What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 21st July 2022.

The 22nd edition of the New Horizons International Film Festival which takes place in the city of Wroclaw, in southwestern Poland, this year from Thursday 21st July through until Sunday 31st July. This festival was established in 2001 as a place to present the brave artistic cinema, which was not present in Poland at that time, while looking for new forms of expression, and going far beyond the limits of conventional film. The official website, reads that 'it is a festival of cinema visionaries, uncompromising artists who have the courage to follow their chosen path against the prevailing fashions and talk about the most important things with their unique language. From among the hundreds of films shown every year at international festivals and among those submitted for selection, the ones selected are those that, thanks to their unusual form and power of expression, do not allow themselves to be forgotten. They arouse extreme reactions and emotions, arouse polemics and discussions, evoke delight and protests. But it is precisely such films that most often set the latest trends in world cinema. The main competition is the fulfilment of the idea of ​​'New Horizons' cinema'. 271 films are being showcased at this years festival, of which 209 are full length feature films and sixty-two are short films. 

The New Horizons International Competition is the showpiece of the Wrocław festival. It is here that the fresh, uncompromising works of artists looking for original forms of expression are presented. Among the twelve competition titles that will compete for this year's Grand Prix, there are productions from countries including Bolivia, Brazil, France, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Switzerland and Great Britain. Those twelve films are :-

* '107 Mothers' - from Slovakia, Czech Republic and Ukraine and Directed by Peter Kerekes. Lesia is a young prisoner, recently imprisoned in Odessa. A child is already being born in the centre. However, she will be able to see little Kola only at certain times. The boy will stay in the children's ward until he is three years old, then, if he is not taken care of by someone from the family, he will go to an orphanage. Lesia's fate is shared by all mothers who are serving their sentence.

* 'Afterwater' - from Germany, South Korea, Spain and Serbia and Directed by Dane Komljen. Composed of three parts, each with three heroes and a different lake at the centre of the story, it flows freely between epochs (present, past and future), media (digital, 16mm and video), forms of coexistence, identities, but also languages, ideas and texts.

* 'Until Friday, Robinson' - from France, Switzerland, Iran and Lebanon and Directed by Mitra Farahani. In a brilliant and, in its own way, audacious documentary essay, Farahani paints portraits of 'angry age prophets' facing death and the weakness of the flesh, but still extremely insightful and witty. Sometimes they only appear as shadows, sometimes we see them in photos from the hospital. By recording their surroundings and lifestyle, Farahani asks intriguing questions about generational experience, existential choices and conclusions that revolutionists draw from their own biographies.

* 'Enys Men' - from Great Britain and Directed by Mark Jenkin. The year is 1973, communication and entertainment are hard to come by. No change - the woman notes in her diary, but she brought a lot of luggage with her. Memories, fears and fantasies spread around the island, they swim to the shore, they are delirious, they call in the Cornish dialect, they disturb the rhythm.

* 'A Piece of Heaven' - from Switzerland and Germany and Directed by Michael Koch. The postcard scenery of the Alpine province serves as a contrast to the hardships of the heroes' lives, dependent on the whims of nature and the jokes of a perverse fate. All these inconveniences are felt most strongly by Anna - a waitress from a local inn, who decides to tie up with a slightly older Marek. The newcomer arouses the distrust of the local community. The more facts are against the man, the more earnestly Anna stands up for her partner, knowing that she is also fighting for the right to live her own way.

* 'We Haven't Lost Our Way' - from Poland and Directed by Anka Sasnal and Wilhelm Sasnal. They look at the life of a woman and a man at the crossroads - in two separate stories, which, however, perhaps have something in common. Ewa is an English teacher and translator, but she works as a carer for an old lady, whom she is supposed to entertain with reading and conversation. Eryk works at the university, but he is more concerned with helping the needy than with literature, which - like his explosive disposition - causes him a lot of problems. 

* 'Immaculate' - from Romania and Directed by Monica Stan and George Chiper-Lillemark. Daria - a teenager who paid her first love with her addiction to heroin. While her boyfriend is imprisoned, the girl is forced by her parents to take methadone treatment. At the centre, he tells his story, but is he honest? Full of fear, Daria learns the strict rules of the clinic, spends time with other patients, and the key that can open many doors in these relationships and bring relief is touch.

* 'Burning Earth' from Brazil and Portugal and Directed by Adirley Queiros and Joana Pimenta. Here we follow the fate of the Chita and Lei sisters. They are the leaders of a female gang that sells stolen gasoline in one of the largest favelas on the South American continent - in Sol Nascente on the outskirts of Brasilia. The sisters also agitate politically, dance at parties and have long talks with each other. However, the police are on their heels, chanting patriotic and religious slogans. 

* 'The Dam' - from Serbia, Germany, Sudan and France and Directed by Ali Cherri. The protagonist of this film, made in North Sudan near the gigantic Merowe dam, is Maher, a brick maker, seasonal worker from Darfur, who sneaks into the desert in the evenings to make a huge figure out of clay.

* 'A Hidden Gem' - from Argentina and Mexico and Directed by Natalia Lopez Gallardo. The plot that takes place in the Mexican province of Hidden Gem focuses on the search for a missing woman. The kidnapped sister, who serves on the estate of a wealthy family, and her white employer, recovering from the divorce, are involved in it. A moving story about systemic violence, entanglement, misogyny and class guilt.

* 'Great Move' - from Bolivia, France, Qatar and Switzerland and Directed by Kiro Russo. First, we see the city of La Paz from above as a hellish cauldron full of people, sounds and colours. New tall buildings are adjacent to dark alleys and decaying ruins. Closer shots show streets and bazaars bustling with life. Street trade is booming, crowded buses squeeze through the crowd, cars are honking, and unionists are organising miners' demonstrations. This is a portrait of the city, animated by dark energy, full of mysteries and magic.

* 'Water' - from Spain, Switzerland and France and Directed by Elena Lopez Riera. We are in a sleepy town in southern Spain, where the sun-scorched earth is sometimes haunted by great water, which is a breeding ground for various legends and myths. People are beautiful here, but they have no job and no prospect for the future - the youth only dream of breaking out of this hole.

For the full details and the other film strands playing at the 22nd New Horizons International Film Festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.nowehoryzonty.pl/artykul.do?lang=en&id=267

Turning the attention then back to this weeks three new cinematic offerings, we kick start with a mystery drama about a young woman who raised herself in the marshes of the America's deep South becomes a suspect in the murder of a man she was once involved with. This is followed by a super-natural horror about a thirteen year old lad who after being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims. And closing out the week we have a Spanish Argentinian film about a wealthy businessman who hires a famous filmmaker to help make a smash hit film.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the three latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the coming week.

* 'WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING' (Rated M) - this American mystery drama film is Directed by Olivia Newman and is based on the 2018 best selling novel of the same name by Delia Owens. This is Olivia Newman's second feature film outing following the 2018 release of 'First Match' on Netflix. The film is Co-Produced by Reece Witherspoon and the title song is written and sung by Taylor Swift. It cost US$44M to produce and is released this week too Stateside. 

Catherine 'Kya' Clarke (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is an endlessly resourceful young girl who grows up in the marshlands of North Carolina. Abandoned by her parents and older siblings in the early 1950's, Kya learns to survive on her own. She is taught to read and write by her friend Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith) and falls for him, but is left behind once again when he goes to college. Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson) is a quarterback who draws Kya into a tryst with promises of marriage that never eventuate. After Kya ends their relationship, Chase attacks her and she narrowly escapes. Then, while she is away, Chase is found dead and Kya is engulfed in a murder trial, with the evidence against her seemingly insurmountable. Also starring David Strathairn and Garret Dillahunt.

* 'THE BLACK PHONE' (Rated MA15+) - is an American super-natural horror film Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Scott Derrickson whose previous feature film outings take in the likes of 'Hellraiser : Inferno' in 2000, 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose' in 2005, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' in 2008, 'Sinister' in 2012, 'Deliver Us from Evil' in 2014 and 'Doctor Strange' most recently in 2016. This film is an adaptation of the 2004 short story of the same name by Joe Hill. Here, Finney Shaw (Mason Thames), a shy but clever thirteen-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic masked killer, known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke) and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming serves little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer's previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to Finney. The film saw its Premier screening at Fantastic Fest in late September last year and went on release in the US towards the end of June this year having grossed US$116M off the back of a US$18M production budget and garnering generally positive Reviews. 

* 'OFFICIAL COMPETITION' (Rated M) - this Spanish and Argentinian comedy film is Co-Written and Directed by Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn and it saw its World Premier showcasing at last years Venice Film Festival in early September before being released in its native Spain and Argentina in late February and mid-March respectively. An aged multimillionaire, Humberto Suarez (Jose Luiz Gomez) willing to leave a legacy decides to finance a feature film Directed by eccentric Lola Cuevas (Penelope Cruz). The Screenplay is adapted from an award-winning novel about a man who is unable to forgive his brother for killing their parents in a drunk-driving accident. The two brothers are to be played by defined actor Ivan Torres (Oscar Martinez) and celebrity actor Felix Rivero (Antonio Banderas), whose differing methods cause them to clash during rehearsals. The film has generated largely positive Reviews, and has so far grossed US$4M at the Box Office. 

With three new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-