There’s a bracing selection of new films and golden oldies—including one for winter sports aficionados and one for the kids—at Ottawa’s independent cinemas.
Let’s start with the new films. Testament and Priscilla will end soon at the ByTowne, so don’t dawdle!
Testament is from esteemed Quebec director Denys Arcand (Jésus de Montréal, The Decline of the American Empire). It stars one of my favourite actors, Rémy Girard, as a retired archivist who lives in a retirement home. The home is besieged by a passel of young non-Indigenous folks protesting a mural in the residence, claiming it insults First Nations. The home’s director (the superb Sophie Lorain) is a harried civil servant with a tragic past. When I saw Testament, the audience and I repeatedly laughed out loud, then applauded as the credits rolled. Arcand’s satirical jabs at Quebec politicians and senior bureaucrats are so effective! A delightful and charismatic satire.
Sophia Coppola’s Priscilla brings Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s autobiography Elvis and Me to the big screen, starting with her long courtship (she was in Grade 9 when she met him!) and ending when she walks out of their turbulent marriage. I especially admired Callee Sweeney’s portrayal of Priscilla, which ranges from a callow 14-year-old to a disillusioned wife and mother in her late 20s. At the ByTowne.
Continuing at the Mayfair, Anatomy of a Fall is a suspenseful thriller about an unsympathetic German woman put on trial for the murder of her French husband, who plunged to his death from the top floor of their chalet in the French Alps. Did he jump or was he pushed? If it was murder, did she do it? And what did their blind son “see” that day? The most shocking thing for me was how different the French legal system is from Canada’s—you won’t believe how the police, the lawyers, and the judge behave! The film won this year’s Palme d’Or.
Of Fallen Leaves, the ByTowne says, “forms the fourth instalment of Aki Kaurismäki’s working-class trilogy.” This tender tragicomedy is a beguiling and gentle tale about the kind of quiet folks most of us never notice. Two lonely souls, Amelia and Daniel, meet one night in Helsinki. Love blooms, but he doesn’t ask her name and then loses her number. As the Bard said, “The path of true love never did run true.” One of the many delights of this film is the plethora of classic film posters and other cinema references—a real treat for us cinephiles.
The Delinquents is another quirky film at the ByTowne that puts an intriguing twist on the bank heist film. Morán, an unassuming Argentinian bank employee, steals $650,000, then offers half of it to a fellow employee, Román, if Román will keep it while Morán is in jail. Morán then turns himself in. He figures three years in prison with $325,000 afterwards is better than spending the rest of his working life at the bank. As in every heist film, things do not go according to plan. A Metacritic must-see film.
At the Mayfair, director Todd Hayes’ May December is another Metacritic must-see film. Two decades before the action, a love affair between an older woman (Julianne Moore) and a teenage boy (Charles Melton) was splashed all over the tabloids. Now leading a seemingly perfect suburban life, the couple is disrupted by a famous TV actress (Natalie Portman) who wants to research her upcoming role as the older woman.
The ByTowne has two documentaries, one from 2023 and one from 1967, that will interest niche audiences.
Warren Miller’s ALL TIME is a collection of 74 years of Miller filming various snow sports, both competitive and extreme. His cinematography—particularly when considering the environment he worked in and the equipment he used—is outstanding.
For all you conspiracy theorists, the 1967 film Rush to Judgment is the granddaddy of mainstream conspiracy films. It was the first to attack the prevailing view, promulgated by the Warren Commission, that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
There are more films from the vault. At the top of the list is Sunset Boulevard. Directed by one of my favourite directors, Billy Wilder, and starring Gloria Swanson in an iconic role as the faded silent film star Norma Desmond, this cinematic gem is perfect for the ByTowne’s Noirvember series. A must-see classic.
The Mayfair’s Noirvember series features another film noir classic—Gilda, starring the sexy Rita Hayworth. CineVue said, “The mark that Rita Hayworth’s character left on cinema is indelible.” A small-time gambler (Glenn Ford) working in a Buenos Aires casino finds out his ex-lover is his boss’ new trophy wife.
Still playing at the ByTowne, Farewell My Concubine is a 4K uncut restoration that’s been reissued on its 30th anniversary. This gorgeous epic spans nearly 70 years of upheaval in China. It follows two boys who meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924, through their lives in the turbulent Maoist era, culminating in the 1970s. A Metacritic must-see.
John Demme’s innovative concert film Stop Making Sense is still at both cinemas. Film critic Pauline Kael described Demme’s 1984 film about Talking Heads as “close to perfection.” Here’s your chance to see this 4K remastered film again or for the first time.
I said earlier there’s a film for kids. It’s not only a film, it’s interactive! It’s Shrek—The Greatest Fairy Tale Never Told. As the ByTowne says, “Featuring bags full of imaginative snacks and props, along with a list of audience-led prompts and shout-outs, it’s a surefire way to make a movie unforgettable!”
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.
