OUR LITTLE SISTER – DECEMBER 3RD

Dec. 3: Our Little Sister
Hirokazu Kore-eda
JAPAN, 2015
Japanese with English subtitles 128 minutes
Principal Cast: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose

After their estranged father’s death, three twentysomething sisters discover that they have a teenaged step-sibling, in this gentle, deeply affecting family drama from Japanese master Hirokazu Kore-eda (Like Father, Like Son).

The three Koda sisters have been on their own ever since their parents’ divorce, their mother having moved away shortly after her husband left her for another woman. Now in their twenties, the sisters still live together in the house that once belonged to their grand- mother. The eldest sister, Sachi (Haruka Ayase), the de facto head of the family, works as a nurse; the middle child, Yoshino (Masami Nagasawa, From Up on Poppy Hill), has a suc- cessful career at a bank; while the youngest, Chika (Kaho), is a fashionable, fun-loving free spirit. When they receive news of their father’s death, the sisters are surprised to discover that they have a step-sibling, the 13-year-old Suzu (Suzu Hirose), who grate- fully accepts her elder sisters’ offer to come live with them. The presence of the shy young Suzu, for whom the loss of her father is still a fresh wound, stirs long-dormant memories among the three sisters, who had thought of their father (if they thought of him at all) as a phantom. And the painful past becomes fully present once more when the women’s mother suddenly reappears after 15 years.

Our Little Sister is a subtle meditation on loss, absence, and the acceptance of death. Carrying on a great tradition of Japanese filmmaking, Kore-eda once again transforms everyday life into a deceptively simple yet truly majestic masterpiece.

The film is quiet, understated and gentle, allowing the audience to take pleasure in teasing out its narrative subtleties, and presented with wonderful freshness and clarity... It is impossible not to be touched and beguiled by it.   —Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian


THE TRAILER:

LO AND BEHOLD – NOVEMBER 26TH

Nov. 26: Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World
Werner Herzog
USA, 2016
English 98 minutes
With: Werner Herzog, Elon Musk, Leonard Kleinrock

In his unmistakable, Bavarian-accented dead- pan voiceover, the great Werner Herzog (Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Grizzly Man) guides us through this eccentric, entertaining and enlightening meditation on our intercon- nected digital world.

Since its humble inception in 1969 — where it began as a short message shared between two computers — the internet has become, as Herzog describes it, “one of our biggest revolutions.” Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World investigates the history of the internet’s integration into every aspect of our lives and how it became an essential part of our public infrastruc- ture. Through interviews with researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs at the cutting edge of digital technologies — and taking time for his trademark, often wonderfully comic digressions — Herzog considers the new possibilities in health care, robot- ics and transportation opened up by the internet, and speculates on how humanity and the world will be impacted by these developments.

These promises of a bright future are tem- pered by the darker realities presented in the film, from self-imposed internet exiles living off the grid in West Virginia as they recover from “internet overdose” to the victims of online harassment. Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World ultimately strikes an ambivalent tone, and refrains from any final judgments on the assimilation of the digital sphere into our daily lives, instead leaving the viewer to consider the implications on their own lives and hopes for the future.

These discrete “reveries of the connected world” represent the latest of Herzog’s heady explorations of what it means to be human (and even post-human), rendered in his characteristically personal, decidedly analog style.   —Justin Chang, Variety


THE TRAILER:

ANGRY INDIAN GODDESSES – NOVEMBER 19TH

November 19: Angry Indian Goddesses
Pan Nalin
INDIA, 2016
English, Hindi 104 minutes
Principal Cast: Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande, Pavleen Gujral, Anushka Manchanda, Sandhya Mridul, Sarah Jane Dias, Tannishtha Chatterjee

On the eve of their friend’s wedding in Goa, a group of women discuss everything under the sun in this largely improvised and refreshingly frank depiction of contemporary Indian soci- ety from award-winning director Pan Nalin (Samsara), which has been billed as “India’s first female buddy comedy.”

In the scenic beachside state of Goa, Frieda (Sarah Jane Dias), a strong-willed and success- ful photographer, gathers her closest friends on the eve of her nuptials. The diverse group offers a snapshot of modern Indian society: Su (Sandhya Mridul), a businesswoman and mother; the engaging Nargis (Tannishtha Chatterjee, Siddharth, Anna Karenina); Jo (Amrit Maghera), an aspiring film actress; Pammy (Pavleen Gujral), a housewife; Mad (Anushka Manchanda), a singer-songwriter; and house servant, Lakshmi (Rajshri Deshpande). Everything’s set for a night of celebration. There’s only one issue: Frieda won’t say who her betrothed is. As the women banter their way through the evening, covering topics ranging from sex to street harassment to the buff (and often shirtless) next-door neighbour, we become acquainted with the women’s dreams, desires, fears and, above all, the unbreakable bond between them — a bond that will eventually lead them to take some extreme actions.

Developing the film’s dialogue almost entirely out of improvisations with his actors, director Nalin allows her narrative to take surprising turns that upend genre expectations and explore the pressing issues of gender and sexism in contemporary Indian society. Shuttling from the jubilantly comic to scenes of touching pathos, Angry Indian Goddesses is a refreshing and frank depiction of female empowerment from a key figure in independent South Asian cinema.

The cast are a talented and spirited bunch, enjoying the opportunity to let loose with grievances while revelling in the togetherness of female-centric safety. —Jay Weissberg, Variety


THE TRAILER:

DARK HORSE – NOVEMBER 5TH

Nov. 15: Dark Horse
Louise Osmond
UNITED KINGDOM, 2015
English 85 minutes
With: Jan Vokes, Brian Vokes, Howard Davies


A story of dreams, determination, and class consciousness set in the world of horse racing, this inspirational documentary from director Louise Osmond (Deep Water) follows a group of friends and neighbours in a small Welsh town who find themselves breaking social barriers by competing against some of the wealthiest racehorse owners in the UK.

In the beleaguered former coal town of Cefn Fforest, South Wales, a middle-aged barmaid named Jan Vokes rallies a syndi- cate of friends to pool their £10 per week towards breeding, raising, and training a racehorse they call Dream Alliance. Unexpectedly, Dream Alliance shows great promise, and the Welsh townsfolk are soon competing against the sport’s elite. Though their gamble is the furthest thing from a sure bet, and requires years of perseverance through a multitude of factors outside of the stakeholders’ control, for the team behind Dream Alliance it’s not all about money: in the words of one backer, “Dream took us to places you couldn’t even imagine.”

Osmond elicits warm and funny inter- views from the participants, particularly the plucky Vokes, who fondly recalls how she first pulled her underdog syndicate together back in 2000. Illustrating the team’s anecdotes through carefully chosen archival footage and artful re-enactments — with cinematographer Benjamin Kracun capturing the horses so beautifully you’ll want to reach out and touch them — this remarkable true story about a long shot is a sure winner.

A heartwarming true story that has been expertly crafted into an irresistible, emotion-charged documentary.  —Allan Hunter, Screen International


THE TRAILER:

SING STREET – OCTOBER 22ND

October 22: Sing Street
John Carney
IRELAND, 2015
English 105 minutes
Principal Cast: Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Lucy Boynton, Jack Reynor, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Aidan Gillen


Irish writer-director John Carney refreshed and revitalized the film musical with the Oscar-winning Once and his follow-up Begin Again. With his new film Sing Street, Carney takes us to 1980s Dublin for a semi-autobiographical tale about a teenager who turns to music to escape his chaotic home life — and, naturally, to impress a girl.

Forced to start over at a rough public school when his parents pull him from private school due to their financial struggles, 14-year-old Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) becomes enamoured of the beautiful and mysterious Raphina (Lucy Boynton). Eager to make an impression, Conor invites Raphina to star in his band’s music video — despite the fact that he has not yet formed a band, or even written any music. With the guidance of his drop-out older brother, Conor restyles himself as “Cosmo,” recruits some enthusiastic but musically untrained schoolmates, and sets out to make a band from scratch by studying and emulating the New Wave stars of the era like A-ha, Duran Duran, and Spandau Ballet. Soon, the ragtag group is shooting music videos on a less-than-shoestring budget and looking to wow their fellow students at the upcoming school ball — and meanwhile, Cosmo starts making progress in his quest to win Raphina’s heart.

Featuring a stellar soundtrack that mixes nostalgic hits and original music, Sing Street combines the scrappy energy of 2013 Film Circuit favourite We Are the Best! with the sweetness and charm of a coming-of-age love story. As with the director’s previous hits, Carney’s latest is sure to have audiences cheering and singing along once again.

Sing Street makes you feel like you’re growing up all over again.  —Ethan Anderson, Slashfilm


THE TRAILER:

THE DRESSMAKER – OCTOBER 15TH

October 15: The Dressmaker
Jocelyn Moorhouse
AUSTRALIA, 2015
English 118 minutes
Principal Cast: Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving

This wickedly comic drama stars Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs, Labor Day) as a worldly dressmaker returning to the Australian backwater that exiled her. The latest feature from writer-director Jocelyn Moorhouse (How to Make an American Quilt) after an almost 20-year hiatus, The Dressmaker is a sumptuous, saucy, and scandalous tale of love and vengeance in the mid-1950s. It also has the most fabulous gowns this side of the red carpet.

Tilly Dunnage (Winslet) arrives in the small town of Dungatar like a gunslinger: broad-brimmed hat on her head, sleek pumps on her feet, trusty Singer sewing machine at her side. Driven away when she was just 10 years old for supposedly committing a heinous crime, the resilient Tilly found her way to Paris, where she trained under legendary designer Madeleine Vionnet. She has come back to look after her ailing mother, Molly (Judy Davis, The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet, To Rome With Love), but, with her beguiling, form-fitting dresses, she’s soon turning heads at the town rugby game — most notably the one atop the broad shoulders of star player Teddy McSwiney (Liam Hemsworth, Cut Bank).

When Tilly is hired to design and custom-make haute couture for the more rebel- lious local ladies, a battle line is drawn: on one side, those who love Tilly’s progressive style, and on the other side, Dungatar’s conservative busybody contingent. As tension between these camps escalates, Tilly’s shadowy past becomes her enemies’ most potent weapon — but this fearsome fashionista has resolved to never let Dungatar get the best of her again.

Winslet exudes femme-fatale danger and sexiness as Tilly — she’s Clint Eastwood meets Rita Hayworth. And Moorhouse, working with co-writer P.J. Hogan in adapting Rosalie Ham’s novel, infuses The Dressmaker with a perfect blend of glamour and edginess, gen- erating laughter and intrigue right up to the explosive finale.

Moorhouse’s adaptation of Rosalie Ham’s 2000 novel may lead audiences to expect a primmer, more well-behaved movie based on its title alone, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have them in stitches.
—Justin Chang, Variety

THE TRAILER:

Around the World with Cinema CNC – starts October 15th