What's new at Odeon's this week : Thursday 6th February 2025.

This years 54th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) takes place from Thursday 30th January though until Sunday 9th February. IFFR presents a leading international film festival and year-round programme that deepens appreciation of cinema in all its forms, broadens and diversifies audiences, and creates opportunities for independent filmmakers and artists from around the globe. It seeks to expand, enrich and challenge people’s views of the world and each other through film and audiovisual arts.

The festival opened with 'Fabula', a Dutch film Directed by Michiel ten Horn, and the closing night film is 'This City Is a Battlefield' an Indonesian war drama film Directed by Mouly Surya. 

IFFR’s trade mark Tiger Competition celebrates the innovative and adventurous spirit of up-and-coming filmmakers from all over the world. The competition was founded in 1995 with the aim of discovering, raising the profile of and rewarding up-and-coming international film talent. The Tiger Award is accompanied by a €40K cash prize, to be shared between the Director and Producer of the winning film. Two Special Jury Awards worth €10K will also be presented for exceptional artistic achievement within the competition.

This years films in the Tiger Competition category are :-

* 'L’arbre de l’authenticite', Directed by Sammy Baloji and from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Belgium.

* 'Bad Girl', Directed by Varsha Bharath from India.
* 'Blind Love', Directed by Julian Chou from Taiwan.
* 'Fiume o morte!', Directed by Igor Bezinovic and from Croatia, Italy and Slovenia.
* 'La gran historia de la filosofia occidental', Directed by Aria Covamonas from Mexico.
* 'Guo Ran', Directed by Li Dongmei from China.
* 'Im Haus meiner Eltern', Directed by Tim Ellrich from Germany.
* 'Primeira pessoa do plural', Directed by Sandro Aguilar from Portugal and Italy.
* 'Tears in Kuala Lumpur', Directed by Ridhwan Saidi from Malaysia.

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

* 'Vitrival – The Most Beautiful Village in the World', Directed by Noelle Bastin and Baptiste Bogaert from Belgium.
* 'Wind, Talk to Me', Directed by Stefan Djordjevic from Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia.
* 'Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master', Directed by Ivan Salatie from Montenegro.
* 'Sunshine Express', Directed by Amirali Navaee from Iran.

For the full line up of films being showcased at this years IFFR, the details of the other competitive strands plus a whole bunch of other good stuff, you can visit the official website at : https://iffr.com/en/

Looking ahead to this weeks five new movies coming to a big screen Odeon near you, we kick off with a historical drama retelling set during the 1972 Munich Olympics in which an American sports broadcasting team must adapt to live coverage of the Israeli athletes being held hostage by a terrorist group. This is followed by a supernatural thriller centred around a family who become convinced they are not alone after moving into their new home in the suburbs. Next up is a historical romantic drama set in Mexico City in the early 1950's in which an American immigrant leads a solitary life amongst a small American community, however, the arrival of a young student stirs the man into finally establishing a meaningful relationship with someone. Then we turn to the story behind the Veuve Clicquot champagne family and the business that began in the late 18th century; before closing out the week with a biographical doco charting the early years back in the late '60's of the English rock band Led Zeppelin.

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

'SEPTEMBER 5' (Rated M) - is a historical drama thriller Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Tim Fehlbaum who made his feature film debut with 'Hell' in 2011 and then 'Tides' in 2021. This film saw its World Premiere screening at the Venice International Film Festival in late August last year and was released in the US in mid-January this year, having so far grossed US$2.5M and receiving positive reviews from critics. The film has so far collected ten award wins and another twenty-seven nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

This film is set around the terrorist attack on the 1972 Summer Olympics hosted in Munich, Germany, but is really about the ABC sports crew suddenly tasked with providing live reports about the attack involving Israeli athletes taken hostage. We see everything from the crew's point of view. Starring Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin, Leonie Bensech and Benjamin Walker.

'PRESENCE' (Rated MA15+) - this American supernatural thriller drama film is Directed, lensed and Edited by Steven Soderbergh, whose previous feature film making credits take in his debut in 1989 with 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' which he would follow up with numerous others including 'Out of Sight' in 1998, 'Erin Brockovich' and 'Traffic' both in 2000, 'Ocean's Eleven', 'Ocean's Twelve' and 'Ocean's Thirteen' in 2001, 2004 and 2007 respectively, 'Contagion' in 2011, 'Magic Mike' in 2012, 'Side Effects' in 2013, 'Logan Lucky' in 2017 and 'Unsane' in 2018, with 'Black Bag' scheduled for a release later this year. Here then, a family of four, consisting mother Rebecca Payne (Lucy Liu), father Chris (Chris Sullivan), elder brother Tyler (Eddy Maday) and younger sister Chloe (Callina Liang) move into their new home in the suburbs only to become convinced a short time later that they are not alone in the house. The film was released in the US late in January having seen its World Premiere screening at the January 2024 Sundance Film Festival, has so far recovered US$5.2M from a production budget of just US$2M and has received generally favourable reviews. 

'QUEER' (Rated MA15+) - is a period romantic drama film Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Luca Guadagnino whose prior film making credits include his Directorial debut in 1999 with 'The Protagonists', and then 'A Bigger Splash' in 2015, 'Call Me by Your Name' in 2017, 'Suspiria' in 2018, 'Bones and All' in 2022 and 'Challengers' in 2024, with 'After the Hunt' due for release later this year. Set in 1950 in Mexico City, American expat William Lee (Daniel Craig), spends his days almost entirely alone, except for a few contacts with other members of the small American community. His encounter with Eugene Allerton (Drew Starkey), an expat former soldier, new to the city, shows him, for the first time, that it might be finally possible to establish an intimate connection with somebody. This film is based on the 1985 novella of the same name by William S. Burroughs, saw its World Premiere showcasing at the Venice International Film Festival in early September last year, was released Stateside at the end of November, has so far grossed US$5M from a production budget of US$49M and has generated largely favourable critical reviews.

'WIDOW CLICQUOT' (Rated M) - this US, UK and French Co-Produced film is Directed by Thomas Napper, and is based on the 2008 book of the same name by Tilar J. Mazzeo. Here, following her husband's untimely death, Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin Clicquot (Haley Bennett) flouts convention in 1805 by assuming the reins of the fledgling wine business they had nurtured together from the late 1700's. Steering the company through dizzying political and financial reversals, she defies her critics and revolutionises the French Champagne industry to become one of the world's first great businesswomen. She died in 1866 at the age of 88. Also starring Tom Sturridge and Sam Riley, the film saw its World Premiere at TIFF in mid-September 2023, was released in the US in mid-July last year and only now is released in Australia having so far grossed US$3M and receiving generally favourable critical acclaim. 

'BECOMING LED ZEPPELIN' (Rated PG) - is a documentary film Co-Written for the screen and Directed by Bernard MacMahon whose 'American Epic' film series is widely considered as the definitive portrait of a musical era, and one of the best music documentaries ever made. This film traces the journeys of Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant through the music scene of the 1960's, their meeting in the summer of 1968 and meteoric ascendancy throughout 1969, culminating in 1970 when they become the No. 1 band in the world. The story is told exclusively by the band members with the late John Bonham represented by previously unheard audio interviews. The film features full performances, never-before-seen footage of the band's early US and British concerts and unseen material from the band's personal archives. It is released in the US and Canada this week too, and has received mixed or average reviews. 

With five 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-