This Week in Rep Cinema features second-run and classic film selections from cinemas such as the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, The Fox, The Revue, The Royal, Toronto Underground Cinema, the Projection Booth, TIFF Bell Lightbox, and more.

It's the long weekend, but don't let that fool you--that means we still have a week left of the Inside Out LGBT Film Festival, just a few short weeks before my favourite music film festival, NXNE, and the World Wide Short Film Festival. In the meantime, the Revue Cinema is cranking out some good programming this week, the Royal matches with some contemporary masterpieces, and TIFF offers a preview of the filmmakers of the future.

TUESDAY MAY 22 / MIDNIGHT COWBOY / REVUE CINEMA / 6:45PM
It all begins with a small-town dishwasher heading to the big city with aspirations to be a successful male hustler. It's grim, but it's this desperate and low-brow concept of upward mobility that propels the plot of Midnight Cowboy and its broken characters forward through their lives. This morally ambiguous tale of survival, friendship and dependence in a dark and unsettling time is bolstered by the strong method performances of Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the cinema.

TUESDAY MAY 22 / STUDENT FILM SHOWCASE / TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX / 7PM
If you're interested in the future of Canadian cinema, look no further than TIFF's Student Film Showcase, which is presented in association with the Film School Consortium, an organization that unites filmmaking schools across Canada. This yearly showcase is comprised of ten films that reflect the best student works of the year and has been known to create festival interest and launch careers. Offering up a variety of themes and formats, the films will compete for a selection of prizes, juried by filmmaker Jason Eisener, actress Lisa Ray and critic Norm Wilner. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased online or at the cinema.

WEDNESDAY MAY 23 / DAMSELS IN DISTRESS / ROYAL CINEMA / 9:30PM
Whit Stillman brings his slightly archaic understanding of a contemporary woman to his recent work, Damsels in Distress. Following the fallout of an all-girls school that has gone co-ed, his lead Queen Bee characters, used to ruling the school with their intellect and know-how, find their rules thrown out the window when men enter the picture and disrupt everything. Full of Stillman's whimsy, the film features an understated main cast but includes great cameos by comedy it-girls Aubrey Plaza and Alia Shawkat.

THURSDAY MAY 24 / THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST / REVUE CINEMA / 6:30PM
Oscar Wilde's famous play about wealthy gentleman behaving badly was blessed with this rather straightforward adaptation by Anthony Asquith in 1952, a version that patiently tracked each written scene to its hilarious conclusion. Nevermind the fact that it appropriately dresses the set with the excesses of wealth that the characters take for granted--it's these excesses that land this film in the Epicure's Revue (although I STILL don't find cucumber sandwiches all that satisfying). Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at the cinema.

SATURDAY MAY 26 / THE COVE / BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA / 3:30PM
This shocking documentary about a particularly vicious dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan turned heads at Hot Docs 2009, secured the Audience Choice award, and went on to win an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature the following year. Returning to the Bloor Cinema this week, the film has suffered some hits to its credibility in the last few years but still paints a rather damning picture of the fishing cull. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the cinema.

Additional Screenings

• The Corridor - Projection Booth - Monday through Thursday
  
• The Deep Blue Sea - Royal Cinema - Fri May 25 - 7pm
  
• Trailer Apocalypse - Toronto Underground Cinema - Sat May 26 - 11:30pm
  

For Toronto movie showtimes, view our Movie Listings section.

Film still from Damsels in Distress