What’s playing at the ByTowne and the Mayfair? Lots of Oscar contenders!
I’ll start with Perfect Days, Japan’s entry for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. I wrote about it in my last article. Having seen it, I concur with every positive review (and there have been many) of this wonderful film. As Time magazine says, “There’s something inexplicably Wenders-like about it: he’s a filmmaker who looks for joy in the corners, and finds it.” Continuing at the ByTowne.
I praised The Zone of Interest in my last Magic in the Dark article and the two before that. It won the Cannes’ Grand Prix, is nominated for a slew of Oscars, and is a Metacritic must-see. See why for yourself at both the Mayfair and the ByTowne.
La passion de Godin Bouffant (The Taste of Things) is another film I wrote about and have since seen at the ByTowne. It’s ravishingly beautiful (the cinematographer and director deserve a slew of awards). It’s also a wonderful romance about two people “of a certain age” who have worked together on their mutual passion—the creation of magnificent meals—for two decades. A Metacritic must-see.
I’ve been recommending Anatomy of a Fall to you since last October, so if you still haven’t seen it or want to savour it again, you can at the ByTowne. It’s another Metacritic must-see.
Other Oscar-nominated films I recommended in my last article were the live-action and animated short films. Having seen both (they’re still playing at the ByTowne), I know which live-action short and animated short I’m pulling for!
American Fiction (at the ByTowne) has nominations for Best Picture and Best Actor, as well as Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Music Score. It’s a timely story about a Black American novelist struggling to get published, but is repeatedly told his writing isn’t “Black enough.” In frustration, he pens a novel that appears to be written by a survivor of an American urban ghetto. Of course, it’s a huge success. Another Metacritic must-see.
lo Capitano is another film at the ByTowne nominated for Best International Feature Film. This Italian film has won several international awards, including a Silver Lion in Venice for director Matteo Garrone, who directed Gomorrah, about the pervasive influence of the Mafia on Naples. lo Capitano is about two Senegalese teenagers trying to get from Dakar to Europe via the Sahara and a North African prison, then onto the Mediterranean in a frail boat. Several reviews have praised that the boys are relatable people, not symbols or object lessons. A Metacritic must-see film.
The Teachers’ Lounge, which is playing at the Mayfair, is Germany’s submission for Best International Feature Film. An idealistic teacher tries to unravel a series of thefts at school, with dire consequences. A Metacritic must-see.
Both cinemas are hosting free Academy Awards live broadcasts on March 10. The ByTowne’s Oscar night tickets are free; they’re also collecting for Cystic Fibrosis Canada. The Mayfair’s event for the big night is free for members. They’re selling a menu item from The SmoQue Shack and beer from Beyond the Pale.
Here are four new films that aren’t nominated for Oscars, but are worthy of your consideration.
At the ByTowne, About Dry Grasses, by award-winning Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylon, has been described as Chekhovian. The main character (in this case, a frustrated teacher) is stuck in a rural backwater, yearning for “civilization.” He and his fellow teachers have long conversations, though rarely saying what they mean. Then a schoolgirl’s love note throws things into disarray. The Globe and Mail’s Barry Hertz says “this masterpiece… is the best kind of slow-burn drama, searing and severe.” Another Metacritic must-see.
Ru has been breaking box office records in Quebec. It’s a compelling story about the wartime trauma and wrenching dislocations refugees face. You can read more about it in my recent Magic in the Dark article. At the ByTowne.
One Life is another refugee story, this one about English stockbroker Nichols Winton who, almost singlehandedly, saved hundreds of Jewish children from the Holocaust by arranging train passage for them to Britain (known as the Kindertransport). But because he couldn’t save all the children trapped in Nazi-controlled territory, Winton was plagued by guilt. Anthony Hopkins plays Winton as an old man. At the ByTowne.
All you cat lovers can start March off purrfectly with the 2024 New York Cat Film Festival at the Mayfair. A portion of every ticket goes to Ottawa Stray Cat Rescue or Adopt Me Cat Rescue.
Now for some older films…
How about some East Coast showbiz razzle-dazzle? I’m thinking The Muppets Take Manhattan! Join Kermit, Miss Piggy and their friends as they attempt to make it on Broadway. Just in time for spring break! At the ByTowne.
Still in NYC but nowhere near Broadway, I urge you to see the film that put Martin Scorsese (and Robert de Niro and Harvey Keitel) onto many critics’ “new talent!” lists: Mean Streets. At the ByTowne.
Heading west to Las Vegas, Francis Ford Coppola’s One from the Heart; Reprise. Think you know what to expect in a Coppola film (The Godfather, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now)? This romantic bagatelle will surprise you.
I’ve saved (one of) the best films for last. Because it’s Oscar month, it’s fitting that the ByTowne is showing The Player, Robert Altman’s brilliant satire/murder mystery that skewers the Hollywood studio system. It also features the starriest list of supporting roles and cameos I’ve ever seen. It seems as if half of Hollywood shows up in this picture! Don’t miss it at the ByTowne. And yes, it’s another Metacritic must-see.
Dates, times and tickets for the ByTowne are at www.bytowne.ca. The ByTowne publishes its calendar at least three weeks in advance. Dates, times and tickets for the Mayfair are at www.mayfairtheatre.ca. The Mayfair announces next week’s schedule on Tuesdays, so check their website for the latest info on the next week and the “coming soon” films.
