What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 3rd September 2026.

The 9th Edition of the Brussels International Film Festival (BRIFF) this year takes place from Friday 4th September through until Saturday 12th September in the Belgian capital city of Brussels. For nine days, Brussels’ most beautiful cinemas come alive with screenings, red carpets, and encounters with film teams. On the programme are highly anticipated Premieres, rare films from all over the world, gripping competitions, tributes to cinema legends, open-air screenings, and concerts. It is a festival designed as much for the general public as for passionate film lovers, and for anyone who simply dreams of experiencing cinema in a different way . . . . . so reads the official website.

This years Opening Film presentation is 'A Man of His Time' ('Notre Salut') from Belgium and France and this WWII drama film is Written and Directed by Emmanual Marre in only his second feature film offering following 'Zero Fucks Given' in 2021. In 1940, Henri Marre (Swann Arlaud) arrives in Vichy with aspirations to publish his manuscript Notre Salut (Our Salvation), which he hopes will rescue France from the Vichy regime. The film saw its World Premiere at the main competition at this Cannes Film Festival in late May where it won the Best Screenplay prize.

Through three competitions, the festival highlights outstanding works and celebrates the talent of filmmakers and their teams. By rewarding those who make contemporary cinema, it helps films reach a wider audience, broaden their visibility, and support their journey far beyond the festival itself. Those competitive sections are : International Competition showcasing powerful stories from around the world, presented as Belgian premieres; National Competition, presenting Belgian cinema in all its richness and diversity; and Director's Week focusing on Europe’s emerging talents. 

There are nine films in the International Competition exploring life choices, doubts and questions, resistance and collaboration. While some are still wondering what they want to make of the life ahead of them, others are forging their own path with strength and determination. Those nine films are as given in brief below :-

* 'Notre Salut' ('A Man of His Time') - refer above Opening Film presentation.

* 'Shame and Money' - from Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia and Belgium, and Co-Written and Directed by Visar Morina. A couple in their 40's live with their extended family in rural Kosovo making a modest living on their farm. Following a familial dispute, their livelihood is lost. They are forced to move to Pristina where the pressure to provide for their family weighs heavily on the parents as they do their best to find work and a place to stay.

* 'The Meltdown' - from Chile, the USA, Spain and Mexico, and Written and Directed by Manuela Martelli. Set in Chile in 1992, staying at her grandparents’ remote hotel near an Andean ski resort, nine year old Ines befriends fifteen year old Hanna, a German skier. When Hanna vanishes without a trace, the search for her exposes hidden truths.

* 'If I Were Alive' - from Brazil and Written and Directed by Andre Novais Oliveira. The film opens in 1970's Contagem, Brazil, a town that is still growing, where a young Gilberto tries to win back Jacira. Fifty years later, the couple is in their mid-seventies and still together, sharing a quiet, affectionate life.

When Jacira is suddenly hospitalised, Gilberto faces strange, disorienting events that bend time and space.

* 'Six Months in a Pink and Blue Building' - from Mexico, Brazil and Denmark and Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Bruno Santamaria Razo. Mexico City, early 1990's. The day Bruno turns eleven years of age, his growing feelings for his best friend Vladimir clash with the sudden announcement that his father has HIV. Like in salsa songs, his family tries to sing and dance their pain away. Thirty years later Bruno films, reimagining the memory of what he could not quite perceive as a child.

* 'Rose' - from Austria and Germany and Co-Written and Directed by Markus Schleinzer. Set in the 17th Century, it follows mysterious soldier Rose (Sandra Huller), a woman disguised as a man, who appears in a secluded Protestant village. She declares herself the heir of a long-abandoned farmstead and produces a document to support her claim to the suspicious villagers.

* 'Chronicles from the Siege' - from Algeria, France and Palestine, and Written and Directed by Abdallah Alkhatib. During the siege of their city, a group of ordinary people struggle to survive amid hunger, snipers, and bombardments, while clinging to human connection, love, and small daily pleasures. Faced with impossible moral choices and deep psychological strain, their lives become inseparable from the siege itself.

* 'I'll Be Gone in June' - from Germany, Switzerland and the USA, and Written and Directed by Katherina Rivilis. In 2001, Franny, a 16-year-old exchange student from Germany, arrives in the sleepy desert town of Las Cruces, New Mexico. Far from home, Franny struggles through awkward school days, stifling heat, and restless nights until she meets Elliott, a boy whose quiet sadness mirrors her own. As America reels from 9/11, something resonates within Franny and an unexpected tenderness begins to bloom.

* 'The Son and the Sea' - from the UK and Co-Written, Directed and Co-Edited by Stroma Cairns. Two best mates, Jonah and Lee, take a trip to the Northeast coast of Scotland, where Jonah hopes he’ll escape the mess he’s making of his life in London. They meet Charlie, who is profoundly deaf and visiting his twin brother. Through the darkness that meets them on this wild coast, they form a friendship that ultimately brings Jonah to discover the courage to be vulnerable and that joy can be found despite loss.

For the details of the other films in competition, plus those playing Out of Competition, and a whole lot of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : http://www.briff.be/en/

Turning the focus then back to this weeks seven hot new release movies coming to your local big screen Odeon, we begin with an historical crime drama in which a notorious Mafia hitman and a young black FBI Agent team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in Mississippi in 1966. Next up is a survival thriller about two young women who find themselves in a desperate fight for their lives when a mountain rock slide leaves them stranded on a fragile plank more than 3,000 feet above the ground. Then we have a true crime documentary film that details the wild true story of Scott Scurlock, one of the most prolific bank robbers in American history. This is followed by a horror thriller that follows a friend group of graduates who go on a late night drive, but accidentally turn onto a two-lane highway which appears to go on indefinitely. Turning next to the first instalment in a two part WWII epic that in June 1940, France collapses and signs the armistice, but in the midst of the chaos, one man refuses to give up - alone against the odds, this unknown General flees to London to save what remains of freedom. And closing out the week we have two doco's - the first, an eye-opening look at how powerful figures weaponise defamation laws to silence survivors of gender-based violence in the post-#MeToo era; and the second, features a motley crew of para ice hockey skaters who fight to keep their grassroots sporting club on the rink. 

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

'BY ANY MEANS' (Rated MA15+) - this American historical crime film is Co-Produced and Directed by Elegance Bratton whose previous feature length films include the documentaries 'Pier Kids' in 2019 and 'Move Ya Body : The Birth of House' in 2025 and the drama film 'The Inspection' in 2022. 

Based on a true story, a young Black Special FBI Agent Wayne Strider (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is sent into 1960's Mississippi to investigate a wave of brutal killings targeting civil rights leaders. Forced to work alongside notorious Mafia hitman turned FBI informant Greg Scarpa (Mark Wahlberg), he finds himself pulled into a deadly hunt where justice and vengeance begin to blur. When the system is broken, two men divided by everything agree on one thing, that the law has limits. They don't. Also starring Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas, David Strathairn, Ethan Embry and LisaGay Hamilton. The film is released this week too in the US.

'FALL 2 : DEADPOINT' (Rated M) - is an American survival thriller film Directed by Peter and Michael Spierig, the German/Australian film making brothers whose previous Directing credits take in the debut feature with 'Undead' in 2003 which they would follow up with 'Daybreakers' in 2009, 'Predestination' in 2014, 'Jigsaw' in 2017 and 'Winchester' in 2018. This film is the sequel to 2022's 'Fall' that was Directed by Scott Mann (who serves as Co-Writer and Co-Producer on this second instalment). Here, following the death of Shiloh Hunter, in the first film, her sister Jax (Harriet Slater) agrees to a tribute proposed by Shiloh's daring friend, Luce (Arsema Thomas). The two travel to Thailand to conquer a treacherous plank walk on Mount Kwan, but a sudden rockslide leaves them trapped at a terrifying height of 3,000 feet, forcing the duo to push their limits and cooperate to stay alive. The film is released Stateside this week too.

'HOW TO ROB A BANK' (Rated M) - this American documentary film is Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Stephen Robert Morse and Seth Porges. The film centres on Scott Scurlock, also known as 'The Hollywood Bandit', who robbed nineteen confirmed banks in Seattle between 1992 and 1996. Featuring interviews with the Hollywood Bandits bank robbers themselves, law enforcement and characters from the Pacific Northwest, the documentary chronicles the rise of Scott Scurlock as he becomes the bank robber known as 'Hollywood', America's most successful bank robber. This film premiered on Netflix back in early June 2024, and now gets a limited release in theatres in Australia. This film is not to be confused with the American action comedy heist film of the same name Directed by David Leitch and starring Nicholas Hoult, Pete Davidson, Zoe Kravitz, John C. Reilly and Christian Slater and is due for release in mid-November this year. 

'IT ENDS' (Rated MA15+) - is an American horror thriller film Written, Directed and Edited by Alexander Ullom in his Directorial debut. A group of three recent grads - James (Phinehas Yoon), Day (Akira Jackson) and Fisher (Noah Toth) head out on a late night drive for food after being picked up by their friend Tyler (Mitchell Cole) who they haven't seen in a year, hoping to enjoy one final hangout before their paths diverge. Instead, they accidentally turn onto a never-ending, two lane hellscape surrounded by untold horrors and cosmic forces beyond their understanding. The film had its Premiere screening at the South by Southwest Festival in early March 2025, was released in the US last week, has so far grossed US$810K from a production budget of just US$80K, and has received positive critical reviews.

'DE GAULLE PART ONE : RESISTANCE' (Rated MA15+) - is the first instalment in a two-part epic biographical drama film Co-Written and Directed by Antonin Baudry, in only his second feature film making outing following 'The Wolf's Call' in 2019, and is based on the nonfiction book 'A Certain Idea of France : The Life of Charles De Gaulle' by Julian Jackson. The film follows Charles de Gaulle (Simon Abkarian), who rose from being a French army officer, to leading the French Resistance against Nazi Germany during World War II. The formation of his government-in-exile in London, his tumultuous relationship with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Simon Russell Beale), as well as the Resistance's operations in Africa - especially the Battle of Bir Hakeim - are featured prominently. The first part, 'Resistance' had its World Premiere out of competition at this years Cannes Film Festival in late May, followed by its release in France in early June. The second part, 'Liberte' was released in France toward the end of June. The two films have so far grossed a combined US$32.5M off the back of total production budgets of US$86.5M. 

'SILENCED' (Rated M) - is a biographical documentary film Co-Written and Directed by Selina Miles whose prior feature documentary films take in 'Martha : A Picture Story' in 2019, and 'Harley & Katya' in 2022 with 'Poster Boy : Becoming Zyzz' due for release later this year. After the #MeToo movement broke the cultural silence on gender violence, survivors swiftly found themselves facing a new kind of silencing and fear as defamation laws became weaponised against women for speaking out. International human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson takes audiences into the courtroom and behind the headlines to reveal how the legal system is used to discredit and re-victimise survivors, with lawsuits designed to emotionally and financially ruin those who dare to speak their truth. Robinson brings unrivalled access to the women and journalists at the centre of high-profile legal battles across the globe, including Amber Heard and Brittany Higgins. The film Premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in late January this year and a various other international film festivals since, including the Sydney Film Festival in mid-June, and the Melbourne International Film Festival in mid-August. It is released this week also in the USA. The film has generated critical acclaim. 

'HARD AS PUCK' (Rated M) - this Australian documentary film is Co-Written and Directed by Isaac Elliott in his feature length Directorial debut. The film follows a struggling para ice hockey club in Western Australia. With no money, no sponsors, and barely enough players, they rely on grants and sponsorships to get by. But when the enigmatic founder Dan Perrett prepares to step away, the club is thrown into turmoil. Through setbacks and personal clashes, bitter losses and hard-fought wins, Hard as Puck explores what it takes, and means, to run a local sports club with unexpected international ambitions for a place on the Australian team in its first ever appearance at the Women’s World Para Ice Hockey Championships in Slovakia. 

With seven 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-