A very packed weekend with many films in different genres getting released, led by a highly acclaimed Oscar nominated film from Lebanon, and two highly anticipated Hindi films, so keep reading.
Capharnaum
Directed by: Nadine Labaki
With: Zain Al Rafeea, Yordanos Shiferaw, and Boluwatife Treasure Bankole
What is it about? While serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.
Heads Up? This Oscar nominated film from Lebanon also won The Jury Prize in Cannes last year. Arab cinema doesn’t make as many acclaimed films as it used to be, so whenever such a film come out we ought to support them. I would say this one is a must-see.
Photograph
Directed by: Ritesh Batra
With: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, and Akash Sinha
What is it about? A struggling street photographer in Mumbai, pressured to marry by his grandmother, convinces a shy stranger to pose as his fiancée. The pair develop a connection that transforms them in ways they could not expect.
Heads Up? Photograph is yet another romance drama from the director of one of my all time favorite Hindi films The Lunchbox. This is another film that you should find time to watch before it disappears from screens.
Mere Pyare Prime Minister
Directed by: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
With: Anjali Patil, Rasika Agashe, Sonia Albizuri, and Syna Anand
What is it about? A story about four children living in a Mumbai slum in India. An eight-year old Kanhu writes a letter to the Prime Minister after a dramatic incident with his mother. A small boy has to achieve the impossible.
Heads Up? Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has made a few notable films like Rang De Basanti and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. This film tackles the serious problem of sexual assault against women in poor society and shows its aftermath through the prospect of a child. I think it’s an interesting angle so I am interested.
Greta
Directed by: Neil Jordan
With: Isabelle Huppert, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Maika Monroe
What is it about? A young woman befriends a lonely widow who’s harboring a dark and deadly agenda towards her.
Heads Up? Neil Jordan is the director of The Crying Game, Interview with A Vampire, and The Brave One. but he has not made a memorable film in a decade. Greta is met with mixed reviews and failed to register with audience in the US despite its great two lead actresses. I am still curious, but it’s not a must-see for me.
The Hole in The Ground
Directed by: Lee Cronin
With: Seána Kerslake, James Quinn Markey, Simone Kirby
What is it about? Trying to escape her broken past, Sarah O’Neill is building a new life on the fringes of a backwood rural town with her young son Chris. A terrifying encounter with a mysterious neighbour shatters her fragile security, throwing Sarah into a spiralling nightmare of paranoia and mistrust, as she tries to uncover if the disturbing changes in her little boy are connected to an ominous sinkhole buried deep in the forest that borders their home.
Heads Up? This Irish horror film has garnered some excellent reviews which emphasize its creepiness and beautiful cinematography if not its inventiveness. Our own Faizan Rashid was more mixed on it, and in his 2½ stars review he wrote: “The Hole in The Ground is the competent debut of director Lee Cronin who plays within the expected confines of the canon but never pushes hard enough to try and elevate or break away into the unexpected”.
Wonder Park
Directed by: David Feiss, Robert Iscove, Clare Kilner
With: John Oliver, Ken Jeong, Kenan Thompson, Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Garner, and Mila Kunis
What is it about? the story of a magnificent amusement park where the imagination of a wildly creative girl named June comes alive.
Heads Up? This animation film is about children imagination and how it comes to life in the most creative way. This has been treated in a more nuanced way films like The Lego Movie. That said, it’s a movie aimed to children, and I am sure they will appreciate it more than adults.
