What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 9th February 2023.

The 52nd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) was recently held in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands between Wednesday 25th January and Sunday 5th February. Since its foundation in 1972, it has maintained a focus on independent and experimental filmmaking by showcasing emerging talents and established auteurs. The festival also places a focus on presenting cutting edge media art and arthouse films. In 2022, IFFR recorded in excess of 177,250 online and 3,350 in person visits and more than 1,500 attending film professionals, making IFFR one of the largest audience and industry-driven film festivals in the world. The festival's Official Selection generally includes approaching 600 feature, mid-length, and short films from almost ninety countries and also offering a high-quality line-up of exhibitions, performances, masterclasses and talks.

The Tiger Competition is IFFR’s trade mark competition that celebrates the innovative and adventurous spirit of up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the world. The Tiger Award is accompanied by a €40,000 cash prize, to be shared between the Director and Producer of the winning film. Two Special Jury Awards worth €10,000 will also be presented for exceptional artistic achievement within the competition.

The Tiger Award was presented to 'LE SPECTRE DE BOKO HARAM' from Cameroon and Directed by Cyrielle Raingou and is a deeply affecting documentary that explores the lives of a group of children navigating life in a war zone. This film beat out '100 arstider' from Sweden, 'Birdland (Indivision)' from Morocco, 'Gagaland' from China, 'Geology of Separation' from Tunisia, 'Letzter Abend' from Germany, 'Mannvirki' from Iceland, 'Munnel' from Sri Lanka (winner of the Special Jury Award), 'New Strains' (winner of the Special Jury Award) from the USA, 'Notas sobre un verano' from Spain, 'Numb' from Iran, 'Nummer achttien' from the Netherlands, 'La Palisiada' (winner of the FIPRESCI Award) from Ukraine, 'Playland' from the USA, 'Thiiird' from Lebanon, and 'three sparks' from Albania.  

In the Big Screen Competition this year, the winner and also rans are as given below. The winner of the Big Screen Award wins a cash prize of €30,000, half of which goes to the distributor who decides to buy the film. 

The Big Screen Award was presented to 'ENDLESS BORDERS' from Germany and Directed by Abbas Amini, and tells the story of an exiled Iranian teacher who helps an Afghan refugee family triggering a multi-layered crisis of commitment. This film beat out 'Avant l'effondrement' from France, 'Before the Buzzards Arrive' from Mexico, 'Copenhagen Does Not Exist' from Denmark, 'Drawing Lots' from Georgia, 'Le formiche di Mida' from Austria, 'Four Little Adults' from Finland, 'La hembrita' from the Dominican Republic, 'Joram' from India, 'Luka' from Belgium, 'My Little Nighttime Secret' from Russia, 'The Nothingness Club' from Portugal, 'Okiku and the Wind' from Japan, 'One Win' from South Korea, 'La Sudestada' from Argentina, and 'Voyages en Italie' from France. 

For all the details of the complete IFFR programme, plus the other awards presented, you can got to the official website at : https://www.iffr.com/en

Turning attention then back to this weeks four new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with a tale of a man whose busy life with a new wife and their baby son is thrown into disarray when his ex-wife turns up with their teenage son who is facing challenges of his own. Next up is third and final film in this successful franchise that sees a male stripper take to the stage again, following a business deal that went bust, and head off to London with a wealthy socialite who lures him with an offer he can't refuse. This is followed by a story of an Austrian Empress, who confronted with a future of strict ceremonies and royal duties, rebels against her public image and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy; before closing out the week with a life-affirming story of how a male married couple's  relationship is transformed and deepened when one of them falls ill.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the four 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 week ahead.

'THE SON' (Rated M) - is a drama film Co-Written for the screen, Co-Produced and Directed by Florian Zeller, and based on Zeller's 2018 stage play of the same name. Zeller's previous film making offering came with his much lauded debut in 2020 with 'The Father' which won thirty-six awards (including two Oscar's and two BAFTA's) and a further 160 nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit. This film saw its World Premiere at the Venice International Film Festival in early September last year and was released nationally in the US on 20th January having so far grossed US$638K and garnered mixed or average Reviews at best. The film is released in the UK on 17th February and in France from 8th March. 

Here, Peter Miller (Hugh Jackman), whose hectic life with his new born son and his new wife Beth (Vanessa Kirby) is upended when his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern) appears at his door to discuss their son Nicholas (Zen McGrath), who is now a seventeen year old young man. It turns out that Nicholas has been missing school for months and is deeply troubled. Peter strives to take care of Nicholas as he would have wanted his own father Anthony (Anthony Hopkins) to have taken care of him while juggling his and Beth's new son, and at work an offer of a dream position in Washington. However, by reaching for the past to correct its mistakes, he loses sight of how to hold onto Nicholas in the present. Despite the Reviews, Jackman was nominated for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama for his performance at the Golden Globe Awards in early January this year.

'MAGIC MIKE'S LAST DANCE' (Rated M) - this American comedy drama film is Directed by Steven Soderbergh, and is a sequel to 2015's 'Magic Mike XXL' that was Directed by Gregory Jacobs which in turn was a sequel to 2012's 'Magic Mike' Directed by Steven Soderbergh. The first two films grossed US$290M off the back of a combined production budget of US$22M making this third and allegedly final instalment a no brainer. Here then, Mike Lane (Channing Tatum, who also Co-Produced here) takes to the stage once again when a business deal that went bust leaves him broke and bartending in Florida. Hoping for one last hurrah, Mike heads to London with a wealthy socialite Maxandra Mendoza (Salma Hayek) who lures him with an offer he can't refuse - and an agenda all her own. With everything on the line, he soon finds himself trying to whip a hot new roster of talented dancers into shape. The film is released Stateside this week too. 

'CORSAGE' (Rated M) - is an international Co-Production between Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and France and is Written and Directed by the Austrian filmmaker Marie Kreutzer whose prior filmmaking credits take in her 2011 debut with 'The Fatherless' and 'The Ground Beneath My Feet' in 2019. This film saw its World Premier in the 'Un Certain Regard' category of last years Cannes Film Festival, before its release in Austria and Germany in early July 2022, and in France at the end of January 2023, having so far taken US$3M at the Box Office off the back of a US$8.1M production budget. This film tells the story of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (born December 1837 and died September 1898, aged 60, and as portrayed here by Vicki Krieps) who is semi-estranged from her philandering husband Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria (Florian Teichtmeister) begins to act oddly as she nears her 40th birthday. The empress is renowned for her beauty and spends an obsessive amount of time measuring her weight, refusing to eat, and parsing comments about her looks. She travels to England and Bavaria, visiting former lovers and old friends, seeking the excitement and purpose of her youth. With a future of strictly ceremonial duties laid out in front of her, Elisabeth rebels against the exaggerated image of herself and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy. It has so far collected seven award wins and another thirty-two nominations from around the awards and festival circuit.

'SPOILER ALERT' (Rated M) - this American romantic drama film is Directed by Michael Showalter, the American Comedian, Actor, Director, Writer, and Producer, whose previous feature filmmaking offerings include 'Hello, My Name is Doris' in 2015, 'The Big Sick' in 2017, 'The Lovebirds' in 2020 and 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' most recently in 2021. This film is based on the 2017 memoir 'Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies' by Michael Ausiello. The film tells the story of Michael Ausiello (Jim Parsons) and Kit Cowan's (Ben Aldridge) thirteen year gay relationship, which takes a tragic turn when Cowan is diagnosed with terminal cancer and died of a rare form of neuroendocrine cancer in early February 2015. The film also stars Sally Field, has generated mixed or average Reviews and has so far taken US$1.4M at the Box Office since its release in the US in early December. 

With four 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-