What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 26th June 2025

The 42nd Munich International Film Festival this year is held from Friday 27th June through until Sunday 6th July in the German city of Munich. It is the largest summer film festival in Germany and second only in size and importance to the Berlinale. It has been held annually since 1983 and takes place in late June or early July, and presents feature films and feature-length documentaries. With the exception of retrospectives, tributes and homages, all of the films screened are German Premieres and many are European and World Premieres. There are a dozen competitions with prizes worth over €250K which are donated by the festival's major sponsors and partners. With over 160 feature films and feature-length documentaries on more than eighteen screens, from fifty-four countries, Filmfest Munchen has an annual attendance of around 80,000. It accredits more than six hundred members of the international press and media as well as over 2,500 film industry professionals. Nearly fifty films will have their World Premieres at this year’s festival in the Bavarian capital, with such international stars as Stellan Skarsgard, Francois Ozon, Jay Duplass and Gillian Anderson, the American Actress, Writer, and activist, who will be honoured with the CineMerit Award for her outstanding contributions to the art of film, all giving personal appearances.

This years Opening Night film presentation is 'The Balled of Wallis Island' and Directed by James Griffiths and starring Tom Basden, Tim Key and Carey Mulligan and tells the story set on a remote island off the Welsh coast where old tensions resurface when former bandmates, who were former lovers, reunite for the first time in nine years for a private show at the island home of an eccentric millionaire. 

The CineMasters Competition includes films from internationally acclaimed Directors (with the exception of Germany). The films are in competition for the ARRI/OSRAM Award for Best Film (non-German), and carries a services award from both of these companies worth €50K). Those feature films therefore competing are as follows :-

* 'Aicha' - from France, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia and Written and Directed by Mehdi M. Barsaoui. 

* 'Hard Truths' - from the UK and Written and Directed by Mike Leigh and starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin and David Webber.

* 'Sound of Falling' - from Germany and Co-Written and Directed by Mascha Schilinski. Winner of the Jury Prize at this years Cannes Film Festival.

* 'Kika' - from Belgium and Co-Written and Directed by Alexe Poukine. 

* 'Magellan' - from France, Philippines, Portugal, Spain and Taiwan and Written, Production Designed, Directed, Co-Photographed and Co-Edited by Lav Diaz, and starring Gael Garcia Bernal.

* 'Militantropos' - from France, Austria and Ukraine and Directed by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova and Simon Mozgovyi.

* 'Nouvelle Vague' - from France and Directed by Richard Linklater and starring Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch and Aubry Dullin.

* 'Perla' - from Austria and Slovakia and Written and Directed by Alexandra Makarova.

* 'Promised Sky' - from France, Qatar and Tunisia and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Erige Sehiri. 

* 'Sirat' - from France and Spain and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Oliver Laxe. Winner of the Jury Prize at this years Cannes Film Festival.

* 'The Baltimorons' - from the USA and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Jay Duplass.

* 'The Exposure' - from Switzerland and the UK and Written, Co-Produced, Directed and Co-Edited by Thomas Imbach.

* 'When Fall is Coming' - from France and Co-Written, Produced and Directed by Francois Ozon.

* 'Yes' - from Germany, France, Israel and Cyprus and Written and Directed by Nadav Lapid.

For the full synopsis of the aforementioned films being showcased within the CineMasters section, plus the other film strands including the CineVision Competition, the CineCoPro Competition, Spotlight, International Independents, New German Cinema and the Kinderfilmfest, plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can go to the official website at : https://www.filmfest-muenchen.de/en/

This week we have four new movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, launching with a sports drama film in which a semi-retired Formula One driver comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver. This is followed by a Sci-Fi horror sequel set two years after this child sized humanoid robot's rampage, her creator, resorts to resurrecting her infamous creation in order to take down a military-grade robot who was built by a defence contractor who stole the underlying tech from the original robot. Next up we have the first of two French offerings, with the story of a Paris food delivery cyclist and asylum seeker who has two days to prepare his story for a make-or-break interview to secure legal residency; and closing out the week and set on the sunny French Riviera, where a family revelation spirals into a mischievous journey brimming with love, vengeance and surprises.

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.

'F1' (Rated M) - this American sports drama film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Joseph Kosinski whose prior feature film efforts take in 'Tron : Legacy' in 2010, 'Oblivion' in 2013, 'Only the Brave' in 2017, 'Top Gun : Maverick' in 2022 and 'Spiderhead' also in 2022. This film features the Formula One World Championship, created in collaboration with the FIA, its governing body, and is Co-Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Lewis Hamilton and Brad Pitt. The film is released internationally this week and cost US$200M to produce.

Here, dubbed 'the greatest that never was' Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was Formula 1's most promising driver of the 1990's until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he's a nomadic racer-for-hire driving in other motor sport disciplines, when he's approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling Formula 1 team Apex Grand Prix (APXGP) that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to Formula 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He'll drive alongside Joshua 'Noah' Pearce (Damson Idris), the team's hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny's past catches up with him and he finds that in Formula 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition, and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone. Also starring Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Shea Whigham plus all ten Formula One teams and their drivers in the 2023 season will appear as themselves.

'M3GAN 2.0' (Rated M) - is an American Sci-Fi horror film Written and Directed by Gerard Johnstone, and is a sequel to 2022's 'M3GAN' which was also Directed by Gerard Johnstone and grossed US$182M from a production budget of US$12M making this sequel inevitable. Here, set two years after the events of the first film Gemma (Allison Williams, who also Co-Produces here alongside James Wan and Jason Blum) has become an author and an advocate for the regulation of artificial intelligence while trapping a still-active M3GAN (Amie Donald with Jenna Davis providing the voice) in a small, harmless robotic doll. However, M3GAN's technology has been stolen and used by a defence contractor to create a military robot called AMELIA (Autonomous Military Engagement Logistics and Infiltration Android - Ivanna Sakhno), who becomes self-aware, turns on her creators, and attempts an AI takeover. Facing imminent destruction, Gemma's niece Cady (Violet McGraw) convinces her to rebuild M3GAN with advanced upgrades so she can fight Amelia. Also starring Brian Jordan Alvarez and Jermain Clement. The film is released Stateside this week too.

'SOULEYMANE'S STORY' (Rated M) - this French drama film is Co-Written and Directed by Boris Lojkine, and tells the story of Souleymane (Abou Sangare), a recent Guinean immigrant in Paris, whose every waking second is spent fighting against the clock, working as an e-bike rider for a food delivery service to make his quota, getting back in time to secure a bed at the shelter, filling out paperwork on a deadline as he tries desperately to get asylum in France, and with his interview in two days, he is ill prepared. The film had its World Premiere showcasing at the Un Certain Regard section of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and the Performance Prize. It was released in its native France in early October last year and only now is it released in Australia having garnered universal critical acclaim.

'RIVIERA REVENGE' (Rated M) - is a French comedy film Written and Directed by Ivan Calberac whose two most recent feature films were 2019's 'Venice Calling' and 2022's 'The Tasting'. Here, he tells the story of Francois Marsault (Andre Dussollier), a war veteran, who makes the most of his retirement alongside his wife Annie (Sabine Azema) with whom he has been married for five decades. Authoritarian and ruthless, Francois rules his family with an iron fist, but when he discovers that his esteemed wife cheated on him forty years ago, he files for divorce and confronts her former lover, who lives on the French Riviera. The film was released in France in late April 2024, and only now does it get a showing in Australia. 

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-