Something for everyone at the Strand this weekend

The Strand Theatre in downtown Vicksburg (717 Clay St.) is presenting a weekend of movies and culture with something for everyone.

Tonight, catch two Oscar-nominated movies. Then, on Sunday, surrender to the sublime with “Rigoletto,” Verdi’s operatic masterpiece.

Saturday, Feb. 15, it’s “Joker” at 7 p.m. and “The Lighthouse” at 9:30 p.m.

Tickets for each of Saturday’s films are $6 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse (1101 Washington St.) and $8 at the door.

Joaquin Phoenix walked away with the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in “Joker.”

Forever alone in a crowd, Arthur Fleck seeks connection. Yet, as he trods the sooty Gotham City streets and rides the graffitied mass-transit rails of a hostile town teeming with division and dissatisfaction, Arthur wears two masks. One, he paints on for his day job as a clown. The other he can never remove: It’s the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel he’s a part of the world around him, and not the misunderstood man whom life is repeatedly beating down.

“The Lighthouse,” starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, was nominated for Best Cinematography.

Two lighthouse keepers fight to keep their sanity while stranded on an isolated island. A gripping story brilliantly filmed and led by a pair of powerhouse performances, “The Lighthouse” further establishes Robert Eggers as a filmmaker of exceptional talent.

On Sunday, Feb. 16, it’s time for opera onscreen at the Strand. “Rigoletto on the Lake” screens at 2 p.m.

Watch Verdi’s thrilling masterpiece performed on the breathtaking Bregenz Lake Stage in Austria.

One of Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular works, “Rigoletto” is an unforgettable tale of sacrifice and revenge; of a father’s rage and a daughter’s shame. It features several of opera’s best-known arias-including Rigoletto’s passionate denouncement “Cortigiani, vil razza dannata,” Gilda’s dreamy “Caro nome” and the Duke’s instantly recognizable “La donna è mobile.”

“Rigoletto” was first performed in 1851 and is the first of the extraordinary “middle-period” trio of Verdi masterpieces that also includes “La Traviata” and “Il Trovatore.” Directed and designed by Philipp Stölzl, this timeless tragedy will delight audiences with a powerhouse combination of entertainment and emotional intensity from the spectacular shore of Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria.

Please Note: “Rigoletto on the Lake” contains a sequence of flashing lights, which might affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitivity.

Running Time: 140 minutes (incl. 15-min. intermission)

Language: Italian, with English subtitles

Tickets are $15 and available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse, 1101 Washington St.