The made-in-Milwaukee movie 'Give Me Liberty' opens; here's what critics are saying

The feature film shot in Milwaukee, by Milwaukee filmmakers, with a mostly Milwaukee cast is opening Friday in Milwaukee — and New York City. 

The rest of the country will have to wait for a little bit. 

After a sold-out screening Thursday night, "Give Me Liberty" opens Friday at Milwaukee's Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave. Director/co-writer Kirill Mikhanovsky and co-writer/producer Alice Austen will be on hand for a screening at the Oriental at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The movie is also showing at the east side movie palace at 3 p.m. Friday and 3:30 p.m. Sunday through next Thursday. (Note: Screenings Friday through Sunday are in a 35-millimeter print.)

According to distributor Music Box Films' website, "Give Me Liberty" is opening in several Marcus Theatres in Wisconsin Aug. 30, including the Majestic Cinema in Brookfield and the Ridge in New Berlin. (The movie also is scheduled to expand into other major markets, including Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis, in late August and early September.) 

In the movie, Vic (Chris Galust), a Russian immigrant who's a medical transport van driver, agrees to take a bunch of Russian senior citizens (including his grandfather) to a funeral across town, getting him in trouble with his boss and with a strong-willed, wheelchair-using, African American woman with ALS named Tracy (Lauren “Lolo” Spencer) who relies on the van to get to and from her work in Milwaukee, a city that is being jolted by protests following a shooting. 

The movie made its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, and drew standing ovations when it screened at the Cannes Film Festival four months later. Count critics among those applauding: Through the middle of this week, "Give Me Liberty" had a 92% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the review aggregator website. 

A sampling of critics' reactions, most of them from seeing the movie at Sundance: 

• Manohla Dargis, New York Times: "Completely, delightfully unpredictable from scene to scene, 'Give Me Liberty' draws you in with its moving performances and blasts of broad comedy … that are delivered with whiplash camerawork, abrupt cuts and sudden tone shifts. Its matter-of-fact approach to disability, including in some deeply moving exchanges between Vic and a profoundly disabled older man, is a tonic." 
• Peter Debruge, Variety: “ 'Give Me Liberty' catches us off guard with its sense of humor, which amplifies the sheer absurdity of certain situations while respecting the fundamental humanity of its characters — further reflected in the choice of casting actors with disabilities. … Pushing back on the centuries of judgment and shame imposed on the various disabilities it depicts, the scrappy yet sincere film shines an empathetic light on those whom society so often overlooks — a generosity that extends to Russian immigrants and members of Milwaukee’s still-segregated black community." 
• David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: " … We can all get on board with this wonderfully anarchic dark comedy, which deftly welds its frenetically farcical structure to a humanistic portrait of marginalized communities thrown together — unassimilated elderly immigrants, low-income African Americans, the handicapped. Made on a microbudget with lots of invigorating rough edges, this distinctive movie is like an underclass daytime version of Martin Scorsese's 'After Hours,' reaffirming the resilience of the American Dream even amidst spiraling disorder." 

RELATED:'Give Me Liberty' was made in Milwaukee by Wisconsin filmmakers and was a sleeper hit at Sundance and Cannes

Contact Chris Foran at chris.foran@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cforan12. 

Also new in theaters this week 

• “Angel Has Fallen”: There's an assassination attempt against the president (Morgan Freeman), and his unstoppable Secret Service agent (Gerard Butler) is set up as the fall guy. So naturally, he escapes and sets out to find who's really behind it, with a little help from family (including a mountain-man recluse of a father played by Nick Nolte) in this action sequel. 
• “Luce”: Ten years after they adopted a child from war-torn East Africa, a suburban couple are convinced their now-grown son (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) is an all-star. But when he turns in a school essay promoting political violence, his previously supportive teacher (Octavia Spencer) looks a little deeper, and finds something horrifying in the making. Naomi Watts and Tim Roth co-star in this festival favorite. 
• “The Peanut Butter Falcon”: A young man with Down syndrome runs away from his residential facility to follow his dream of going to a professional wrestling school. On the way, he finds an unlikely ally and mentor in the form of a small-time outlaw on the run. Zack Gottsagen, as the young man on the run, and Shia LaBeouf, as the crook who becomes his friend, are both getting raves for their performances in this atypical road movie. Dakota Johnson and Thomas Haden Church co-star. 
• “Overcomer”: A high school coach reluctantly agrees to take over the cross-country team, which turns out to be a team of one — a young runner with asthma seeking identity and self-worth, and helping her new coach do the same. Faith-fueled inspirational drama from the makers of "War Room" and "Courageous." 

The week's best off-the-grid picks 

• Neverending Summer at Avalon Theater: Like the rest of us, the Avalon, 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., doesn't want summer to end. So it's piling up a bunch of 1980s and '90s coming-of-age movies this week and next. Showing this week: "The Goonies," 6:45 p.m. Friday, 1:15 p.m. Saturday, 4 p.m. Sunday, and 6:45 p.m. Tuesday and next Thursday; "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," 9:30 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday, and 6:45 p.m. Sunday and Wednesday; and "The Iron Giant," 6:45 p.m. Saturday, 1:45 p.m. Sunday and 6:45 p.m. Monday. $5. Info: avalonmke.com. 
• "The Blair Witch Project": The faux-documentary horror genre was born with this low-budget, still-scary-as-heck 1999 thriller about students in pursuit of a ghost story, and finding it. 11:15 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave. $11, $9 for Milwaukee Film members and seniors 60 and older. Info: mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre. 
• "Clueless": Do we ever get tired of watching Alicia Silverstone in Amy Heckerling's charming, inventive redo of Jane Austen's "Emma," set in Beverly Hills? As if. 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Avalon, 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. $5. Info: avalonmke.com. 
•  "The Dark Crystal": Prep for Netflix's new update of the Muppet-powered fantasy series with the 1982 original. 11:59 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Landmark Downer Theatre, 2589 N. Downer Ave. $8.50. Info: landmarktheatres.com/milwaukee. 
• "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure": Paul Reuben puts the pedal to the metal again in this fun comedy, showing as part of the Pedal to the Park series at the Oriental. 10:30 a.m. Saturday. $9, $7 for seniors (60 and older) and Milwaukee Film members, $6 for kids 11 and younger. Info: mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre.
• "South Pacific": See one of the 1950s' most beloved musicals on the big screen. 2 and 6:30 p.m. Sunday and next Wednesday at Silverspot Cinema, 320 Market St., Brookfield (The Corners of Brookfield). $12. Info: silverspot.net.

Free outdoor movies 

• "Young Man With a Horn": Kirk Douglas' tour-de-force performance as a jazz trumpeter seeking that perfect note is the finale in the outdoor movie series at Paul's Alley Cinema, which has been showing movies under the stars at 170 S. Second St. since 2001. 8:30 p.m. Friday. Info: Paul's Alley Cinema Facebook page. 
• "Big Trouble in Little China": Director John Carpenter and Kurt Russell reunited for this over-the-top 1986 action movie with guns, explosions and an ancient curse, the finale for this summer's Peck Flicks series at 7:15 p.m. Friday at the Peck Pavilion outside the Marcus Performing Arts Center, 929 N. Water St. Info: marcuscenter.org. 
• "Incredibles 2": The Pixar action-animation sequel is the finale for this summer's Movies in the Park series in Port Washington. Dusk on Friday at Veteran’s Memorial Park, 410 Lake St. Info: portwashington.recdesk.com.
• "Dumbo": Disney's first live-action remake of the year (of three) gets the under-the-stars treatment twice this week — at dusk on Saturday in Veterans Park in Milwaukee, 1300 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive, and at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at The Corners of Brookfield, 20111 W. Blue Mound Road. Info: giftofwingslanding.com/movies.html and thecornersofbrookfield.com/events. 

RELATED:Here's where you can find free outdoor movies this summer in Milwaukee: 2019 guide