she can buy a one way ticket to Brazil. I-BE takes possession of a package sent from Oliver containing her cel phone, outfits, all her passwords / keys, a live subscription, and a “hard copy PDF file of all the people I know in my life, how we relate, and why I do the things I do.” I-BE tries out Oliver’s identity, and decides he really likes it.
Trecartin also plays Pasta, a media consultant with grotesque makeup and yellow eyes. We first meet Pasta when he was a child named Jengo, who is abandoned by his mother Karen in a bead store. Jengo grows up, changes his name to Pasta, and starts a mixed media business with his partner, Wendy. Pasta and Wendy consult two young girls on a proposed music video, and promise to showcase their lives, only better, with edits.
You can probably sense from these style and plot thread descriptions that I-BE AREA is not for everyone. The loose narrative goes off on several tangents. The manic tone of most of the scenes makes its duration a challenge: keeping up with its high energy can be exhausting to watch over time.
Rather than trying to keep up with all of the narrative threads, the pleasure of I-BE AREA comes from enjoying the moment-to-moment sensory overload of scene after scene. Some may find the performance styles grating over time, but I find them dynamic and exhilarating. In fact, the performances are most likely what you will remember the most after the first time viewing I-BE AREA.
There are other takeaways, of course. Writing in The New York Times in 2008, art critic Holland Cotter observed, “For queer artists of Mr. Trecartin's generation, cross-dressing, cross-identifying and cross-thinking are part of a state of being, not statements of political position. Like the work of John Waters and Jack Smith, his art is about just saying no to life as we think we have seen it and saying yes to zanier, virtual-utopian possibilities.” I thought of the work of Jack Smith (Flaming Creatures, Normal Love) quite a bit watching I-BE AREA this time around. Trecartin has absorbed some valuable lessons from Smith (either directly or indirectly), and has harnessed a similar kind of energy in his fusion of performance art and artist’s video.
As far as viewing I-BE AREA in 2025, keeping in mind that it was made the same year as the appearance of the iPhone, I don’t think we need to discuss it in terms of specific predictions of where internet culture has (d)evolved. I think what it gets right, then and now, is our insatiable appetite for what the internet seems to provide our sense of self, regardless of how the internet now seems to deliver it. I-BE AREA also prompts us to think about how gender discourse has evolved since 2006. Gender fluid preceded gender neutral, and I wonder if we were to visit the world of I-BE AREA now if different pronouns would be used in some of the same contexts.
Note: Be sure to read Maxwell Courtright’s preview of I-BE AREA, posted today at Tone Madison.
Now Playing In Madison: August 11 to August 18, 2025
Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays.
Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark.
Wisconsin Union Directorate Film
MAMMA MIA 8/11
LA LA LAND 8/18
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art: Rooftop Cinema
I-BE AREA 8/14
Read my preview above, and hear my comments in Friday’s free access video. Be sure to read Maxwell Courtright’s preview of I-BE AREA, posted today at Tone Madison.
Atwood Music Hall
NOSFERATU 8/16
Read Grant Phipps’s coverage of this new series at Tone Madison.
Arts + Literature Laboratory
HANDMADE IN BANGLADESH 8/17, 5:30PM
Co-director Liz Bachhuber will be present. The screening is presented in conjunction with Liz Bachhuber and Jill Sebastian's exhibition, Eat My Words, at the James Watrous Gallery, a program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters.
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AMC Theatres, Flix Brewhouse, Marcus Theatres
Always check the respective websites to confirm dates and showtimes. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).
#RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR IN AMSTERDAM: LIVE VIEWING at Palace, Point.
AMERICANA (2025) at AMC.
We’ll see if the recent Sydney Sweeney “good genes” controversy will affect audience response to this somewhat interesting indie crime thriller. Also starring Halsey. Opens August 14.
AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: AUGUST 11 at AMC.
AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: AUGUST 18 at AMC.
ANDAAZ 2 (2025) at AMC.
Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film. Bollywood is known to take its sweet time with sequels. I thought the 13-year wait for Son of Sardaar last week was long. The original Andaaz was released in 2003. This is probably reasonably entertaining, but this seems like a second tier studio, and I’m not familiar with these stars. See note in trailer to use headphones for best experience.
BAD GUYS 2, THE (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
COOLIE (2025) at AMC, Point.
Indian Tamil-language action thriller. Yes, this title is referencing the pejorative term for low-wage laborers (often with a caste or racial undertone). But at least it appears to be about someone who stands up against the exploitation and of port workers. And it stars Tamil-language cinema superstar Rajinikanth, who is now in his 70s. I’m not sure if this has any direct or indirect relationship to the 1983 Hindi-language Amitabh Bachchan vehicle of the same title.
DEAD TO RIGHTS (2025) at AMC.
Chinese historical drama set during the Nanjing Massacre (1937). Civilians take refuge in a photo studio, then risk their lives to document the Japanese atrocities. Director Shen Ao’s previous film, No More Bets (2023) sparked protests by Cambodia, Mayanmar, and Thailand. We’ll see how this one goes over with Japan. Note: This is a pretty brutal trailer.
EAST OF WALL (2025) at AMC.
Indie take on the contemporary West. Directorial debut of Kate Beercroft. This premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
EDDINGTON (2025) at AMC.
ELI ROTH PRESENTS: JIMMY AND STIGGS (2025) at AMC, Palace, Point.
Director/Actor Joe Begos stars as out-of-work filmmaker Jimmy Lang. And I guess that is the main selling point, but I’m only now discovering who Joe Begos is. The ad copy proclaims “Joe Begos is back! And this time, he’s brought his A-game with a drug-fueled, wall-to-wall frenzy that pulls no punches from the moment it begins.” His previous films include Bliss (2019), VFW (also 2019), and Christmas Bloody Christmas (2022). While I’m not familiar with this ouvre, I’m sensing why Eli Roth is presenting this release.
F1 THE MOVIE (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point.
FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, THE (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH at Flix.
FREAKIER FRIDAY (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
I think we all know the premise. It could be fun, with Jamie Lee Curtis on a pretty good run of films lately. Just not sure if Lindsay Lohan will be able to match her this time around.
GRATEFUL DEAD MOVIE 2025 MEET-UP, THE at AMC, Point.
If you’ve ever wanted to see the 1977 The Grateful Dead Movie in IMAX, here’s your chance at AMC Fitchburg. Will also play at Marcus Point as part of an annual fan meetup that I was unfamiliar with until now.
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES - STUDIO GHIBLI FEST 2025 at AMC, Palace, Point.
Classic, but emotionally brutal, Studio Ghibli film about two young siblings surviving in post-WWII Japan.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025) at AMC, Palace.
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (2025) at AMC, Point.
JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
KINGDOM (2025) at AMC.
MAHAVATAR NARSIMHA (2025) at AMC.
Indian animated mythological epic, it premiered in Hindi at the 2024 International Film Festival of India, so I assume we’ll get a Hindi version. But it also has been released in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam languages. As Alex Lovendahl at The Horizon Line notes, it should be interesting how this fares after the global success of Ne Zha 2 (which is also coming back to theaters). This is not the first time the Indian animation industry has attempted to cross over into global success. Did anyone besides me see Roadside Romeo in the theaters in 2008? It was a co-production from Yash Raj Films and Disney.
MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE (8/11) at Palace, Point.
MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE (8/18) at Palace, Point.
MET: LIVE IN HD SUMMER ENCORES - RIGOLETTO, THE at Point.
MY MOTHER'S WEDDING (2025) at AMC, Point.
NAKED GUN, THE (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
NOBODY 2 (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
This might be okay. I just keep thinking about Bob Odenkirk’s near-fatal heart attack on the set of Better Call Saul everytime I see him exert himself in these trailers. I wish him health and financial security.
OH, HI! (2025) at AMC.
OUTSIDERS: THE COMPLETE NOVEL 4K, THE at Flix.
Flix Faves series
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) at Flix.
Flix Faves series
RED SONJA at Point.
At first I thought this might be a 1980s retro screening of the Brigitte Nielsen vehicle. Nope, there’s a new one, starring Matilda Lutz. Let’s hope she has more luck with the role, but I’m not holding my breath in anticipation.
RIFFTRAX LIVE: TIMECOP at Palace, Point.
SECRET LIFE OF PETS, THE at AMC.
SHIN GODZILLA 4K (2025) at AMC, Palace, Point.
Go. See. This. I saw Shin Godzilla in limited-release in 2016 with some big-time Godzilla fans. I sensed that they' weren’t sure what to make of it. But I thought it was great. I wanted to stand up and cheer at the line seen in the trailer, “We’re a crack team of lone wolves, nerds, troublemakers, outcasts, academic heretics and general pains-in-the-bureaucracy,” but I didn’t sense that people would have joined me. This 4K release has prompted another round of trying to convince people to see it. See comments in free video from Friday.
SKETCH (2025) at AMC, Palace, Point.
SMURFS (2025) at AMC.
STRANGE HARVEST (2025) at AMC, Palace, Point.
SUPERMAN (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES 35TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
TEXAS CHAIN SAW DAY at Flix, Palace, Point.
This might not surprise you since you know that I’m not a big horror fan: I’ve never seen the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974), or any of the films in the franchise. It seems like I should try to see this on the big screen (if I can add it to the list this week with Shin Godzilla and War 2). It screens one night only, Monday, August 18, at Flix Brewhouse, Marcus Palace, and Marcus Point,
TO THE ARCTIC at AMC.
TOGETHER (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
TRIUMPH OF THE HEART at Point.
Faith-based feature film about Maximilian Kolbe, a priest, missionary, martyr, and eventual Catholic saint.
WAR 2 (2025) at AMC, Point.
Indian Hindi-language action thriller, the sixth installment in the “YRF Spy Universe.” I think I have seen four of the six, including War (2019). Once again my guy Hrithik Rashan stars, this time with N. T. Rama Rao Jr. (in his Hindi-language debut, he is an established Telugu-language star). I can’t not see this. See comments in the free access video.
WEAPONS (2025) at AMC, Flix, Palace, Point.
WITCHBOARD (2025) at AMC, Palace, Point.
For what it’s worth, this has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating from six reviews. But even skimming the positive reviews you’ll see that there is not much enthusiasm for the film.
Looking Ahead:
Rooftop Cinema, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
MILWAUKEE EXPERIMENTAL FILMS 8/21
Exciting things are afoot with this program! I’ll have more to say in the free video on Friday.
Bartell Theatre
MADISON FILM FESTIVAL 2025 8/23
The Madison Film Festival will screen and award prizes in the following categories: Best Wisconsin Film; Audience Choice Award, Best Narrative Short; Best Documentary Short; Best Student Film; Best Screenplay; and Best Poster. The Madison Film Festival website Buy Tickets link takes you to a Film Freeway page listing the event as August 23, 2025 11:00am to 5:00pm.
Cinesthesia, Madison Public Library Central Branch
THE CELL 8/20
If you missed it, be sure to read the interview with programmer Jason Furhman at the Madison Public Library’s Cinesthesia page.
Thanks for the reminder about the higher ticket prices for some of the specialty releases. I noticed Texas Chainsaw Massacre is $15 which I’ll probably pass on even though I should probably see it at some point. I did notice the AMC Monday and Tuesday deal, but I haven’t had a chance to take advantage of it yet.
Somehow they're just piling too much interesting stuff into our commercial theatres, at least next week...which is unusual for an August. (Last August, for example, was painfully terrible.)
"Ne Zha 2" was excellent, highly recommended on as big a screen as possible, though I've not seen it with the new English dub. Unfortunately, based on the trailer, "Mahavatar Narasimha" suffers greatly from the most uncanny of valleys, and most of what I've read about it bears that out. "Ne Zha 2" doesn't make that mistake.
The YRF Spy Universe films are all fairly entertaining, though I think it may have peaked with its first outing, the surprisingly good Salman Khan vehicle "Ek Tha Tiger", which seems much more grounded than the later entries. The first "War" was much better than I expected, but a lot of that credit goes to the practical action work of Tiger Shroff, who, unfortunately, is not in the new film (which, honestly, would have taken some narrative acrobatics. Hopefully N.T. Rama Rao's presence will make up for them making me wait a year or two for more Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone.
In Tamil cinema, he has sobriquet "Superstar Rajinikanth" for a reason, but I don't know that he's been picking the of films of late (and they seem pretty repetitive). The last truly great one of his I saw was 2018's "Kaala". The other three Lokesh Kanagaraj films I've seen have all been decent enough, and quite massy, though I'm not sure any of them are standouts. Considering that they're charging 17$ for it...I hope it stays another week and drops to normal pricing.
(On a completely unrelated note, they're already screening trailers for Ranveer Singh's December release, "Dhurandhar"...so, you know, very exciting....)
II recommend "Sketch". It's a monster movie. Think "Jurassic World: Rehash"...if it didn't suck. Or maybe a colorful kaiju comedy. They should let this guy make the next Monsterverse picture.
As for "Red Sonja", I'd say I'm still waiting for Matilda Lutz to appear in a good film, except, you know, I'm clearly not.
That's just my two cents. Or, idunno, 37 cents or so. As you know, I'm not lacking in opinions.
Oh, and another interesting development: the half-off/less expensive day at the AMC out in Fitchburg is now two days: Tuesday and Wednesday...which might help on those occasions there's a fuckton of stuff I need to get to and it all stays for only one week.