A notable absence of Hollywood fanfare this year. For this reason, it felt smaller than previous years. Smaller films were able to take centre stage for once which was nice to see.
Fatherland (Dir. Pawel Pawlikowski)
Very moving, a personal highlight for me. It follows the German novelist Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika (Sandra Huller) returning to Germany after the war. There are themes of guilt, and identity and how Germany grapples with moving on with people coming home to their homeland, ie. can it ever be the Fatherland again after what happened. Pawlikowski has made a great film here but ultimately it is a wordy black and white drama that won’t suit everyone. I would be very surprised if it did Cold War numbers which grossed £1,147,000 in UK and Ireland.
John Lennon – The Last Interview (Dir. Steven Soderbergh)
They asked Soderbegh to say a few words at the start of this and he declined – I can see why. The film showcases Lennon’s last radio interview recorded in his home hours before he died. The subject matter was strong enough on its own and clever visuals and animation can bring this to life in a creative way (Moonage Daydream did this exceptionally well). But instead, as you listen to Lennon there is a ridiculous use of generative AI visuals on the screen. For example, as he talks in a nuanced way about masculinity and being a stay-at-home Dad there are generative AI images on the screen of bulked up cavemen. The use of AI was lazy and completely at odds with the subject matter. There were seats in the auditorium for Meta employees, and they seemed to be involved in the film. It was blasted online heavily. The actual last interview John Lennon ever recorded is the USP here and will find an audience despite its flaws, but it was significantly devalued by the AI slop.
Club Kid (Dir. Jordan Firstman)
This was a hot project, and it has already sold to A24. It’s a queer drama about a New York club promoter who discovers he has a 10-year-old son, so it turns into a film about two lost boys finding their way. I didn’t get a chance to see it but people talked about how much heart it had with lots of laughs and tears and likening it to ‘a gay Big Daddy (1999)’. The cast included Cara Delevingne.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (Dir. Jane Schoenbrun)
Gillian Anderson stars in this meta slasher film. It follows a young filmmaker who wants to reboot a horror franchise and enlists the help of the original ‘final girl’ (Anderson) from the first film and soon the blurred lines between fiction and reality creep in. Schoenbrun previously directed I Saw The TV Glow.
The Match (Dir. Juan Cabral and Santiago Franco)
This documentary focuses on Maradonna’s ‘hand of God’ moment at the World Cup Final. My friend saw this and said it is already a fascinating story but the way the film was structured made it even better. It takes a unique view on the match by jumping back and forth in time between the match and the Falklands War. Nice easter egg – the runtime was exactly 91 minutes, the same amount of time as the match was.
Parallel Tales (Dir. Asghar Farhadi)
This was a turkey from the famed Iranian director in my opinion, but it did divide people. Great French talent like Vincent Cassel, Isabelle Huppert and Catherine Deneuve but really poor writing let it down. Could only liken it to a well-shot Parisien Eastenders. It was also far too long.
Congo Boy (Dir. Rafiki Fariala)
This was a solid film, great feel-good music numbers in contrast to the civil unrest going on. In the Central African Republic. 17-year-old Robert dreams of a career in music, but civil war is tearing the country apart. When both his parents are thrown into prison, he is left to look after his four younger siblings on his own, juggling daily life, odd jobs, school exams and concert stages, determined to follow his dream. One for Picturehouse or Curzon.
Thank You for Coming (Dir. Alain Cavalier)
This really surprised me. It’s an observational French-language documentary about the director’s life as he submits a film to Cannes.
FILM FOR THOUGHT 