Synopsis

Jay Kelly, the new film from Academy Award nominee Noah Baumbach, follows famous movie actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) as he embarks on a journey of self discovery confronting both his past and present, accompanied by his devoted manager Ron (Adam Sandler). Poignant and humor filled, epic and intimate, Jay Kelly is pitched at the intersection of life’s regrets and notable glories.

Synopsis

After iconoclastic artist Leonora Carrington trades English life for 1930s Paris, she falls in with giants of the Surrealist movement, including Salvador Dalí and André Breton. But it’s her passionate love affair with German painter Max Ernst that affects her life and work in the most profound manner. Their turbulent relationship sends her on a journey of self-discovery that will eventually take her to Mexico, where she finds a true sense of freedom—and her own unique artistic voice.

Working from the novel by Mexican author and artist Elena Poniatowska, directors Lena Vurma and Thor Klein chronicle key chapters in Carrington’s singular life, depicting the evolution of an artist with nuance and subtlety. Actress Olivia Vinall delivers a perfectly pitched performance as the story’s central figure, portraying Carrington both in her youth and as a more mature woman working in Mexico, where she emerged alongside Frida Kahlo as one of the country’s preeminent creative figures. With its insightful observations of a multifaceted talent whose distaste for the conventional enabled her to live as a true original, Leonora in the Morning Light gives Carrington her due.

Synopsis

A tender rumination on the tenuous bonds of family, the changing Icelandic landscape, and the passage of time itself, The Love That Remains chronicles a year in the life of a family of five as the parents navigate their separation. Anna, an artist who works with natural materials to create large canvases, is frustrated with her professional life and hoping to land an exhibition. Her husband, Magnus, is often away working on a fishing trawler, and his extended absences put a strain on the family. As the love between Anna and Magnus fades, the couple and their three children are forced to redefine their relationships to one another.

Infusing the narrative with surreal flourishes, a dreamy piano score, stunning landscape photography, and a winning performance from Panda the dog, director Hlynur Pálmason (2022’s Godland) offers a meditative, tragicomic portrait of a family in crisis.

Synopsis

A deeply moving gothic revenge film set in the mid-1800s, Mārama follows Mary Stevens on a lengthy journey from Aotearoa, New Zealand to North Yorkshire, England, as she searches for answers about her long-lost Māori birth family.

Under the sinister shadow of the British Empire, Mary arrives at the estate of wealthy whaler and Māori culture dilettante Sir Nathaniel Cole (Toby Stephens), only to discover that the man who promised her information about her parents has died. Stranded after her arduous journey in an unwelcoming manor, Mary begrudgingly accepts Nathaniel’s uncomfortably solicitous invitation to stay on as a governess to his daughter. Trying to find her footing in the dark corridors of a new home that treats precious Māori items as little more than set dressing and status symbols, Mary starts experiencing strange visions and unfamiliar memories that guide her toward the horrific truth of her ancestral past. Soon, she embarks on a blood-soaked path of righteous retribution.

A striking debut feature that breaks bold new ground for gothic horror, this searing colonial critique is bolstered by lush period costumes and stifling interiors, broody cinematography, and the unwavering strength of Ariāna Osborne’s performance as Mary.

Synopsis

In a sedate corner of Massachusetts circa 1970, James Blaine Mooney (Josh O’Connor) is an unemployed carpenter who has yet to live up to the expectations of his middle-class upbringing. With his eyes on easy money, Mooney plots his first big theft with a ragtag group of local buddies to steal a series of abstract paintings from a small regional museum. But things don’t go exactly as planned, and Mooney finds himself in one mishap after another, as both his personal and professional life unravel.

Like director Kelly Reichardt’s previous films Night Moves and Meek’s Cutoff, The Mastermind reinvents genre yet again, here reshaping the heist movie into a study of the unforeseen consequences of one man’s bad decisions and lack of self-awareness. Enhanced by a percussive ‘70s-inspired jazzy score, as well as O’Connor’s skillful performance as the vain and blundering so-called “mastermind,” this amusing low-key drama is also one of Reichardt’s wittiest films. Beneath its dry humor lies a biting and timely satire about class, privilege, and the denial of responsibility.