Here we are, almost in a brand new year and smack in the middle of the lead-up to the Academy Awards, which means lots of great new films on offer at the ByTowne and the Mayfair.
But before I jump into the wealth of new stuff, there are two beautiful classics at the ByTowne from my favourite animation studio—Studio Ghibli—and its co-founder, director Hayao Miyazaki. If you see only one of these, it has to be My Neighbor Totoro, an exquisite tale of two children who discover benign spirits in their new home and the nearby forest. Totoro, one of these spirits, is so well-loved by audiences that he became the icon of Studio Ghibli, like Mickey Mouse for the Disney empire. You can also see Howl’s Moving Castle on a big screen. The Guardian called it “a floatingly delightful fairytale with its heart set on repealing the law of gravity.”
I’ve already seen two of the films that I highly recommend: Tár and The Banshees of Inersherin. Both deliver top-notch acting, as well as excellent scripts, direction and cinematography. Cate Blanchett gives a riveting performance as Lydia Tár, a world-famous classical conductor and composer who has everything she could desire—wealth, power, international prestige, a supportive spouse, and a sweet daughter. Then her world begins to unravel as disturbing facts from her past begin to surface.
The Banshees of Inisherin reunite Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (last seen together in the sleeper hit In Bruges). Set on an isolated Irish island during the early years of The Troubles, Gleeson’s character Colm suddenly announces that he wants nothing to do with his longtime friend Pádraic (Farrell). Pádraic presses for their friendship to continue, but Colm is adamant; he threatens to cut off his fingers if Pádraic speaks to him. Gleeson and Farrell fully inhabit their characters, and the scenery is desolately gorgeous. Both Metacritic must-sees are at the ByTowne.
Biographies have been big this year (Blonde, Elvis, Moonage Dream, Apollo 10 1/2 – A Space Age Childhood, Happening…), and that’s evident in a slew of films at the ByTowne.
Juvenile autobiography is well represented in two films. In Armageddon Time (at the Mayfair), director James Gray explores his youthful behaviour as a well-to-do Jewish kid who becomes friends with a Black kid in his class. Then he has to deal with the racism and inequality targeting his friend. Anthony Hopkins has a key role as Gray’s wise grandfather. In The Fabelmans (at the ByTowne), Steven Spielberg relates his first steps at making films, despite his parents’ disagreements about whether film-making is a viable career choice.
The Canadian documentary Geographies of Solitude is also biographical. It’s about environmentalist and naturalist Zoe Lucas, who has been living for 40 years on Sable Island, a strip of sandy land 300km off the coast of Nova Scotia with a unique ecosystem. To date, the film has won 19 awards nationally and internationally. Barry Hertz of the Globe and Mail called it “poetic and ultimately powerful.” At the ByTowne.
Corsage, a quasi-historical biopic at the ByTowne, doesn’t purport to be an accurate portrait of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. Vicky Krieps won Best Actress at Cannes for her portrayal of the empress as she turns 40 and is officially deemed an old woman by Viennese society. She rebels—she has a zest for life, a desire for knowledge, a libido. So she comes up with a plan….
And No Bears has the director, Jafar Panahi, portraying himself as a rather bumbling director filming a love story in a Turkish village near the Iranian border. As his character is prohibited from making films and leaving Iran (as was true in real life for Panahi), the director relies on conveying instructions to his assistant director in Turkey and reviewing the daily raw footage his assistant delivers to him each evening, he also takes pictures in the Iranian village near the border, one of which ends up being evidence that could cause bloodshed. Panahi reflects on the restrictions imposed on him and the repercussions of his actions on others. No Bears won the Jury Special Prize at Venice and is a Metacritic must-see. Just before the film’s release, Panahi was arrested in Iran and sentenced to six years in prison.
Recent history is on offer at both cinemas in the form of the investigative journalism drama, She Said. Like the acclaimed film Spotlight, it’s based on an exposé of horrific sexual abuse. In She Said, two female journalists from the New York Times (Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan and Emmy nominee Zoe Kazan) uncover the scandal centring around Harvey Weinstein’s serial predation of young actresses, which ultimately resulted in the Me Too movement.
There are two food-oriented films at the ByTowne, but neither is geared toward foodies looking for a bit of food porn. One is The Menu, where an internationally famous chef (played with devilish charm by Ralph Fiennes) holds an exclusive tasting menu event on his private island. The other is Bones and All, which tackles one of the few shibboleths left in Western culture. It stars Timothée Chalamet and Taylor Russell. I doubt you’ll want to go out for a bite to eat after either of these films, though you’ll probably want to discuss them over a stiff drink.
Lastly, the director of Shoplifters and one of the stars of Parasite have collaborated on the new film Broker. It’s about a couple of guys who sell orphaned infants to affluent couples looking to circumvent the Korean bureaucracy of legal adoption.
There’s so much to see in January—a great way to start 2023!
Dates, times and tickets can be found on the ByTowne or the Mayfair websites.
