Welcome to January 2025! January was named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings. Janus is usually depicted as having two faces – one facing the past and one facing the future. In this, my first article of the year, I’m going to imitate Janus because my two favourite films of 2024 – Flow and Anora – are still screening at the Mayfair and there are a bunch of not-to-be-missed films from the past at the ByTowne and the Mayfair.
So, let’s start with my favourite film of 2024: Flow. You can check out my reviews in one of my articles about September’s Ottawa International Animation Festival and these recent Magic in the Dark articles (1) (2) (3). Flow is the Latvian entry for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars; I hope it wins! It’s a rare film that will enthrall both kids and adults. Continuing at the Mayfair.
The second film on my list of 2024 favourites is Anora. I’ve written about it in my last four articles: (1) (2) (3) (4), and I know the Oscar nominations haven’t yet been announced, but if I were voting for the Oscars for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Feature Film, I’d be voting for Anora. Continuing at the Mayfair.
Now, let’s look back a bit.
The ByTowne has programmed a bevy of classic films in January, and one at the top of my list of must-sees in January is Good Morning, a family satire from 1959 by one of my favourite directors, Yasujiro Ozu. Most of his films aren’t available in North America and rarely in a cinema, so thank you, ByTowne, for this rare opportunity. The plot is simple: two young brothers stage a silent strike to push their parents into buying a TV set. Then the gossipy neighbours misunderstand the situation. But since the co-writer and director is Ozu, the film is “full of humanity, humour and moments of pathos” (The Observer). This may not be one of Ozu’s finest films, but he’s such a master of observing human relationships that Good Morning‘s Metacritic rating of 87 doesn’t surprise me.
Next on my list of classics is Robert Altman’s masterful McCabe and Mrs. Miller. This unorthodox 1971 western is about two chancers: McCabe (Warren Beatty), an unsuccessful gambler who has drifted into a ramshackle mining village in the Pacific Northwest, intent on setting up a saloon and brothel, and Mrs. Miller (Julie Christie), a hardened madam with a stable of prostitutes. They quickly go into business together and, for a while, are successful. A tentative romance blossoms between them, but as the village grows, a rapacious corporation arrives. The outstanding performances by Beatty and Christie, the exquisite cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond, and the haunting lyrics sung by Leonard Cohen combine to make this Altman’s most emotional and poetic film.
He’s directed only a few films, but former Python Terry Gilliam will surely be remembered for his dystopian masterpiece Brazil. As I described in my last article, Brazil is in an insanely bureaucratic technological nightmarish sort-of-British society. A hapless minor bureaucrat (Jonathan Pryce) follows his romantic dreams into an increasingly dangerous adventure involving mistaken identity, a rogue electrician/“terrorist” (Robert de Niro) and a mysterious young woman (Kim Griest). The cast is rounded out by a stellar cast which includes Ian Holm, Katherine Helmond, Bob Hoskins, Ian Richardson, Jim Broadbent, and a truly evil Michael Palin. The remarkable sets and costumes must be seen on a big screen for full effect.
Not to be outdone, the Mayfair has programmed what many consider Stanley Kubrick’s greatest masterpiece—2001: A Space Odyssey. If there was ever a film that must only be seen on a big screen, it’s this one.
Another classic, Dog Day Afternoon, continues at the Mayfair. As I said in my last article, it may have Al Pacino’s finest role. I think it’s one of director Stanley Lumet’s best films, right up there with Network and The Pawnbroker.
Bram Stoker’s tale of Dracula, aka Nosferatu, has been filmed many times, most recently by Robert Eggers in 2024. One of my favourite versions is Werner Herzog’s 1979 Nosferatu the Vampyre, which stars Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Harker, Isabelle Adjani as Lucy Harker, and Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula (a role I think he was born to play). At the Mayfair.
For foreign art film buffs, Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky’s films are important works of art. His final film, The Sacrifice, was made in 1986. It’s a haunting vision of a world threatened with nuclear annihilation. A wealthy Swedish family celebrating the birthday of their patriarch Alexander (Erland Josephson) on a remote Baltic island learns that WWIII has broken out. They descend into deep fear and despair. Alexander enters a Faustian bargain with God to save his loved ones from their overwhelming fear. This Metacritic must-see is at the ByTowne.
Nicole Kidman seems drawn to dramas with an erotic component. To my knowledge, her first such film was Gus Van Sant’s 1995 To Die For. Kidman plays Suzanne Stone, a TV “weather girl” who will do anything to be famous. To Die For scored an 86 on Metacritic and was compared favourably with Network, the iconic television satire when it was released. This is your chance to see why.
For Monty Python fans, there’s Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. It covers birth, growing up, sex education, war, middle age, organ transplants, obesity, old age, and death… and does so with delightfully gross and goofy satiric humour. Take a friend to the ByTowne so you can quote bits of the dialogue to each other after the screening.
Additionally, we get to look forward to these recently released films.
My last article introduced you to A Real Pain. Having just seen the film, I agree with all the positive things critics have written about Jesse Eisenberg’s sharp script, seamless direction, and perceptive acting as the uptight cousin of one-half of the film’s odd couple. But Kieran Culkin is a real revelation as the manic-depressive cousin struggling with grief. You can see this gem of indie filmmaking at both cinemas.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig has received much international press because of its backstory. Mohammad Rasoulof made the film in secret in Iran. While still editing it, he was condemned by the authorities to eight years in prison for criticizing the government. He managed to flee Iran, taking the film with him. His drama/thriller is about a father, Iman, appointed as an investigating judge in Tehran. Initially delighted, he soon finds that his job comes with dangers, even to his family. Under stress, Iman becomes increasingly distrustful of his wife and two daughters. The film won a Special Prize at Cannes and has been entered by Germany (where Rasoulof now lives) as Germany’s entry into the Oscars’ International Feature Film category. With universal acclaim (a Metacritic rating of 85), this comes highly recommended. At the ByTowne.
Oscar winner (for his starring role in Oppenheimer) Cillian Murphy has produced and stars in Small Things Like These, which I described in one of my December articles. This fact-based drama based on recent Irish history has a Metacritic rating of 82 and is playing at the ByTowne.
There’s more history to be found in the lushly beautiful Vermiglio. It’s set in a mountain village in the Italian Alps in the waning days of WWII. A large family suffers dramatic consequences when an AWOL Sicilian soldier hides in their village. The film won the Silver Lion in Venice and has an 84 Metacritic rating. At the ByTowne.
I recommended the quirky, touching Australian animated drama Memoir of a Snail in my last three Magic in the Dark articles (1) (2) (3). It has a Metacritic score of 83 and still plays at the Mayfair.
As we enter a new year, I wish you a wonderful year full of great cinema!
Dates, times, and tickets for the ByTowne are at www.bytowne.ca. You can also buy tickets at the box office. The ByTowne publishes its calendar several weeks in advance. Dates, times, and tickets for the Mayfair are at www.mayfairtheatre.ca. The Mayfair finalizes its upcoming films’ schedule every week posting online and advertising via email. Both provide information about future weeks’ films. You can buy tickets via their weekly email and at the box office.
