10 films not to miss at Los Cabos 2018!
AMERICAN ANIMALS by Bart Layton
British filmmaker Bart Layton’s acclaimed heist film, which world premiered at Sundance, is based on a real story: the peculiar robbery of several highly valuable books, planned and executed by four young men disguised as old people, at Transylvania University in December 2004.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Friday, November 9 (14:00 hrs.) and Sunday, November 11 (17:30 hrs.).
BLACKkKLANSMAN by Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s latest joint is based on the incredible true story of an African American police officer who, in the seventies, managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. With stunning performances by John David Washington, Adam Driver and Topher Grace, Lee’s film is equally funny, brutal and very pertinent for the turbulent times that Trump’s America is going through.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Saturday, November 10 (Closing Gala, 20:30 hrs.) and Sunday, November 11 (17:45 hrs.).
BORDER by Ali Abbasi
Sweden’s official entry for the upcoming Academy Awards was based on a short story by the writer of Let the Right One In, John Ajvide Lindqvist. Border is a unique and worthy film that, through a fascinating protagonist (played by Eva Melander), mixes Scandinavian folklore with such issues as customs police and pedophilia.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Thursday, November 8 (13:30 hrs.), Friday, November 9 (16:00 hrs.) and Saturday, November 10 (18:15 hrs.).
DESTROYER by Karyn Kusama
Karyn Kusama’s first movie since The Invitation, Destroyer, features megastar Nicole Kidman as a detective in Los Angeles who, in the past, was part of an undercover mission that made her infiltrate the rough gang world in a Californian desert. In the present, the protagonist must face her demons once the leader of said gang reappears.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Thursday, November 8 (17:45 hrs.) and Sunday, November 11 (17:00 hrs.).
LORDS OF CHAOS by Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund, the director of the underrated Spun, adapted the book Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground, which tackles Norway’s crazy and violent black metal scene from the early nighties, including the story of the band Mayhem.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Thursday, November 8 (17:45 hrs.) and Saturday, November 10 (20:30 hrs.).
MANDY by Panos Cosmatos
Sure, Panos Cosmatos’ second film, Mandy, is already available on Blu-ray, however this exciting and crazy movie (absolutely one of the year’s best), starring the legendary Nicolas Cage as a man seeking revenge with a chainsaw among his weapons, is as visually rich as Beyond the Black Rainbow, maintaining that dreamy and psychedelic aspect as well, therefore demanding to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Los Cabos is the festival that’s bringing Mandy to Mexico for the first time!
You can read my interview with Cosmatos here.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Thursday, November 8 (20:30 hrs.) and Friday, November 9 (20:30 hrs.).
THE FAVOURITE by Yorgos Lanthimos
After the great The Killing of a Sacred Deer, a film close to horror, Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos is back with The Favourite, which looks like something completely different. Starring Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, and winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, this is a period piece set in England about the relationship between three women, the queen, her closest friend and her new servant.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Wednesday, November 7 (Opening Gala, 20:00 hrs.) and Thursday, November 8 (20:00 hrs.).
THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE by Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam’s attempt to adapt the classic Spanish novel Don Quixote is notorious for its countless setbacks, including the cancelled production that’s the subject of the 2002 documentary Lost in La Mancha. Gilliam’s The Man Who Killed Don Quixote finally premiered at Cannes this year, yet legal problems followed and consequently, the movie hasn’t been commercially released in that many territories. So I wouldn’t miss this chance to watch it on the big screen.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Saturday, November 10 (12:15 hrs.) and Sunday, November 11 (12:15 hrs.).
THE SISTERS BROTHERS by Jacques Audiard
Jacques Audiard’s first film since winning the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes, thanks to Dheepan, is a western with dark comedy that stars John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal. Winner of the Silver Lion award for best director at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and set in the 1850s, it’s about the adventures of a pair of notorious killers known as the Sisters brothers.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Thursday, November 8 (15:30 hrs.) and Saturday, November 10 (14:30 hrs.).
UNDER THE SILVER LAKE by David Robert Mitchell
After the success of It Follows, David Robert Mitchell returned with Under the Silver Lake, a neo-noir set in Los Angeles with Andrew Garfield in the archetypical role of the “detective” trying to find out what happened to his disappeared neighbor (Riley Keough). A divisive film since its Cannes premiere, Under the Silver Lake won't open in the United States until April 2019, so a Mexican release is not likely to happen anytime soon, therefore I would make it a priority at the fest.
Screenings at Los Cabos: Saturday, November 10 (18:15 hrs.) and Sunday, November 11 (15:00 hrs.).
