Do you want to ramp up your emotions? Get lost in a beautiful allegory? Laugh at a tall American in Japan? Here are a few suggestions for the weekend.
Sisu: Road to Revenge
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Sony Pictures. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
Our own Kurt Halfyard saw the film at Toronto After Dark last month and introduced his review thusly:
"After the epic Western-Thunderdome Nazi-killing smorgasbord that was Sisu, Finnish director Jalmari Helander returns to his large northern Europe canvas for another round of battle with Finland's enemies. This time, it's in the key of Mad Max: Fury Road, against an arrogant and sadistic Soviet Army, in Sisu: Road to Revenge (hereafter, Sisu 2)."
In a review full of irresistible pull-quotes, I'll pull one more: " If the first Sisu was nuke-the-fridge kind of fun, Sisu 2 launches the fridge, the house, and the whole neighbourhood into the whirlwind."
Angel's Egg
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via GKids Films. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
"What do birds dream of?" Director Mamoru Oshii, who would go on to make Ghost in the Shell, answers that question in stunning fashion. Coinciding with the film's 40th anniversary, the film has received a director-approved 4K restoration for its "first-ever North American-wide theatrical release," per an official release.
As I tried to explain in my review, the film is not the easiest to grasp, initially. Yet, "Angel's Egg is awash in hand-drawn beauty. The spare settings, and the forward momentum, combine to enable the imagery to seep easily into the soul. The two characters keep moving through their own world of stark beauty and troubling signs of wonder.
"Frankly, after one viewing, I don't fully understand what every image means. But I don't really care; it doesn't detract from my enjoyment. It's gorgeous and distinctive, and I want more. Happily, Oshii has created even more ambitious and accomplished work over the past 40 years. Angel's Egg shows where he (basically) started from, and it's quite a dreamy ride."
The Red Spectacles
The film is now playing, only at the Metrograph in New York. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
After Angel's Egg, director Mamoru Oshii made a live-action picture that has also been rarely seen in the U.S. since its release, which makes its new release something special.
Our critic Maxwell Rabb analyzed the film in depth in his review, which concluded: "The Red Spectacles tackles some well-worn fears of authoritarianism, yet refracts them through Oshii's unmistakably strange, singular vision. What was once a misunderstood black comedy is now being reconsidered as a legendary and provocative part of Oshii's filmography. And its feverish depiction of dystopia somehow rings truer, as madness becomes an ever more normal part of our daily lives."
Kokuho
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via GKids Films. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
We first heard about the film from Blake Simon's wonderful interview with director Lee Sang-il. We also got a good overview on the director's work from Maxwell Rabb's 'Playback' colum.
The film itself is somewhat of a mixed bag, per our reviewer Daniel Egan: "Instead of an involving plot, Kokuho offers the splendor of kabuki, performed and shot with meticulous care. ... Director Lee Sang-il stages these brilliantly, DP Sofian El Fani's camera swirling around, up, and below the performers.
"Even the rehearsals are fascinating. When Kikuo and Shunsuke practice by a river, the camera spies on them from the water, then from a bridge, then under blossoming cherry trees."
Rental Family
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Searchlight Pictures. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
The film's premise initially made me flinch away: "An American actor in Tokyo struggling to find purpose lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese 'rental family' agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. He rediscovers purpose, belonging, and the beauty of human connection."
Then I saw the name of the director: Hikari, who has helmed episodes of the brilliant Beef, as well as episodes of the better-than-expected American reporter in Japan series Tokyo Vice. One of our lead critics, Mel Valentin, filed his review, and noted:
"Rental Family certainly doesn't disappoint on that level, tying up every loose end, and every dangling plot thread before the end credits roll. And while it starts to feel overtly manipulative (as opposed to covertly), Rental Family undeniably works on a fundamentally emotional level, ultimately delivering a generous, even optimistic ending for Phillip and everyone in his immediate orbit that feels as well-deserved as it does inevitable.
"Hikari excels on a narrative level, keeping exposition to a minimum, especially questions surrounding Phillip's background beyond the basics (e.g., a successful ad campaign as a toothpaste-related superhero) or why he decided to remain in Japan and not return to the United States."
Wicked: For Good
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Universal Pictures. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes.
Mel Valentin also filled us in on a musical sequel that may only appeal to hardcore fans: "Wicked: For Good, while thankfully leaner than part I, remains a perfect example of a studio-mandated, unnecessary splitting of an otherwise single, cohesive story into multiple parts (aka "The Harry Potter Syndrome").
"This can -- and often does -- lead into endlessly padded, extraneous scenes, not-quite-literal examples of throat clearing and plate-spinning to retain the illusion of forward momentum, and musical numbers that simultaneously feel overstuffed and underwhelming, each, in turn, doubling as an example of Wicked: For Good's core issue, its combined five-hour running time with its predecessor."
If you'd like a more traditional-style arthouse drama with a modern-day theme, here's a film from India.
Cactus Pears
The film is now playing, only in movie theaters, via Strand Releasing. Visit the official site for locations and showtimes -- click on "Screenings."
This is definitely a film that requires patience, as it moves deliberately to establish the restrictive society in which the two leads must live. And it has a good ending.
Officially: "Anand, a 30-something city dweller compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India, tenderly bonds with a local farmer who is struggling to stay unmarried. As the mourning ends, forcing his return, Anand must decide the fate of his relationship born under duress."
Now Playing celebrates the theatrical experience.