We’re entering the home stretch for the Academy Awards on March 10. And you still have a chance to see some of the films nominated for Oscars at Ottawa’s two independent cinemas.
I praised The Zone of Interest in my last Magic in the Dark. Now it’s one of the ten films nominated for Best Picture, Best International Feature Film (a rare occurrence that the same film is nominated for both!), Best Director, plus Best Sound, Best Writing (adapted screenplay), and Best Costume Design. And I agree with the blurb on the ByTowne’s website; The Zone of Interest is “a cinematic experience that will stay with you forever.”
My bet for Best Animated Feature Film is The Boy and the Heron. It’s a remarkable, beautiful film—one of Miyazaki’s best. It’s back at the ByTowne.
Monster is a Japanese film that didn’t make the cut for Best International Feature Film. But as I wrote in December, it’s a worthwhile film to see, especially if you enjoy a plot in which the truth is elusive.
In 2010, Kim Thúy won the Governor General’s Award for French-language fiction for her semi-autobiographical novel Ru. This year, the feature film Ru has been breaking box office records in Quebec and is now playing at the ByTowne. I’m very much looking forward to seeing this story of a ten-year-old girl, Tinh, whose life of wealth and privilege in Saigon is dramatically obliterated when she and her family must flee their home as “boat people.” Having survived that ordeal, they live in a grim refugee camp in Malaysia. They are finally dropped into a foreign new life in the middle of winter in the Québec town of Granby. It’s so foreign to Tinh that she might as well have landed on the surface of the Moon.
There are lots of great older films at both theatres.
To celebrate Winter Pride, Capital Pride and MAX Ottawa are sponsoring a free screening of Everything Everywhere All At Once at the Mayfair.
In 2013, Jonathan Glazer (the director of The Zone of Interest) made a remarkable film called Under the Skin. As I said in my last Magic in the Dark article, Under the Skin is one of the most terrifying and memorable films I’ve ever seen. I’m looking forward to seeing it at the ByTowne.
The ByTowne is continuing its homage to George A. Romero with a 4K restoration copy of Dawn of the Dead, Romero’s sequel to Night of the Living Dead. Famously, the beleaguered humans take shelter in an enclosed shopping mall (make of that what you will). If you love to be terrified by zombie movies, don’t miss this one! It’s a horror classic that’s notoriously hard to find.
Canadian director Norman Jewison passed away recently. A prolific Oscar-winning Hollywood director, he also nurtured Canadian film through the institute he founded in Toronto. Obituaries and memorials all mention his most famous films, two of which are In the Heat of the Night and Moonstruck. The former is set in the Deep South. Sidney Poitier is a Philadelphia police detective who is wrongly accused by a racist sheriff (Rod Steiger—he won the Best Actor Oscar for that role) of murdering a white man. Soon, the two are very reluctantly working together to solve the murder. When this film came out in 1967, it was seen as a progressive attack on American racism. It’s also a damn fine film. Moonstruck is a delightful romcom starring two unlikely celebrities—Cher and Nicholas Cage. It has some of the best-supporting actors you’ll see assembled in any film. Both of these fine films are at the Mayfair.
Also at the Mayfair, you can still celebrate the one-year anniversary of Ottawa’s very own Enter the Drag Dragon! Apt613 wrote about it when it was released.
What’s special about February? Valentine’s Day, of course! The Mayfair celebrates February 14 with one of the most romantic dramas ever made—Casablanca. It’s a Metacritic must-see with a rare rating of 100! Take someone you love to see this.
Valentine’s Day week starts with Titanic in the ByTowne’s High Tea Cinema series. A (slightly improbable) romance on the high seas, plus tea and a yummy scone from The Scone Witch, equals a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Then the ByTowne’s “Galentine’s Day” (February 13), celebrates women with Thelma and Louise! This iconic drama about the power of women’s friendship stars Susan Sarandon (never better!) and the terrific Geena Davis. Thelma (a sweet young woman with an awful husband) and Louise (a gutsy waitress) set off on a carefree vacation. But when a man attempts to rape Thelma, things quickly spiral out of control. The show is free for members! What are you waiting for, mamacita?
Then on Valentine’s Day, the ByTowne brought back the film that I think put the ByTowne on the radar for hundreds of Ottawans who had previously never set foot in this cinema. I’m referring, of course, to Amélie. This delightful fantasy about a sweet shy waitress (the exquisite Audrey Tautou) who discovers her gift for helping people and falls in love with a handsome stranger will melt the heart of the most cynical person.
What a smorgasbord of films! Sample them all!
Dates, tickets, and times can be found on the ByTowne Cinema and Mayfair Theatre websites.
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