Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 287: Sun Oct 15

The Black Pirate (Parker, 1926): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 2.05pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 12

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

BFI introduction:
Actor and producer Douglas Fairbanks, having swashed his buckle as every other action hero – Zorro, Musketeer, Robin Hood – here turned pirate. It’s the perfect vehicle for his athleticism and sensational stunt work, as well as his not insignificant on-screen charisma. Importantly, he chose to film it in two-strip Technicolor, in a subtle ‘Old Master’ palette, which set a high bar for colour features to come.
Bryony Dixon

Here (and above) ios the trailer.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 286: Sat Oct 14

The Stranger and the Fog (Beyzaie, 1974): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 2.45pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 11

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

BFI introduction:
Impossible to see for decades, Beyzaie’s mesmerising opus begins with the arrival at a coastal village of a boat carrying a bleeding stranger. He falls for a local woman, but questions about his mysterious past linger. Now magnificently restored from the original negatives, Beyzaie’s visually stunning film recalls Zulawski, Pasolini, Tarkovsky and Kurosawa, and is a transfixing experience.
James Bell

Here (and above) is an extract.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 285: Fri Oct 13

The Beast (Bonello, 2023): Prince Charles Cinema, 8.45pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 10

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

This film also screens on October 14th at BFI Southbank. Details here.

BFI introduction:
Few European directors have the provocative imagination of France’s Bonello (Nocturama, Zombi Child). In his latest, a Henry James story is the springboard for a leap into the science-fictional unknown. Léa Seydoux plays a fin de siècle socialite entangled with an admirer (George MacKay). But that’s just one of her lives in this visually inspired, synapse-sparking exploration of fate and identity.
Jonathan Romney 

Here (and above) is a preview.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 284: Thu Oct 12

On The Adamant (Philibert, 2023): Curzon Soho, 6.30pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 9

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

This film also screens on October 13th at Curzon Soho. Details here.

BFI introduction:
Moored on the Seine, the Adamant is a day centre for people with mental-health issues, offering a haven with an empowering emphasis on cultural engagement. Nicolas Philibert’s (Être et avoir) richly involving documentary, this year’s Golden Bear winner at the Berlin Film Festival, meets the Adamant regulars – including punks, poets and social outsiders – on their terms, in an impassioned argument for enlightened mental care.
Jonathan Romney

Here (and above) is the trailer.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 283: Wed Oct 11

Samsara (Patiño, 2023): BFI IMAX, 6.30pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 8

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

This film also screens on October 15th at Curzon Soho. Details here.

BFI introduction:
Lois Patiño’s film envelops us in a work of collective meditation and cinematic reincarnation. We observe the daily rituals of a Buddhist temple in Laos and a seaweed farm in Zanzibar, captured on 16mm with an ethnographic eye (and ear) for detail. Infused with sonic wonders, the spiritual becomes profoundly sensorial; at one point we’re even invited to enjoy Samsara’s uniquely transformative spaces with our eyes closed. Transcendental.
Hyun Jin Cho

Here (and above) is an extract.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 282: Tue Oct 10

The Sweet East (Williams, 2023): Curzon Soho Cinema 8.45 & 9pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 7

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

This film also screens on October 6th at ICA Cinema. Details here.

BFI introduction:
Cinematographer Sean Price Williams’ feature directorial debut emulates the scuzzy vitality of his DOP work for the Safdie brothers (Good Time) and Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell). A walk on the wild side of Americana, it’s a sly, self-conscious, state-of-the-nation address, whose bizarre tangents and impasses are expertly channelled through the insouciant disaffection of Talia Ryder’s protagonist.
Leigh Singer

Here (and above) is an extract.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 281: Mon Oct 9

Tótem (Avilés, 2023): Curzon Soho, 6pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 6

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

This film also screens on October 10th at BFI Southbank. Details here.

BFI introduction:
It’s Tona’s 27th birthday and the extended family gather in the family’s rambling home to celebrate. Miscommunication, chaos, evasion and fear all come into play as Sol, Tona’s young daughter, tries to make sense of the adults’ evasive language and erratic behaviour. The result is a profoundly humane ensemble piece where humour is present in even the most painful of circumstances.
Maria Delgado

Here (and above) is the trailer.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 280: Sun Oct 8

Music (Schanelec, 2023): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 12.30pm

 
67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 5

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

This film also screens on October 7th at ICA Cinema. Details here.

Observer review:
No Berlin Festival competition title was quite as radically sui generis as Music, by hardcore German experimenter Angela Schanelec. She was here in 2019, with her mesmerisingly inscrutable I Was at Home, But, which did very odd things with chunks of Hamlet. Her new film is an almost wordless modern variation on the Oedipus myth, set initially in Greece before abruptly and inexplicably jumping to Berlin (including scenes set just a stone’s throw from festival hub the Palast). A young man, born in the Greek mountains during a storm, grows up with chronically sore ankles, then is imprisoned for manslaughter. He forms a couple with one of the female prison guards (French arthouse regular Agathe Bonitzer), later becoming a singer in Berlin – by which time, any obvious correspondence with the original myth has become obscured by a dense network of symbols, echoes and enigmas. Music is less like narrative cinema – even of the artiest, most Godardian variety – than it is conceptual art, or a cinematic form of opaque modernist poetry. It may be near-hermetic but it’s utterly transfixing. It proves that the Berlin selectors aren’t afraid to stick their necks out.
Jonathan Romney

 Here (and above) is the trailer.

 

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 279: Sat Oct 7

Peeping Tom (Powell, 1960): BFI Sothbank, NFT1, 12.30pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 4

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

This film also screens on October 14th at BFI Southbank. Details here.

Chicago reader review:
Michael Powell's suppressed masterpiece, made in 1960 but sparsely shown in the U.S. with its ferocity and compassion intact. The German actor Carl Boehm plays a shy, sensitive British boy (Powell doesn't try to cover his accent, which is typical of the film's deliberate sacrifice of realism for effect) who loves movies with all his heart and soul because he knows what they're really about—sex and death. This seductive, brightly colored thriller isn't about the “problem” of voyeurism as much as the sub-rosa fascinations of the cinema. It's an understanding and at times even celebratory film—attitudes that scandalized critics years ago and are still pretty potent today. The uniformly excellent cast includes Anna Massey, Moira Shearer (the ballerina of Powell's The Red Shoes), and Maxine Audley
Dave Kehr

Here (and above) is the excellent trailer.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 278: Fri Oct 6

The Dupes (Saleh, 1972): BFI Southbank, NFT3, 6.20pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 3

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 4th to October 15th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

BFI introduction:
Three Palestinian refugees from three different generations attempt to flee to Kuwait through a stark desert, concealed in the empty tank of a truck. Based on the acclaimed novella by author Ghassan Kanafani – a militant intellectual assassinated by Mossad in 1972 – this allegorical statement on the Palestinian struggle makes for urgent viewing. It’s shockingly prescient and, with its chilling universal perspective, quietly devastating.
Giulia Saccogna

Here (and above) is the trailer.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 277: Thu Oct 5

Celluloid Underground (Khoshbakht, 2023): ICA Cinema, 9pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 2

With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Every day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

Today's film also screens at Curzon Soho on October 14th. Details here.

BFI introduction:
Part autobiography, part film collage, Khoshbakht’s film offers a fascinating insight into the lives of those who fight to keep film culture alive in the face of oppression. Centring on two maverick cinephiles from Iran – the director himself and his late friend Ahmad Jurghanian – this poignant work is a testament to the power of cinema and its potential as an act of resistance.
Hyun Jin Cho

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 276: Wed Oct 4

Macario (Gavaldón, 1960): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 6pm

67th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (4th - 15th October 2023) DAY 1

Today is the opening day of the London Film Festival. With its date at the end of the year, London is a "festival of festivals", as the new Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin put it in one of his previews, so the films shown have mostly been seen and commented on by critics who have watched the features at such high-profile festivals as Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Sundance and Berlin.

So I'm making it simple with one recommendation a day. I will be concentrating on the repertory choices but I've also read the reviews of the contemporary releases and talked to and listened to the trusted critics all year and I am as confident as I can be that this is the pick of the movies within the parameters I have set. Firstly, there's no point highlighting the major gala films - they will be sold out quickly. Secondly, there is little to be gained in paying the higher Festival ticket prices to see films that are out in Britain soon. I will be returning to the London Festival films worthy of seeing and set to be released in the coming months on this blog as and when they get a general release in London.

Here then (from October 4th to October 15th) are the films you are likely to be able to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening. Here is the information you need to get those standby tickets.

Today's film also screens at BFI Southbank (NFT2) on October 11th. Details here.

Chicago Reader review:
Based on a story by B. Traven (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre) and set in colonial Mexico, Roberto Galvadon’s 1959 rags-to-riches fable combines magical realism and folkloric elements of Mexico’s Indianist movement with results that are alternately comic and poignant. An impoverished peasant shares his dinner with the grim reaper, who rewards him with an elixir that can revive the terminally ill. The peasant runs a profitable healing practice until jealous neighbors rat him out to the Inquisition. Gabriel Figueroa did the haunting cinematography.
Andrea Gronvall

Here (and above) is the trailer.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 275: Tue Oct 3

Let Me Die a Woman (Wishman, 1978): Prince Charles Cinema, 6.15pm

Prince Charles Cinema introuduction:
Independent curators TGirlsOnFilm and Funeral Parade continue their series of TRANS-X-PLOITATION screenings with Let Me Die A Woman, a quasi-documentary on transsexuality directed renowned sexploitation auteur Doris Wishman (one of the most prolific women filmmakers in the history of American cinema) and shot by trans pioneer Andrea Susan Malick. Sitting at the intersection of exploitation, educational and experimental cinema, the film stands an essential document of transgender life in the 1970s. Although it’s never tasteful or restrained, it is remarkably empathetic for a grindhouse film of the period, with Wishamn affording her trans subjects the then incredibly rare opportunity to discuss their lives and experiences on film.

Here (and above) is an extract.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 274: Mon Oct 2

Witness (Weir, 1985): Prince Charles Cinema, 3.15pm

This 35mm presentation is also screened on October 17th, which will feature an introduction by Elena Lazic of Animus Magazine.

Time Out review:
Peter Weir's first film set in America explores a theme familiar from his earlier work: the discovery of an all but forgotten culture in modern society: in this case the Amish, a puritanical sect whose life in Pennsylvania has remained unchanged since the 18th century. Threat explodes into this community when an Amish boy witnesses a murder; cop Harrison Ford investigates the case and, finding his own life endangered, is forced to hot-foot it back to the Amish ranch with the bad guys in pursuit. The film also allows Ford to fall in love with the boy's mother (Kelly McGillis), and comments on the distance between the messy world Ford leaves behind and the cloistered one in which he takes refuge. Powerful, assured, full of beautiful imagery and thankfully devoid of easy moralising, it also offers a performance of surprising skill and sensitivity from Ford.

Here (and above) is the trailer.

Capital Celluloid 2023 — Day 273: Sun Oct 1

Harmonium (Fukada, 2016): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 6.20pm

To celebrate the release of Love Life and further exploring the domestic space in Japanese life that lies at the heart of the BFI Southbank's Yasujirō Ozu season, the cinema looks back on three key titles so far in Kōji Fukada’s career. Full details here.

Chicago Reader review:
After a self-employed metalworker takes in an old friend who’s just completed a prison sentence for murder, the friend ingratiates himself with the man’s young daughter and devout Christian wife, proving himself a more sympathetic listener than his emotionally distant host. I hate to reveal what happens next in this absorbing Japanese domestic drama; the plot hinges on several big surprises that force you to reevaluate how you feel about all the major characters. Writer-director Kôji Fukada (Hospitalité) maintains a somber tone throughout as well as a subtle visual style, rooted in patient long takes, that encourages deep reflection on the themes of grief and forgiveness. Tadanobu Asano, who plays the ex-con, has rarely been better, and Kanji Furutachi and Mariko Tsutsui are heartbreaking as the husband and wife.
Ben Sachs

Here (and above) is the trailer.