Reel-View Ratings: The Bigger The Beard, The Better The Movie

20,000 DAYS ON EARTH

Don’t call it a documentary, because it’s scripted. Don’t call it fiction, because it’s based on reality. Punk legend Nick Cave plays punk legend Nick Cave in this pseudo-autobiographical film that tracks his 20,000th day of life, as he wanders from his (not real) psychotherapist to a conversation with Kylie Minogue to relaxing at home with his sons. The film may seem self-absorbed (and it is), but it’s also a commentary about the artifices of celebrity identity and the slippery truths of art, even as it’s a celebration of Cave and his work. (Unrated)

Plays 7:30 p.m. Dec. 20 at Doris Duke Theatre

MARIUS AND FANNY

These two films tell one story in as boring a manner as director Daniel Auteuil can muster. Based on Marcel Pagnol’s trilogy, the films track adventure-loving Marius and Marius-loving Fanny as they find and lose romance. He loves her, but Marius ultimately abandons Fanny for the sea, leaving her pregnant and alone in 1920s France. Auteuil chose not to update the film’s setting or themes for his contemporary re-make, resulting in a dull, dialogue-heavy slog through the affair and its fallout. Fanny is the better film of the two, but not by much. (Unrated) Marius plays noon, 3:30 and 7 p.m. Dec. 19, 2 p.m. Dec. 20 and 1:45 and 7 p.m. Dec. 21; Fanny plays 1:45, 5:15 and 8:45 p.m. Dec. 19, 3:45 p.m. Dec. 20 and 3:30 and 8:45 p.m. Dec. 21 at Movie Museum

SOUL OF A BANQUET

Food makes for fascinating film fare — most of the time. Cecilia Chiang is credited with revolutionizing Chinese food in America through her former San Francisco eatery The Mandarin, and the story of how she opened that restaurant (a meandering tale that touches upon the Cultural Revolution) is fascinating. Too bad director Wayne Wang’s visual presentation doesn’t equal Chiang’s edible spread. He takes a feast or famine approach: The front half is a talking-heads slog before a hyper-focused, closeup-heavy examination of a Chiang-prepared dinner. Satiating? Not so much. (Unrated)

Plays at 4 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22, and 1 and 7:30 Dec. 23-24 at Doris Duke Theatre