What It’s About
Twenty-something Bear (Johnston) works in a music store, and nurses a crush on co-worker Nikki (Navarette), who views him as just a friend. Browsing in a shop one day, Bear buys a magical stick you break in half while making a wish. Following the instructions, Bear wishes for Nikki to love him more than anything else. He soon discovers this novelty item works a bit too well, as Nikki transforms into a frighteningly possessive harridan.
Why We Love It
Writer/director Barker shot this, his first major studio feature, in three weeks for just $750,000. He makes a lot out of very little, re-imagining a familiar story to startling effect. Key to its success is Navarette’s breakout performance as Nikki, a charming young woman who gradually turns into an unhinged lunatic thanks to Bear’s impulsive move. He ends up learning an important lesson the hard way: love must be earned. Don’t miss this unsettling, wildly entertaining entry from a filmmaker with a future.
What It’s About
In the midst of a brutal winter in Nazi-Occupied Russia, partisans Sotnikov (Plotnikov) and Rybak (Gostyukhin) venture out to find food for their ragtag group. Sotnikov gets wounded, and the pair take refuge in the small house occupied by Avginya (Polyakova), and her three small children. But it seems there’s no escaping the Nazis. These two men, thrown together by chance, will confront their fate in very different ways.
Why We Love It
Director Shepitko’s last and finest film (she was killed in a car accident in 1979), this stark, harrowing tale reinforces the futility of war, but also how it brings out the best, or worst, qualities in those who wage it. What makes one man willing to die for his principles, while another sacrifices his soul just to stay alive? Beautifully acted and gorgeously shot in black and white, “The Ascent” won the prestigious Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival. Its spare, unadorned power really stays with you. War is hell indeed.
What It’s About
In the Rangoon, Burma of 1917, British civil servant Edward (Waddington) awaits the arrival of his fiancée, Molly (Alfiate). Suddenly, he gets cold feet and hops a train to Bangkok. Undeterred, Molly tracks him across Asia. The star-crossed lovers experience a variety of colorful adventures on their respective travels, but will they ever get together?
Why We Love It
Gomes’s time- and mind-bending travelogue through Asia was shot mostly in black and white on sets during the pandemic, evoking the Golden Age of Hollywood. Intermittently, the director sprinkles in modern-day footage of Asia and other cultural signifiers like puppet shows, lending the film a dreamy, surreal quality. (The fact the English central characters speak Portuguese only adds to the dislocation.) Alfaiate steals the show as the buoyant Molly, whose infectious laugh recalls Carole Lombard or Diane Keaton. Tran is also memorable as Ngoc, the Vietnamese beauty who Molly befriends. For a trek into Asia no travel agent could replicate, take this “Tour”.
What It’s About
Twelve-year-old Simon (Klein) lives hand-to-mouth with his older sister Louise (Seydoux) in a shabby apartment complex just below a luxury ski resort in the Swiss Alps. He’s the family breadwinner, infiltrating the resort each day to steal skis, boots, goggles, and gloves, which he then resells. Meanwhile, Louise seems lost and broken, going from one transient relationship to another. Will this tiny, dysfunctional family survive?
Why We Love It
Director Meier, who also co-wrote the script, based her story on personal experience, having grown up in the same area and recalling a boy who always skied alone and was suspected of being a thief. This intimate, wrenching tale of haves and have-nots, of life eked out on the margins, soars thanks to a sensitive script and superb performances from the whole cast, including Seydoux, whose Louise breaks your heart, and young Klein, who won a Cesar for most promising actor. Anderson also registers in her first French-language film as an affluent English tourist. This “Sister” demands to be seen.
What It’s About
Violeta (Sevilla), a cabaret performer in the seedier section of Mexico City, witnesses the abuse of submissive colleague Rosa (Caballos) by vain, zoot-suited pimp Rodolfo (Acosta). When Rosa bears his child, Rodolfo won’t acknowledge it. Rosa then abandons the baby, Violeta rescues him and raises him as her own, aggravating the proud Rodolfo. These two are bound to tangle!
Why We Love It
Mexico’s foremost director at the time, Fernandez combines ripe melodrama, noir and some first-rate rumba numbers (Sevilla could really move!) to create something special. There’s little subtlety here, but a lot of ripe atmosphere and activity, captured in glorious B&W by Gabriel Figueroa. Star Sevilla’s high octane energy and fire burst off the screen. Dark but heroic in portraying a strong female protagonist, this “Sin” is not easily overlooked.
What It’s About
In earlier days, Edwin Honig was a distinguished poet and professor at Brown University. Now afflicted with Alzheimer’s, he still welcomes regular (filmed) visits from his younger cousin Alan Berliner, though Alan has to identify himself each time. Over time, Berliner gently questions Honig on what he can and can’t remember about his life. Depending on the day, we witness a range of emotions, from humor to frustration. Recent interviews alternate with family films of Edwin in his prime to paint an affecting human portrait.
Why we Love It
This risky, highly personal experiment could easily have felt exploitative, but Berliner’s tenderness and sensitivity towards Honig make it work. Though it sounds difficult to watch, “Cousin” is actually uplifting, and quite profound. The striking contrast between Edwin past and present illuminates a complex human being, warts and all, while shedding light on the devastating effects of this disease.
What It’s About
Maurice White formed Earth, Wind and Fire back in 1971, and four years later, hit super-stardom with their album, “That’s the Way of the World”. Director Questlove traces the group’s trajectory through the lens of White’s personal story. Abandoned early by his mother, he developed a burning ambition but struggled with emotional intimacy. His controlling nature and shabby treatment of band members (including half-brothers Verdine and Fred) eventually led to EWF’s demise, but the band would eventually reunite for a final triumphant concert run.
Why We Love It
Questlove’s fascinating doc profiling the greatest soul group of the seventies lets us luxuriate in that celestial music once again, as it delves into the complex life and psyche of its driving force. A musical genius, Maurice also carried demons. But what a legacy he left us. Don’t miss this riveting, revealing portrait of this iconic band, and the man behind it. this striking contrast illuminates the human being as a whole, past and present, while shedding light on the devastating effects of this disease.
What It’s About
Fact-based story centers on the charismatic Tony Wilson (Coogan), a Granada TV journalist in Manchester who founds Factory Records and helps drive a punk music explosion in 1976, which evolves into the Rave/DJ culture over the following decade. The city earns a new nickname over this period: “Madchester”. For Tony, it’s a bumpy but exhilarating ride, as he nurses the careers of bands like Joy Division and New Order.
Why we Love It
Featuring a gloriously profane script by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, this wildly creative, uproarious biopic takes us back to gritty Manchester for the birth of punk. Interspersed in the music narrative are hilarious sequences of Tony’s Granada reporting, which helped pay the bills. A brilliant Coogan carries the film, while pros Considine, James, and Harris animate the various scruffy characters surrounding Tony. Some of the real players of the time make cameo appearances as well. Turn up the volume for some propulsive performances too. For an infectious, nostalgic dose of sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, join the “Party”.
What It’s About
Once famous painter Julian Sklar (McKellen) is now in his mid-eighties, living in virtual seclusion in London. His past work includes some unfinished portraits of his old lover Christopher that would fetch top dollar if ever completed. Julian’s grown children Barnaby (Corden) and Sallie (Gunning) approach artist and restorer Lori Butler (Cole) with an audacious plan: Lori will become Julian’s assistant, and then finish “The Christophers” in secret. Then when Julian passes, they’ll share in the proceeds.
But they’ve sorely underestimated wily old Julian.
Why We Love It
Soderbergh’s clever, engaging black comedy, scripted by Ed Solomon, is first and foremost an ideal showcase for McKellen, in top form as a cranky, crusty painter who’s a lot sharper than he seems. He and Cole really are the whole show here, and they exhibit great chemistry so that’s enough. (Her Lori has enough intestinal fortitude to give Julian a run for his money). In the end, though, see this for McKellen – it’s sheer joy watching this old trouper do his thing, as only he can.
What It’s About
“Terrestrial Verses” presents nine vignettes of ordinary citizens in Iran grappling with the rigid strictures and bureaucracy of their theocratic government. There’s the new father (Ark) who gets discouraged from naming his son David (too western), and the female rideshare driver (Asgari) whose car gets impounded when traffic cameras catch her not wearing a hijab. Then there’s the young girl (Shabani) who clings to her love of music and dance even as she’s being fitted for a confining school uniform. The sequences build to a devastating indictment of Iranian society.
Why We Love It
Self-funded and shot in a week, Ali and Khatami’s subtle, stripped down film does a whole lot with very little. In each segment, the stationary camera is on the specific supplicant, with the voice of authority off camera. It’s unnerving, but the film’s outsize impact really comes from witnessing different examples of how the government tries to regulate most every aspect of people’s lives. Clocking in at a trim 77 minutes, “Terrestrial Verses” may be short, but there’s no denying its cumulative power.