“Enys Men”
Three years after his BAFTA-winning debut, “Bait,” Cornish filmmaker Mark Jenkin is back with a dreamy, “Solaris”-like exploration of grief and female identity. Mary Woodvine, a long-time collaborator of Jenkin’s, plays a nameless volunteer whose job it is to record the life and climate of an uninhabited island off the Cornish coast. All manner of nightmares come to pass, with each seemingly influenced by the presence of a strange menhir and the bloom of a rare flower. Our review from Cannes concluded: “The present trend of elevated horror be damned: this is how you do it.”
Release Date: TBD, via NEON.
“One Fine Morning”
Although it has markedly fewer ears (per person, that is) than “Crimes of the Future,” Mia Hansen-Løve‘s quiet indie romance features a no less captivating lead performance from Léa Seydoux, as a widowed single mother who, during a search for a place to move her ailing father (Pascal Greggory), falls in love with a married man (Melvil Poupaud). At Cannes, the film won the Europa Cinemas Label Award for Best European Film. Our review described it as “bittersweetly breezy” and “a film about the impermanence of what we love, but also of what burdens us. One fine morning it can all go straight to hell or turn around for the better.” – OW
Released Date: January 23, via Sony Pictures Classics.
“Rodeo”
Do you want to know more about France’s underground dirtbike scene and the female teens and young adults who pervade it? Of course, you do. Lola Quivoron’s thrilling coming-of-age directorial debut really dazzled audiences at Cannes last year. Her film centers on a young misfit who is passionate about riding and sets about infiltrating their male-dominated world of dirt biking, but an accident jeopardizes her ability to fit in. Our review of the film called it “striking…Quivoron aims to contrast with footage of the bikes, their loud sound like a defiant roar. ‘Rodeo’ is at its best when it stays down to earth, close to the pavement.” – RP
Release Date: TBD and still seeking U.S. distribution.
“Brother”
Canadian filmmaker Clement Virgo crashed onto the international filmmaking scene with 1992’s “Rude,” an acclaimed crime drama that had its world premiere in Cannes in the Un Certain Regard program. He was all set to be Hollywood’s next darling, but while tempted, Virgo stuck to Canada’s more marginalized film industry and, along the way, became more of a journeyman filmmaker, directing acclaimed episodes of “The Wire,” “The L Word,” and more. But audiences raved about his new film, “Brother” in a way they arguably haven’t since 1992. Starring Aaron Pierre (“The Underground Railroad”) and Lamar Johnson, the film is a simple but captivating tale of two brothers facing questions of masculinity, family, race, and identity. “Virgo’s “Brother” leaves you spellbound and grateful. Grateful for a filmmaker who cares deeply about the interior lives of Black people. And the light that shines within them,” our A-grade review wrote. An overdue comeback time? – RP
Release Date: TBD and still seeking U.S. distribution.
“Eight Mountains”
Belgian director Felix Van Groeningen (“Beautiful Boy”) is finally back after a four-year hiatus. For this latest feature, he has teamed up with Charlotte Vandermeersch, a first-time director, who starred in “The Misfortunates” and Groeningen’s Oscar-nominated drama “Belgica.” Their film charts the decades-long relationship between unlikely childhood friends Pietro (Luca Marinelli), a city dweller, and Bruno (Allesandro Borghi), the last child of a forgotten mountain community. Our review from Cannes called it “a sentimental ode to those singular friendships we make in our lives, the kind that can’t be severed by any amount of distance, physical or temporal. Even when there’s so much left unsaid, it’s the comfort they find in each other that resonates most.”
Release Date: TBD, Slideshow/Janus Films.
