By Anne Brodie
Guy Maddin’s back with a bang – and he’s in classic form, only funnier with Rumours (spelled properly) a witty, bizarre tale of seven world leaders, the G7, trapped one night on a mysterious wooded and watery island with no way out. A Canadian film, with international stars like Cate Blanchett, funded in part by Maddin’s home province of Manitoba and shot in …. it’s a global, clever intentional joke. The leaders of the wealthiest countries have gathered to write a statement on a crisis, but they don’t have anything to say, they’re stumped. Gathered in a pavilion at night they struggle to come up with something headline worthy but alas, the whole thing has been a fruitless regurgitation of the last many meetings. They bat a few ideas around like creating the world’s largest sundial but instead, discuss their lifelong regrets. Blanchett’s German leader Hilda shows them a “surprise”, a somehow preserved ancient corpse in a hole. Canada’s Roy Dupuis is Maxime, the leader of Canada, who becomes embroiled in personal matters, having had a secret affair with Cordosa (Nikki Amuka-Bird) while doddering US President Wolcot (Charles Dance) prefers to sleep. Sylvain (Denis Ménochet) suddenly takes off into the darkness and comes back, terrified and dishevelled, covered in corpse bits hollering about a “force majeure”. Maxime heads into the forest spies a group of overstimulated people around a bonfire then finds his ex-wife Celestine (Vikander) sitting next to a giant brain. However it is clear the group has been abandoned and is hopelessly lost, no ferryman awaits them, no security detail, no fixers, no help. Honestly, this must be seen to be believed. Its surrealism, wit and whimsy are rich and appealing, the darkness signalling unfixable problems of the world (with leaders like these) and sly observations reflect some world leaders IRL. Guy Maddin is a Canadian treasure; he is singularly gifted, and imaginative and this not only carries his signature but bursts forth into glorious tongue-in-cheek humour. It also stars Takehiro Hira, Denis Ménochet, Rolando Ravello and Zlatko Burić. In theatres Oct 18.
A handful of people wind up in a Manhattan bar. This isn’t a joke, it’s the concept behind a fresh, original film The Arrival, by Alyssa Rallo Bennett and Gary O. Bennett. The bar’s messy and empty otherwise as pairings and singles while away an afternoon. They’re all dealing with some kind of personal crisis. A journalist is interviewing a woman about a recent sexual assault by a man named River DuPont who used the phrase “effing Judas Priest” repeatedly. Two nearby women are discussing the rape. The bartender, an actress who can’t find work and is on a string of “bad days” serves tea to a male playwright who is attracted to her but respects the boundaries she quickly erects. “I’m in a hate men phase”, she says. He treats her gently. A young woman with great inherited wealth says she is alone in the world with no family members left. An overconfident man enters the bar and uses the phrase “effing Judas priest”. What a setup for an interesting couple of hours! And then we fly forward nine months. This quietly powerful outing will get under your skin.
Please do your best to catch Will & Harper. Will Ferrell is close friends with Harper Steele, whom he met as Andrew, head writer at Saturday Night Live. He wrote some of Ferrell’s best-loved routines and they’ve stayed fast friends. When Andrew comes out as Harper, they decide to go on a cross-country tour of the US together. Steele routinely drove himself on that trip many times but as a woman, man and trans woman, and he feared for his safety. They decided to make a documentary along the way, with the help of documentarian Josh Greenbaum. It would be a celebration of Harper’s new chapter and a bonding experience after finally landing in his preferred gender choice after being misgendered multiple times. Goodbye breakfast with Steele’s daughters was revealing one describing the transition as gradual, the other saying she’d idolised her father’s “maleness”. Another friend says her reaction was sorrow that Harper’d suffered so much before the change. A reunion with co-stars and staff at the Saturday Night Live offices rejuvenated them so they set off, as Kristen Wiig began work on a theme song for them. Their eye-opening journey revealed a kinder America than they’d expected, as people of all stripes leaned in to learn more and they never encountered danger. Steele says she’s learned as a trans person to expect anything so she was ultra-cautious, but the trip seemed to settle her. A nice tribute to a long friendship, acceptance and all but I would have liked it to be more varied and balanced. And maybe learn a little about Ferrell. As my boss and colleague Candace Sampson remarked, her “faith in humanity restored”. Streaming now on Netflix
Tired of having good, sound sleeps? Does Hallowe’en bring out the beast in you? If so, Max has the following films on offer to take you through the ancient ghastly holiday season. Find them on the Max’ Hallowe’en pages:
| Screaming Now: Essential Picks A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) Caddo Lake (2024) (Premieres 10/10) Fright Night (1985) It (2017) Malignant (2021) MaXXXine (2024) (Premieres 10/18) Paranormal Activity (2009) Salem’s Lot (2024) (Premieres 10/3) Scream (1996) The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) The Exorcist (1973) The Final Destination (2009) The Shining (1980) The Sixth Sense (1999) Trap (2024) (Premieres 10/25) Trick ‘r Treat (2007) Uzumaki We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2022) X (2022) (Premieres 10/18) Pure Nightmare Fuel A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985) Annabelle Comes Home (2019) Annabelle: Creation (2017) Black Christmas (2019) Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) Doctor Sleep (2019) Evil Dead (2013) Evil Dead Rise (2023) Friday the 13th (2009) Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) Oracle (2023) Poltergeist (1982) Pulse (2001) Saw (2004) Scream 2 (1997) Sinister (2012) The Amityville Horror (1979) The Amityville Horror (2005) The Conjuring (2013) The Conjuring 2 (2016) The Curse of La Llorona (2019) The Nun II (2023) The Strangers (2008) The Strangers: Prey at Night (2018) A24 Spine-Chillers A Ghost Story (2017) Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) Climax (2018) Dream Scenario (2023) I Saw the TV Glow (2024) It Comes at Night (2017) MaXXXine (2024) (Premieres 10/18) Men (2022) Midsommar (2019) The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017) The Lighthouse (2019) X (2022) (Premieres 10/18) M. Night Shyamalan Spotlight Caddo Lake (2024) (Premieres 10/10) Signs (2002) The Sixth Sense (1999) The Visit (2015) The Watchers (2024) Trap (2024) (Premieres 10/25) Unbreakable (2000) Stephen King’s Universe A Return to Salem’s Lot (1987) Doctor Sleep (2019) Firestarter (1984) It (2017) It: Chapter Two (2019) Misery (1990) Salem’s Lot (1979) Salem’s Lot (2024) (Premieres 10/3) Stephen King’s It (1990) The Outsider The Shining (1980) Halloween Classics Beetlejuice (1988) Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016) Gremlins (1984) Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) I Was a Teenage Zombie (1987) Interview with the Vampire (1994) Practical Magic (1998) The Craft (1996) Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (2005) Vampires Suck (2010) Unleash the Monster Aliens (1986) Anaconda (1997) Cronos (1994) Equinox (1970) Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) House (1977) Krampus (2015) Leviathan (1989) Night of the Living Dead (1968) Open Water (2004) Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) Salem’s Lot (2024) (Premieres 10/3) Splice (2010) The Blob (1958) The Dead Don’t Die (2019) The Lure (2015) Vampyr (1932) Wes Craven Presents: Dracula 2000 (2000) Wes Craven Presents: Dracula II: Ascension (2003) Wes Craven Presents: Dracula III: Legacy (2005) Wes Craven Presents: They (2002) TCM is always ready for Hallowe’en. Check out its Sinister Cinema lineup: https://www.tcm.com/articles/Programming%20Article/021934/creepy-cinema?lid=g8rk1oon9dyz the Creep Meister himself: https://www.tcm.com/articles/Programming%20Article/021939/star-of-the-month-bela-lugosi?lid=t871ocrk3lb8 and the parting two day Terror Thon https://www.tcm.com/articles/Programming%20Article/021936/halloween-terror-thon |