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New York Film Festival · 2021

New York Film Festival 2021

Spotlight

Programme

9 films · 8 reviews

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C'mon C'mon

A radio journalist forges an unexpected connection with his nephew, whose father is suffering from poor mental health.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Mike Mills; Writer: Mike Mills; Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Jaboukie Young-White, Elaine Kagan, Woody Norman, Cooper Jack Rubin, Kate Adams, Callan Farris, Mary Passeri, Brandon Rush, Artrial Clark, Molly Webster, Mya Gonzales, Beth Bartley, Khadija Emma Neumann)

Dune

Review preview for Dune

It is pretty.

Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
A young man must survive on the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people.

(Country: US, Canada; Year: 2021; Director: Denis Villeneuve; Writer: Jon Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth, based on the novel by Frank Herbert; Stars: Rebecca Ferguson, David Dastmalchian, Jason Momoa, Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac, Dave Bautista, Javier Bardem, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Chen Chang, Michael Nardone)

The French Dispatch

Review preview for The French Dispatch

It all has a very particular flavour. Even a new one.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
A love letter to journalists set in an outpost of an American newspaper in a fictional 20th Century French city that brings to life a collection of stories published in the French Dispatch magazine.

(Country: Germany, US; Year: 2021; Director: Wes Anderson; Writer: Wes Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola, Hugh Guinness; Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Elisabeth Moss, Frances McDormand, Saoirse Ronan, Léa Seydoux, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Benicio Del Toro, Christoph Waltz, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray)

North American premiere

Jane By Charlotte (Jane par Charlotte)

Review preview for Jane By Charlotte

The closer and more personal this documentary gets, the more it opens up to the largest of issues.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
The director's portrait of her mother.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Charlotte Gainsbourg; Stars: Jane Birkin, Charlotte Gainsbourg)

North American premiere

The Lost Daughter

Review preview for The Lost Daughter

The film comes into its own because of Gyllenhaal's non-judgemental perspective, even sympathy, for the small suffocations of motherhood.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A holidaying professor finds an encounter with another family triggers memories of motherhood from her past

(Country: US, Greece; Year: 2021; Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal; Writer: Maggie Gyllenhaal, based on the novel by Elena Ferrante; Stars: Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Ed Harris, Dagmara Dominczyk, Panos Koronis, Jack Farthing, Alba Rohrwacher, Ellie James, Abe Cohen, Vassilis Koukalani, Nikos Poursanidis)

Marx Can Wait (Marx Puo Aspettare)

Review preview for Marx Can Wait

The family portrait is devastating.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Camillo died in 1968. Almost 50 years later, Marco gathers his whole family for a lunch. With his family he wonders about Camillo, his twin, and life.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2021; Director: Marco Bellocchio; Writer: Marco Bellocchio; Stars: Marco Bellocchio)

North American premiere

Red Rocket

Review preview for Red Rocket

The grooming of Strawberry may have some moments of levity but that, in many ways, makes it all the more uncomfortable.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A washed-up ex-porn star tries to get his life back together in his hometown, sparking trouble for those in his orbit.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Sean Baker; Writer: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch; Stars: Simon Rex, Suzanna Son, Bree Elrod, Brenda Deiss, Ethan Darbone)

The Souvenir

Review preview for The Souvenir

The costumes in The Souvenir speak volumes about female and male desire and the search for identity that garments can encompass.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
A quiet film student begins finding her voice as an artist while navigating a turbulent courtship with a charismatic but untrustworthy man.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Joanna Hogg; Writer: Joanna Hogg; Stars: Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke, Tilda Swinton, Richard Ayoade, Ariane Labed, Jack McMullen)