What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 19th October 2023.

The Adelaide Film Festival runs this year from Wednesday18th until Sunday 29th October, in Adelaide, South Australia. An independently financed Adelaide International Film Festival (AIFF) had been held from 1959 to 1980. The idea of a new film festival to stimulate the local film industry and celebrate the 30th anniversary of the South Australian Film Corporation was raised in 2002, with the inaugural Adelaide (International) Film Festival being held from late February to early March 2003. It ran a programme of screenings, special events and forums in a number of cinemas across Adelaide, and was the first film festival in Australia to introduce an international competition, and also the first to create an investment fund specifically for film production. After its first edition, the festival ceased to use 'International' in its title, denoting a withdrawal from FIAPF (International Federation of Film Producers Associations) membership.

This years Opening Night Gala film presentation is 'The Royal Hotel' Co-Written and Directed by Kitty Green and starring Julia Garner, Jessica Henwick, Hugo Weaving, Toby Wallace and Daniel Henshall. The film was shot in South Australia. The Closing Night Gala film is 'My Name's Ben Folds - I Play Piano' Directed by Scott Hicks and starring Ben Folds and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Northey. 

This years Feature Fiction Competition sees six films that are a selection of almost entirely first features capturing imagined worlds both rooted in the real or entirely visionary. Those films are :-

* 'Blaga's Lessons' from Bulgaria and Germany and Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Stephan Komandarev. Seventy-year-old Blaga is mourning the recent death of her husband and is  stretched financially to cover the costs of his grave. When she falls for a phone scam and is stripped of her savings, she is humiliated and desperate. Aged out of the job market, she becomes a driver for some shady figures, and on track to collide with the criminals who preyed on her. Australian Premiere.
* 'Embryo Larva Butterfly' from Cyprus and Greece and Written and Directed by Kyros Papavassiliou. Penelope and Isidoros exist in a universe where one day they can be young lovers, and the next older and divorced. Their relationship is stretched into new dimensions as their shared and individual recollections are in constant flux. However, somewhere next to their world is another where time is linear. Australian Premiere.

* 'Empty Nets' from Germany and Iran and Written and Directed by Behrooz Karamizade. Amir loves Narges, but they are at the opposite ends of the economic order. As the sanctions against Iran begin to bite, the poor are the first to be bitten, and Amir finds that his only way of making money is to join a group of fishermen who augment their meagre income through an illegal poaching operation. Australian Premiere.

* 'On the Go' from Spain and Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Maria Gisele Royo and Julia de Castro. Milagros, a free-spirited woman who wants to have a child, is joined by Jonathan, a Grindr-loving criminal with a past, and a mermaid sporting a broken crown. The group hits the road in a ’67 Chevrolet Corvair, careening from one wild encounter to another. Australian Premiere.

* 'Sahela' from Australia and Co-Written and Directed by Raghuvir Joshi. To their respective conservative Indian parents, Vir and Nitya are a happily married couple living in Parramatta, Sydney. They love to play the sitar together, she is a successful dentist, and he is studying for his accounting exam. However, as the cultural expectations ingrained into them from childhood start to take their toll, they both struggle to keep up appearances. Australian Premiere.

* 'You'll Never Find Me' from Australia and Co-Produced and Directed by Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell, Written by Indianna Bell and Edited by Josiah Allen. Strange hermit Patrick lives in an isolated caravan park. During a violent thunderstorm, a mysterious young woman appears at his door, seeking shelter from the weather. The longer the night wears on and the more the young woman discovers about Patrick, the more difficult she finds it to leave. Soon she begins to question Patrick’s intentions, while he begins to question his own grip on reality. 

In addition, there are six films in the Feature Documentary Competition, which are 'Apolonia, Apolonia', 'Hollywoodgate', 'Lakota Nation vs United States', 'Mutiny in Heaven : The Birthday Party', 'Seven Winters in Tehran' and 'The Mountains'. 

Those films being screened as part of the Special Presentations strand that are a selection of the most talked about films of the year that promise to excite and delight. They are 'Fingernails', 'Uproar', 'All Of Us Strangers', 'Foe', 'Poor Things', 'Saltburn', 'Hot Potato : The Story of The Wiggles' and 'Strange Way of Life'.

For the complete synopsis of these latter films, plus a whole lot more good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/

This week there are no less than eight new movies coming to a big screen Odeon close to home, and we kick start with an epic Western about members of the Osage tribe in the US who are murdered under mysterious circumstances in the 1920's, sparking a major B.O.I. (F.B.I.) investigation. Next up we have a biographical offering telling the story of a sixty-four-year-old marathon swimmer who attempts to become the first person ever to swim from Cuba to Florida. Then we have a French film about a woman who is sucked into a world of secrets and betrayal as the battle over her estranged father's massive estate reveals him to be more than the genial patriarch she'd assumed. We then turn to an Aussie doco concerning a man who experiments with disconnecting from his smartphone and social media for thirty days to see what the impact is upon him and the people around him. This is followed by a second Aussie doco charting the great Aussie rivalry between two leading car manufacturers and the impact on the Australian psyche both on the racetrack and off it. Up next we have a Filipino movie telling the story of how after a ruthless firing and its devastating aftermath, a determined woman embarks on a strategic revenge plot against a chic, rich retail mogul. And our third Aussie offering this week is a comedy romance about a successful romance writer who takes a post-breakup vacation to the tropical island where she meets a handsome stranger and starts to fall for him - only to find out that he's actually a Prince; and we close out the week with a Dutch animated film about a young girl, and a piglet gifted to her by her grandfather, who has ulterior motives for doing so. 

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

'KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON' (Rated MA15+) - is an American epic Western crime drama film Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Martin Scorsese, who needs no introduction I'm sure, and is based on the 2017 non-fiction book of the same name by David Grann. The film, which cost a reported US$200M, had its World Premiere screening in late May this year at the Cannes Film Festival to widespread critical acclaim, and goes on worldwide release this week. It marks the sixth feature film collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio and the tenth between Scorsese and De Niro. 

Set in 1920's north eastern Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the 'Reign of Terror'. Sparking a major Bureau of Investigation (which became the FBI in 1935) inquiry directed by a 29-year-old J. Edgar Hoover and a former Texas Ranger Tom White (Jesse Plemmons) into the deaths of some sixty or more wealthy, full-blood Osage Indians who were reported killed from 1918 to 1931. Also starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Scott Shepherd and Sturgill Simpson. 

'NYAD' (Rated M) - this American biographical sports drama film is Directed by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin in their feature film debuts and is based on Diana Nyad's autobiography 'Find a Way'. The film tells the story of how, three decades after giving up marathon swimming in exchange for a prominent career as a sports journalist, at the age of sixty, Diana Nyad (Annette Bening) becomes obsessed with completing an epic swim that always eluded her - the 110 mile open water swim from Cuba to Florida. Determined to become the first person to finish the swim without a shark cage, Diana goes on a thrilling, four-year journey with her best friend and coach Bonnie Stoll (Jodie Foster) and a dedicated sailing team. Also starring Rhys Ifans, the film saw its World Premiere screening at the Telluride Film Festival in early September, and is released in the US this week too before streaming on Netflix from 3rd November. 

'THE ORIGIN OF EVIL' (Rated MA15+) - this French and Canadian Co-Produced thriller drama film is Written and Directed by Sebastien Marnier whose first feature film was 'Faultless' in 2016 and which he followed up with 'School's Out' in 2018. Here, Stephane (Laure Calamy), a fish cannery worker discovers that she is the biological daughter of wealthy businessman Serge (Jacques Weber), and is being introduced to his established family despite their unwillingness to accept her. As Stephane embarks on an extended visit in hopes of getting to know Serge, she also becomes entangled with the hostile women who share a tense existence in his beautifully appointed mansion by the sea, and all of whom are clearly unsettled by the arrival of Serge's newly announced heir. But Stephane is a confident liar with secrets of her own. The film saw its World Premiere showcasing at the early September 2022 Venice Film Festival and only now is it released in Australia having completed the film festivals circuit and so far taking just US$1M at the Box Office and generating largely positive reviews.

'DISCONNECT ME' (Rated PG) - is an Australian documentary film Written, Directed and starring Alex Lykos in only his second feature length film after his debut in 2019 with the comedy 'Me & My Left Brain'. This film focuses on Alex who experiments with disconnecting from his smartphone, all of his electronic devices and social media for thirty days, while examining the ever-pervasive role that technology plays in our daily lives. How will this impact his life both personally and professionally? How will he and those around him react? Along the way, Alex investigates the social impacts of the smartphone and social media, interviewing children, teenagers, adults and academics asking the question 'why are we so addicted to technology?'

'FORD V. HOLDEN' (Rated CTC) - this Australian documentary film is Written by Meaghan Wilson Anastasios, narrated by the Aussie Actor, Writer and Producer Shane Jacobson, and is Produced by Universal Pictures. The film explores the decades-long competition between two of Australia’s most iconic car brands, Ford and Holden. From the early days of the automobile industry to the present, here we delve into the history, technology, and culture of these rival companies and their impact on the Australian psyche and automotive landscape.

'A VERY GOOD GIRL' (Rated M) - is a Philippine dark comedy film Directed by Petersen Vargas whose debut feature film was '2 Cool 2 Be 4gotten' in 2016 and then 'An Inconvenient Love' in 2022. Here, following a heartless firing triggers a chain of unfortunate events, as Philo (Kathryn Bernardo) plots a meticulous revenge against retail mogul Mother Molly (Dolly de Leon), aiming to dismantle her empire and seize the ultimate payback. This time, there is no mercy. The film has so far grossed US$1.3M since its release at the end of September in the Philippines and its release Stateside earlier this month, and has garnered generally positive press.

'A ROYAL IN PARADISE' (Rated G) - this Australian comedy romance film is Co-Written and Directed by Adrian Powers in only his second feature film outing following 'Battle Ground' in 2013 with 'Love Is in the Air' released on Netflix towards the end of September. Olivia Perkins (Rhiannon Fish), a New York Writer struggling with writer's block after a recent break up, takes a tropical holiday in hope of some inspiration and meets Prince Alexander (Mitchell Bourke), who needs some distance from his mother, Queen Patricia (Andrea Moor), who expects him to marry royalty. 

'OINK' (Rated PG) - is a Dutch stop motion animation film based on the book 'The Revenge of Oink' by Tosca Menten. It was the first stop motion feature film ever made in the Netherlands, and is Directed by Mascha Halberstad. Here, nine-year-old Babs (voiced by Hiba Ghafry) is gifted a pig named Oink as a present from her Grandpa Tuitjes (Kees Prins). She convinces her parents to keep it under the condition that Oink follows puppy training. But her parents are not the biggest threat to Oink because actually her grandfather is secretly taking part in a sausage making competition organised by The Society for Meat Products from Fresh Pigs. The film had its World Premiere at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival, and it went on to win three Golden Calves at the Netherlands Film Festival for Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Production Design, making it the first animated film to ever win these awards. Following its success, it was announced that a twenty minute short film prequel is being made and will take place 25 years before the events of the first film. Titled 'King Sausage' it follows the parents of Babs.

With eight 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 week ahead.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-