“Blitz” – If the New York Film Festival (NYFF) opened up with quiet poignancy in the form of “The Nickel Boys,” it went out with a bit of a bang with its closing film, “Blitz” by Steve McQueen. A commonality amongst the film and television projects by McQueen is that he explores stories and aspects of history not usually seen. Keeping in that tradition is his latest, taking viewers to characters and situations not often portrayed in wartime London during its blitzkrieg by the Germans. Taken from the point of view of a young single mother (Saoirse Ronan) who works in a war-related factory, and her 9-year-old bi-racial son, George (Elliott Heffernan).
After George is sent away with other children as a safety precaution from potential bombings, he escapes the train to make his way back to his mom and grandfather. Along the journey back home, he encounters characters that highlight the impact of war on everyday residents of an urban area, as well as the marginalization of people of color and those that choose to align with them. In addition to the unique points of view and themes for this period drama, what stands out are the cinematography, sets and sound editing.
Writer/Director: Steve McQueen
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickson, Benjamin Clementine
Countries of Origin: United Kingdom, United States
Language: English
Production company: Apple TV
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hours
Release Date: Nov. 1
“Emilia Perez” – This undoubtedly will prove to be one of the most unique and exhilarating films of the year, if not ever, and the most audacious from director Jacques Audiard’. “Emilia Perez” defies categorization and genre while encompassing the best of several- drama, musical, dark comedy and crime mystery. It’s campy. It’s sexy. It’s not to be missed. From the opening sequence featuring a whip smart, under appreciated attorney (Zoe Saldana -did we know she can sing?!), whose expertise is enlisted by a high profile Mexican drug lord desirous of gender reassignment surgery, the viewers are taken on an enthralling cinematic ride full of twists and turns that will have you thinking and talking about it for days after. The film’s creative concept and stellar execution are only rivaled by outstanding, unexpected performances by each lead, including Saldana in the role of her career, Karla Sofia Gascon in the title role, and Selena Gomez as the heart broken and beleaguered widow of the drug lord (okay, we knew she could sing, but did we know she had drama acting chops?!).
Try to see it in theaters before it’s too-soon-to-streaming platform release. It’s a fantastic movie to experience on the big screen and with a collective audience.
Director: Jacques Audiard
Writers: Jacques Audiard, Thomas Bidegain, Nicolas Livecchi
Stars: Zoe Saldana, Karla Sofia Gascon, Selena Gomez
Countries of Origin: France, Belgium
Language: English, Spanish, French
Production companies: Why Not Productions, Pathe
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 2 hours 12 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 13 (Netflix)
“Hard Truths” – If it’s been a long time since seeing a Mike Leigh film, now is the time to get reacquainted. True to form, Leigh delivers a character driven drama, laced with humor and imbued with pivotal social themes. “Hard Truths” proves that at 81-years-old, Leigh is still at the top of his game. For this project he is reunited with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, one of the stars from “Secrets & Lies” (1996). Jean-Baptiste gives a tour-de-force performance (Oscar nod, please!) as Pansy, a middle-aged woman whose mental health issues, not immediately realized by the audience are evidenced in the form relentless anger that’s become toxic for everyone around her, most notably her working-class husband and her depressed adult son.
Director: Mike Leigh
Writers: Mike Leigh
Stars: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Bryony Miller, Sophia Brown
Countries of Origin: United Kingdom, Spain
Language: English
Production companies: Creativity Media, Film4
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes
Release Date: Jan. 1 (United Kingdom)
“I’m Still Here” – This wholly drawn political drama by Walter Salles (“Motorcycle Diaries,” “Central Station”) focusing on Brazil’s dark period of a military dictatorship. Depicted through the true life situation in 1971 when Rubens Paiva, a former congressman and outspoken critic of Brazil’s newly formed, questionable government, was taken from his home in Rio de Janeiro by officials. Although he and his wife, Eunice (Fernanda Torres), were told it was just a routine deposition to authorities, he never returned, forever changing the lives of his wife and their five young children. A shattered Eunice spent the rest of her life seeking the truth as to her husband’s disappearance, demanding answers and accountability from authorities. This film is both heartbreaking and harrowing.
Director: Walter Salles
Writers: Murilo Hauser, Heitor Lorena, Marcelo Rubens Paiva
Stars: Fernanda Torres, Fernanda Montenegro, Selton Mello
Countries of Origin: France, Brazil
Language: Portuguese
Production companies: VideoFilmes, RT Features
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 2 hours 16 minutes
Release Date: Nov. 7 (Brazil)
“Maria” – If you’ve seen Pablo Larrain’s two other films about real life tragic, rich white women – “Jackie” and “Spencer”- then “Maria” will feel like more of the same. Like those others, it is a snapshot portrayal, quasi bio pic of an iconic female character. For “Maria,” featuring Angelina Jolie, it is quick dive into the life of legendary opera star, Maria Callas. The film takes place a week before her untimely death as she is retired from performing and grappling with life away from the stage, something that clearly was her whole life.
Unlike those earlier character studies, with “Maria” most don’t know much about Callas, as in her personal life and how her career got launched. Unfortunately, we don’t learn any of that from the film. Where the three are similar however is in Lorraine’s casting lead roles. Jolie, like Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy and Kristen Steward as Lady Diana, gives a captivating performance. Also noted is the alluring cinematography despite the innumerable annoying close ups, and unique editing style. Sadly though, all that cannot save the anemic script and story and overall lackluster execution. In other words, it’s beautiful but boring.
Director: Pablo Larrain
Writers: Steven Knight
Stars: Angelina Jolie, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Valeria Golino
Countries of Origin: Italy, Germany, Chile
Language: English
Production companies: The Apartment
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes
Release Date: Dec. 11 (Netflix)
“The Room Next Door” – It’s nothing but the best of casting for legendary Spanish auteur, Pedro Almodovar’s first English language feature length film. Starring Tilda Swinton as Martha, a retired war journalist who is in the throes of cancer treatment, and Julianne Moore as her long lost friend, Ingrid a best selling writer. The film is adapted from Sigrid Nunez’s novel, “What Are You Going Through” about the friend’s reuniting under the unfortunate circumstances of Martha’s terminal illness.
For “The Room Next Door” Almodóvar continues with his tradition of exploring the lives of women, but this time with a very distinct and welcome American sensibility while still being unmistakably Almadovar. Instead of Madrid that often serves as a central character, this time it’s Manhattan and Upstate New York, with sumptuous interior and exterior locales. This is as much a story about the power of female friendships as it is about the choices about life, death and dying. Although there are a few moments of awkward dialogue writing and tonal issues, along with an odd dual role of one of the primary actors, overall it’s an engaging and touching story. The performances by and pairing of Swinton and Moore that make it worth the price of admission.
“Rumors” – Here too is another delightful and unexpected selection by NYFF 2024. Basically, this is a whip smart, sometimes silly political- Sci Fi romp portraying a fictional G-7 Summit meeting, with Germany as the host and Cate Blanchett as the German chancellor. While the summit members are having a private lunch out in the woods away from the press discussing vague political and odd personal ones, it appears after a while, that all their security and staff are oddly no where to be found. The summit members as well as the audience find themselves at the onset of a major international crisis, potentially a human apocalypse.
Even for the wide range talent and project selections of Blanchett, “Rumors” seems a far departure. I don’t know how she ended up in this mix of comedy, politics and science fiction, but I’m glad she did.
Director: Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson, Guy Maddin
Writers: Evan Johnson
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rolando Ravello, Charles Dance
Countries of Origin: Canada, Germany, Hungary, United States
Language: English, French, Swedish, Germany
Production companies: Buffalo Gal Pictures
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hours 43 minutes
Release Date: Dec. 6 (United Kingdom)
“The Shrouds” – While director David Cronenberg has consistently been wildly inventive over the years with some creative gems like “The Fly,” “Dead Ringers,” “Spider,” just to name a few, for many he has also been hit or miss as far as quality or success. We give him credit though for always swinging for the fences. For this his latest, he remains true to his odd and creative roots, but sadly, it is a miss as far as writing, tone and execution.
In the wake of tech entrepreneur, Karsh (Vincent Cassel) losing his wife (Diane Kruger)to cancer, he has developed a new software that will allow the bereaved to bear witness to the gradual decay of loved ones dead and buried in the earth. Things go awry and the mystery unfolds when some of the graves are tampered with and the technology is stolen. While many, especially die-hard Cronenberg fans, may find “The Shrouds” eerie and thought provoking, many others (myself included) will just find it odd, uneven and unsatisfying.
Director: David Cronenberg
Writers: David Cronenberg
Stars: Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce
Countries of Origins: Canada, France
Language: English
Production companies: Prospero Pictures
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 1 hours 59 minutes
Release Date: Jan. 29 (France)
“Universal Language” – Think Wes Anderson film, but in some ways, better in a raw and unpretentious way. “Universal Language” puts less emphasis on bold and flashy set designs and affected speech patterns that mask over any semblance of an actual storyline, instead it presents all the fun and absurdity while possessing more substance over style. Canadian writer- director, Matthew Rankin cleverly intersects three sets of characters and scenarios with the backdrop of a wintry Winnipeg and within an Iranian community. Two kids discover and try to retrieve money frozen in a block of ice with the intention of buying their classmates a new pair of prescription glasses; a tour guide brings befuddled visitors on a walking tour of the city’s most obscure landmarks; and a melancholy man (Rankin in an autobiographical role) returns home from Montreal to reunite with his ailing mother.
Rankin seamlessly and wonderfully weaves a distinct deadpan sense of humor throughout each situation and every character. Rankin admittedly was inspired by Iranian films of the 1970s, humanistic children’s fables, and we’re all better off for it. This adorable, inventive and wildly absurd little movie manages to be both real and surreal, and humorous and poignant.
Director: Matthew Rankin
Writers: Ila Firouzabadi, Pirouz Necati, Matthew Rankin
Stars: Zoe Matthew Rankin, Pirouz Necati, Amir Amiri
Countries of Origin: Canada
Language: Persian, French
Production companies: Meta Films
MPAA Rating:
Runtime: 1 hour 29 minutes
Release Date: Sep. 23 (United States)
