We’re well into awards season. We’ve just had the Golden Globes ceremony. The Academy Awards will be on March 2 and bets are being placed. Which films and people will be nominated? Which will take home one or more Oscars? Let’s start with the contenders playing at the ByTowne and the Mayfair in the latter half of January.
Late breaking news from the Mayfair! My top films of 2024 are both back – you can see both Flow and Anora at the Mayfair. either for the first time or for a repeat viewing. If you’ need to know why I love these films so much, and why you should see them on a big screen, read these previous Magic in the Dark articles: (1) (2) (3) (4)
In my last article, I said that I was looking forward to seeing The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Iranian directors have impressed me with their subtle–and sometimes not so subtle–critiques of their oppressive government via riveting stories of ordinary people. The Seed of the Sacred Fig is no exception. A middle-class family is disintegrating in a welter of lies and mistrust during the recent “Woman Life Freedom” uprising. The suspense–especially in the latter part of the film–had me holding my breath. I can’t stop thinking about some of the scenes. Continuing at the ByTowne.
Another film I recommended in previous articles (1) (2)–A Real Pain–has been doing well at recent awards ceremonies. I’m betting that Kieran Culkin will be a serious contender for either the Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor Oscar, as will Jesse Eisenberg for the Best Script Oscar. Continuing at the Mayfair.
Queer hasn’t received a lot of awards, but I think Daniel Craig’s searing performance as William Lee (William S. Burroughs’ semi-autobiographical creation) deserves recognition. I wrote about it a while back and will reiterate my recommendation. In my opinion, Craig’s acting range (James Bond to Benoit Blanc to William S. Burroughs) puts him in the top tier of film actors today. Queer is back at the Mayfair.
The Brutalist is many critics’ “Best Film of 2024.” This lengthy film (215 minutes, with an intermission) is about a visionary Jewish architect (Adrien Brody) who immigrates from Europe to the US after WWII to rebuild his career and marriage. He encounters a wealthy ambitious industrialist (Guy Pearce) who recognizes his talent and gives him a huge commission. The power imbalance between the two men, the lasting trauma of the war and anti-Semitism, and the immigrant pursuit of the American Dream are combined in a monumental portrait of post-war America. The Times critic wrote that The Brutalist was “shot on rarely seen 70mm film stock, which means that it looks like something beautiful, haunting and strange, but always from the long-forgotten past.” If you’d like to prepare yourself before seeing the film at the ByTowne, read the Wikipedia entry for Brutalist architecture.
Fans of the director Pedro Almodóvar or those two Oscar winners Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore will want to see The Room Next Door, Almodóvar’s first English-language feature film and Venice’s Golden Lion award winner. Swinton plays a dying former war correspondent. Moore plays her old friend whom Swinton convinces to assist her in her suicide, an illegal act in the U.S. At the ByTowne.
It wouldn’t be a Magic in the Dark article without a documentary. This month, I recommend Soundtrack to a Coup d’État at the ByTowne. It looks at the political events surrounding the 1961 American assassination of Congo’s charismatic leader, Patrice Lumumba. It explores how American jazz icons such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, and Nina Simone were unwittingly involved in the US’s colonial efforts in Africa during the Cold War. It’s fascinating stuff, and there are some great archival jazz performances.
There’s a tantalizing selection from the vault for your enjoyment.
Japanese director Yasujirō Ozu (Tokyo Story, Floating Weeds) is one of my favourite directors. So I was keen to see Good Morning at the ByTowne recently. As I said in my last Magic in the Dark, it’s a gentle satiric comedy about a suburban family whose two little boys go on a silent strike to convince their parents to buy a TV set. There’s more upheaval when some gossipy neighbours misinterpret the boys’ silence. The performances–especially by the little boys–are delightful. A thoroughly charming story.
The Mayfair’s Vampire Festival continues with a 1930s film I’d never heard of—Vampyr. I’m intrigued because it was directed by the Danish master, Carl Dreyer (The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Word); I had no idea that Dreyer was responsible for one of the first vampire movies. This gothic horror has a young student of the occult encounter ghostly beings at an inn, then a severely ill girl slowly becoming a vampire. He and her sister try to save her.
For more horror, there’s Stanley Kubrick’s dystopian A Clockwork Orange. Based on Anthony Burgess’s novel, it’s about a near-future Britain and a gang of teenage “droogs” led by Alex (Malcolm McDowell) whose favourite pastimes are casual sex, listening to Beethoven, and “a bit of the old ultra-violence.” After being arrested for murder, Alex is subjected to brutal behaviour modification which turns him into a passive “model citizen.” But what happens when he returns to society? A Clockwork Orange is among the most infamous and controversial mainstream movies ever made. See why at the ByTowne.
It’s a rare film that not only collects a shelf-full of Oscars but stands the test of time. Cabaret is such a film. In 1972, it won Oscars for Director, Lead Actress (Liza Minnelli), Supporting Actor (Joel Grey), Music, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound, and Art Direction. In 2022 The Guardian said, “Cabaret is still an amazing experience, a world fiddling while Rome prepares to burn: gloomily sexy, elegant, with an overwhelming sense of evil.” See it at the Mayfair.
Want something lighter to warm up your winter nights? For a rollicking good time, there’s the ByTowne’s Blue Monday special–a sing-along Mamma Mia!–and a Mayfair perennial fave, The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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 they post online and advertise via email. Both provide information about future weeks’ films. You can buy tickets via their weekly email and at the box office.
