Photo courtesy of Netflix. Catch The Irishman in Berlin cinemas now!
Strap in and brace yourselves, because it’s one busy week when it comes to new releases and we’re treating you to some exclusive interviews.
We had a chat with Kaitlyn Dever, the star of the fresh and hilarious coming-of-age comedy Booksmart, which is not one to miss for fans of Fast Times At Ridgemont High or Clueless. We also sat down with writer-director-actor Julie Delpy, whose seventh film behind the camera, My Zoe, is out this week. It’s an ambitious and thought-provoking drama that takes you places you wouldn’t expect. Both are well worth seeking out.
The biggest releases of the week are Le Mans ’66, starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale as race car drivers determined to challenge Ferrari’s reign in the infamous Le Mans race, as well as the tense but ultimately quite generic cop thriller Black And Blue. And of course, there’s Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman – out on Netflix at the end of the month, a handful of kinos are doing limited screenings until the end of the month, and we recommend you shell out for the full cinema experience for this one. Make sure to check out our long review for a very long film indeed.
The top and bottom of the crop of the general releases this week features two Berlinale alumni respectively. Let’s kick off with the positive: God Exists, Her Name Is Petrunya is a smart feminist satire from Macedonia that should have gotten far more love when it premiered in the Competition strand earlier this year, while the Chinese entry So Long, My Son managed to bag both the acting awards.
From uppers to downers, the next two Berlinale graduates are to approach with caution. The first is A Dog Called Money, a promising-sounding documentary that premiered in the Panorama section and that charts the creative process behind PJ Harvey’s 2016 studio album, The Hope Six Demolition Project. Its noble intentions are never in doubt but the result feels like a gap-year student travelogue that falls on the wrong side of earnest. The second, Searching Eva, is another doc that also had plenty of potential but comes off as a cringey portrait of late-millennial narcissism. Still, if you’re curious about it, the premiere of the film takes place at YAAM tonight (Nov 14) at 20:00, in the presence of the film’s star and crew.
If that’s not enough for you insatiable cinephiles, here are some tips for next week. If your job’s a joke, you’re broke and your love life’s D.O.A, head down to the first night (of three) of the Friends 25-year anniversary on Monday (Nov 18) at Rollberg Kino, with four handpicked episodes starting at 20:00. There’s also a 35mm print screening of Paul Verhoeven’s erotic cult classic Showgirls at Arsenal on Tuesday (Nov 19) at 20:00 (and a repeat performance on Nov 26 at 19:30). As Nomi Malone would have us know: “It doesn’t suck.” Happy screenings.