With several slight releases out of the way, it’s time to go all in on award-season films opening alongside offerings like Kraven this week. This set of write-ups includes a historical drama, a biopic about an opera singer, an apocalyptic musical, an Iranian drama, an indie drama, a colorful anime, an Indian drama, and a dark crime comedy. The following features reviews for September 5, Maria, The End, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, The Last Showgirl, The Colors Within, All We Imagine as Light, Flow, and Lake George.
September 5: 7 out of 10
The Setup: During the 1972 Munich Olympics, ABC’s sports broadcasting crew finds itself thrust into covering the hostage crisis involving Israeli athletes.
Review: This film features a good enough idea for constructing a historical retelling of an intense situation. It is bolstered by strong yet unassuming work from its stars and an overall lack of showiness on the part of director Tim Fehlbaum. I was plenty intrigued by how this perspective could handle the hostage crisis that occurred during this time, but what I wasn’t counting on was how limiting it would all feel by having a film so deliberately take no stance on anything. It’s tricky territory to consider, as any movie depicting certain events from any point of view automatically tries to say something. If anything, this positioning has even more of an inverse effect on my thoughts on the film. September 5 seems quite proud of how much it’s not delving into anything that can’t be captured for television.
That said, as a thriller, the film does manage to be quite effective. There’s an urgency to the events transpiring. It is gripping to see what unfolds as we watch various parties argue not only how to cover what’s taking place but also the nature of why the ABC Sports crew is specifically holding onto the responsibility of covering it. Could that undermine what’s taking place regarding the terrorists involved? Perhaps, but that depends on how well this film balances those ideas. I have my issues, but I can also say that the strong work from this cast, particularly John Magaro and Ben Chaplin, adds to the proceedings. With some finessing, more importance could accompany this movie than it seems to feel it already has. As it stands, it’s still newsworthy enough.
Where To Watch: Opening in select theaters on December 13, 2024, and nationwide on January 17, 2025.
Maria: 7 out of 10
The Setup: Set during her final years, famed opera singer Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie) retreats to Paris in the 1970s after a glamorous yet tumultuous life in the public eye.
Review: Call me uncultured or take my age into account, but I frankly had no real frame of reference for Maria Callas. I’ve yet to become an opera person and attempting to name more than a couple of notable figures from that realm would be a challenge. With that in mind, given the success seen with director Pablo Larrain’s previous films focused on important 20th-century women, Jackie and Spencer, I was at least excited for Maria based on what I’ve come to expect in that regard. While I ultimately would position this as the least of those three features, there’s plenty to admire from what Larrain and writer Steven Knight conceived.
First and foremost, Jolie is terrific here. Regardless of how closely she resembles Callas or the fact that she does not possess one of the premiere opera voices in the world (I guess those are in short supply), allowing her to also sing, the performer brings her considerable gravitas as well as vulnerability that has positioned her as a movie star for multiple decades. Jolie fully inhabits the role, making the most of a tragic figure and working well with those around her, specifically those closest to Callas during her final days. On top of this, Edward Lachman’s cinematography does a fantastic job of capturing the time and highlighting the incredible costume design involved in portraying this period of Paris. Whether it was the inevitability of the narrative or something else that brings Maria slightly down compared to the other films in this Larrain trilogy, it’s still a worthwhile project with enough to showcase.
Where To Watch: Available to stream on Netflix starting December 11, 2024.
The End: 6 out of 10
The Setup: Twenty-five years after environmental collapse left the Earth uninhabitable, Mother (Tilda Swinton), Father (Michael Shannon), and Son (George MacKay) are confined to their palatial bunker, where they struggle to maintain hope and a sense of normalcy by clinging to the rituals of daily life. The arrival of a stranger (Moses Ingram) upsets this balance.
Review: Director Joshua Oppenheimer, who I primarily know as a documentarian responsible for the fantastic 2012 film The Act of Killing and its follow-up, 2014’s The Look of Silence, has made an apocalyptic musical. Not only that, but he’s loaded it with people I like for good measure. With that said, while I was fine with the film overall, it lacked more of a spark. Its unconventional nature didn’t feature enough eccentricity like Leos Carax’s Sparks-penned musical Annette, for example. Nor were the songs all that engaging outside of what was offered by the performances for some of them (Shannon and Swinton, in particular, as they can make weird compelling in many formats).
Even as a dystopian sci-fi film, there was only so much for this film to explore. At nearly two-and-a-half hours, one hopes to take away more than the kinds of messages one expects about people confined to a particular space because of a devastating event. I especially thought this due to the casting choices, as it felt as though Oppenheimer may have had other areas to cover. That is not really the case here, and while I also wouldn’t say I need race relations or anything similar to be a primary motivator for a story like this from a filmmaker like Oppenheimer, I did hope for something less uneven in terms of excitement. Still, there’s enough ambition on display to keep it from being a dead end.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig: 8 out of 10
The Setup: Shot entirely in secret, the story centers on a family thrust into the public eye when Iman (Missagh Zareh) is appointed an investigating judge in Tehran. As political unrest erupts in the streets, Iman realizes that his job is even more dangerous than expected, making him increasingly paranoid and distrustful, even of his own wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) and daughters Sana (Setareh Maleki) and Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami).
Review: Looking at the potential Best International Film lineup, it’s always interesting to see a film like The Seed of the Sacred Fig, which is all about an Iranian family, being submitted as Germany’s entry. Realizing why, it’s because this film had to be shot in secret, given the way it depicts and comments on the Iranian authority. Based on his actions, the film’s director, Mohammad Rasoulof, was actually sentenced to eight years in prison, only to have successfully fled to Germany before being taken into custody. This all has plenty of commonality with the film, which is rooted in the challenges a family faces due to their opposing allegiances when it comes to their understanding of why there’s so much political unrest going on in the streets.
While lengthy and slow-moving at first, the build-up to tenser situations really allows this film to shine in a whole new way. Compared to Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who assembles films in a more puzzle-like manner shaped by Kafkaesque circumstances, Rasoulof’s story is more of a powder keg. It feeds on the paranoia of the family patriarch, who leads his loved ones down a dangerous path involving interrogation tactics, a surprising car chase, and a thrilling climax. The fact that much of the plot ends up centered on the location of a missing gun certainly leads to plenty of thoughts about where this all ends up, but The Seed of the Sacred Fig is smart enough to find the right, if unexpected, path to a conclusion.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters.
The Last Showgirl: 5 out of 10
The Setup: After a successful thirty-year run, a seasoned Las Vegas showgirl (Pamela Anderson) must plan her future after the show closes abruptly, forcing her to reflect on her life choices.
Review: Many of today’s more familiar independent character dramas can be broken down in a manner that is exactly what The Last Showgirl has to offer. The quality of the performance or any intriguing approach the filmmaker takes sets the stronger examples apart. It’s why, year in and year out, we see some performances being praised out of nowhere, as they are films with little buzz in regards to the subject (an alcoholic, a former drug abuser, a recently paroled individual, etc.), yet they feature opportunities to see specific stars put it all out there in a way that is either unfamiliar or being seen for the first time by the right people. Not to be entirely dismissive, but it feels like that pattern is being applied to this movie despite lacking something I recognize as a genuine article.
Anderson has undoubtedly battled as well as embraced the trials and tribulations of being seen as a tabloid-friendly sex symbol during the peak of her career. Now, with the common choice by actors in these sorts of films to take off their makeup and speak in a lower register, it’s apparently time to see her for the actress she truly is. As it stands, I just wasn’t that impressed with this performance. Key showreel moments underwhelmed, and director Gia Coppola’s constrictive filmmaking choices didn’t help the proceedings. Fortunately, Anderson does have nice scene partners, such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Dave Bautista, and Billie Lourd, to help propel some of these key scenes. However, there’s just not much intrigue in a story I’ve seen in one form or another before, anchored by a performance that leaves a lot on the dance floor.
Where To Watch: Opening in select theaters on December 13, 2024, and nationwide on January 10, 2025.
The Colors Within: 7 out of 10
The Setup: Totsuko, who sees people’s emotions as colors, forms a band with Kimi and Rui. As they practice, music strengthens their bonds and reveals their true natures.
Review: As a big fan of the Shinichiro Watanabe adaptation of Kids on the Slope, perhaps I made myself too excited for the prospect of a feature-length anime focused on a new story about a group of high schoolers who form a band and bond over their love of music. I would say director Naoko Yamada’s The Colors Within sets up more than I feel it pays off (though the musical climax is pretty rockin’). From the outset, we are introduced to characters who are intriguing enough on their own and make for a nice grouping once brought together in a pretty off-the-cuff manner. That said, while still engaging enough, the film settles into a lower gear that doesn’t seem to relish enough in what it has going for it.
As one of a few films this year featuring characters who experience synesthesia (for this film, basically seeing colors when hearing music), I had expected an anime to make greater use of this aspect of the story, which it really doesn’t after a while. There are also teases of certain romantic angles that would be ambitious moves for the film. Yet, not a lot is accomplished on that front, either. I don’t think The Colors Within is afraid to take chances. However, I wondered what was holding this movie back from delivering more. Still, it’s a sweet enough film with a solid soundtrack.
Where To Watch: Opening in select Los Angeles theaters on December 13, 2024, and nationwide on January 24, 2025, with English dub options.
All We Imagine As Light: 8 out of 10
The Setup: In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha’s (Kani Kusruti) routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu (Divya Prabha), tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with her boyfriend.
Review: While watching this film, I couldn’t help but think director Payal Kapadia found a lot of influence from director Wong Kar-wai. Not at all a bad choice when it comes to iconic filmmakers to be inspired by. The audience is presented with overlapping stories with various meanings and visual choices to help influence the feeling of a scene. Whatever the case, there’s a wonderful human quality to All We Imagine as Light that reflected a modern India that I may not be familiar with, but I was happy to appreciate in terms of seeing the culture represented and the emotional journey being experienced.
With Indian cinema, in general, I’ve seen so much of late that has focused on how to express everything in the most maximalist way possible, accounting for many action films and thrillers (and yes, I’m aware I’m actively choosing to see those films to begin with). Here, we have a much quieter story rooted in characters, their dynamic, how religion and personal choices have shaped their lives, and what it means when these characters clash or come together. It amounts to a compelling yet intimate story, leading up to an unexpected climax that is pretty wonderful.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters.
Flow: 8 out of 10
The Setup: Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he finds refuge on a boat populated by various species, and will have to team up with them despite their differences.
Review: The Republic of Latvia’s entry for the Academy Awards is an easy contender for one of the best animated films of the year as well. Director Gints Zibalodis’ Flow delivers a dialogue-free fantasy adventure involving a grouping of animals dealing with the perils of a world going through a flood. Relying on an animation style that recalls an older period along with the cutscenes of a video game, mileage may vary on how compelling the look of the film is, let alone if there’s more or less emotional value because of it, but I can’t say I wasn’t wrapped up in all that was going on.
I also appreciated how grounded the behavior of the animals was in some reality. Sure, they are at a higher intelligence level in terms of being able to steer a boat. Still, there’s a restraint in how they move and behave to hold them back from feeling like cartoon creatures. Perhaps subsequent views will allow me to embrace the surrealism of the animation more, as I think that’s the only thing holding me back from really going over the top with praise for this film. That said, it presents interesting challenges rooted in survival with their own kind of power, making this a worthwhile watch.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters.
Lake George: 6 out of 10
The Setup: When ex-con Don (Shea Whigham), fresh out of prison, visits mobster Armen (Glenn Fleshler) to collect some money he’s owed, he’s instead assigned a final task: to take care of Phyllis (Carrie Coon). Don tries to carry out the job but finds he can’t pull the trigger. Instead, the pair of misfits set off on a road trip together, as their lives and standing with Armen become entangled.
Review: At the core of this neo-noir is a well-considered, darkly comedic thriller about a few lost souls who find something in one another. Yes, Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon are seemingly mismatched to allow for oddball chemistry that generates some laughs, but there’s something to this pairing that works quite well. Writer/director Jeffrey Reiner, veteran of TV filmmaking, has constructed this film to make the best use of its actors, even if it comes at the cost of pacing. Still, it’s an involving film that isn’t attempting to impress with any real visual flourishes. Instead, as a character study with the criminal element allowing for some additional provocation, I had enough fun following these two around.
It’s easy to list the Coen brothers as an inspiration for many of these kinds of movies (ones that aren’t kinetic enough to use Tarantino’s name instead). While that could apply here, the film works on its own level. Lake George has a way of approaching certain conventions for a movie like this, which I appreciated. Even the use of various character actors (never mind having Whigham lead a film) is refreshing enough to see. It only amounts to so much to satisfy, but no crime was committed here. It’s just an entertaining movie.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters and available on digital.
