What to watch in cinemas this week | Oct. 24-30
La Cocina, Conclave, Venom: The Last Dance, Dahomey, Memoir of a Snail, Langue Étrangère, The Room Next Door, and Kiki's Delivery Service.
Each week I provide a somewhat-curated list of films to see in cinemas. Meant as more of a resource than weekly essay, you can refer to this series whenever you feel like going to the movies. Also, can check out previous weeks’ selections because those films might still be in theaters.
(Note: The Apprentice, which I saw last week, was fun! It had a great Trump performance by Sebastian Stan, who didn’t do some buffoonery SNL nonsense, and Jeremy Strong even upends his Kendall Roy performance. The big problem is that it’s coming out at the worst possible time, when everyone is tired of the guy because consumption of his content is too damn high. Too bad, because this bio-pic is one of the more interesting in the genre to come out.
Recommendation of the week
La Cocina (Alonso Ruizpalacios)
ranked eighth in my Berlinale viewings out of thirty-six. It’s visually fascinating but the pace falters by the end, which will alienate anyone not entirely on board with the film up to that point. I also wrote about it in another of my Berlinale blobs, so you can check that out.
Plot bio: It is the lunchtime rush at The Grill, a New York tourist trap that serves thousands of customers on a regular Friday like today. Money has gone missing from the till and all the workers are being questioned.
Limited release, only in USA.
Wide releases
Conclave (Edward Berger)
is Berger’s follow-up to his thrumpy-slumpy All Quiet on the Western Front. It stars Lord Voldemort himself as well as everyone’s favorite actor-food writer, Stanley Tucci. This will definitely be in the awards race, as its a more serious Roman Catholic thriller than the Dan Brown adaptations.
Plot bio: After the unexpected death of the Pope, Cardinal Lawrence is tasked with managing the covert and ancient ritual of electing a new one. Sequestered in the Vatican with the Catholic Church’s most powerful leaders until the process is complete, Lawrence finds himself at the center of a conspiracy that could lead to its downfall.
German release November 21.
Venom: The Last Dance (Kelly Marcel)
is finally here, have fun all you Venom-heads, I wish I could be as attached to a series of movies as you.
Plot bio: Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.
German release same week.
Limited releases
Dahomey (Mati Diop)
is another Berlinale release, this one actually won the Golden Bear (for pretty smelly socio-political reasons), and I ranked it 25/36. At a sweet sixty-eight minutes, it feels more like a museum video production for an exhibition, but there is one brilliant scene with students in Dahomey talking about what pieces of art returning from a colonizer means to them today.
Plot bio: November 2021. 26 royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey are about to leave Paris to return to their country of origin, the present-day Republic of Benin. Along with thousands of others, these artefacts were plundered by French colonial troops in 1892. But what attitude to adopt to these ancestors’ homecoming in a country that had to forge ahead in their absence? The debate rages among students at the University of Abomey-Calavi.
Also released in Germany this week.
Memoir of a Snail (Adam Elliot)
is on the up and up after just winning the top award at the BFI London Film Festival. It’s a stop motion animated film that, like The Wild Robot, is stepping in the critical void the Disney and other American production companies have left wide open.
Plot bio: In 1970s Australia, Grace’s life is troubled by misfortune and loss. After their mother dies during pregnancy, she and her twin brother, Gilbert, are raised by their paraplegic-alcoholic former juggler father, Percy. Despite a life filled with love, tragedy strikes anew when Percy passes away in his sleep. The siblings are forcibly separated and thrust into separate homes.
No German release planned so far.
German-exclusive
Langue Étrangère (Claire Burger)
ranked even higher than La Cocina on my Berlinale list, but isn’t my recommendation because that’s what time/reflection does to a film (so be sure check out my original write-up on it). It’s not to say that it’s not enjoyable, which it is, but it hasn’t made a lasting impression.
Plot bio: Fanny, a shy and lonely teenager, goes on a language exchange to Germany. In Leipzig, she meets her pen pal, Lena, a teenager eager to become politically active. Fanny is troubled. To win over Lena, she invents a life for herself, to the extent of becoming trapped in her lies.
No US release planned so far.
The Room Next Door (Pedro Almodóvar)
won the Golden Lion at the Venice film festival last month. This is the ultimate not-for-me movie: old person coming to grips with their death and her death-fearing friend helping her. I didn’t have a problem with this being Almodóvar’s first English-language feature, I think it adds a lot of personal charm, but his films in general don’t resonate.
Plot bio: Ingrid and Martha were close friends in their youth, when they worked together at the same magazine. Ingrid went on to become an autofiction novelist while Martha became a war reporter, and they were separated by the circumstances of life. After years of being out of touch, they meet again in an extreme but strangely sweet situation.
Releases in the USA in January.
Special release
Kiki’s Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki)
is having its 35th anniversary re-release. Check it out!
Plot bio: A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
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