"I've been running away from her like a coward." The Match Factory has revealed a first look trailer for a Portuguese film set in Asia premiering at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival next month. This new film is called Grand Tour, and it's the latest feature by Portuguese director Miguel Gomes, best known for his films Tabu (2012), The Tsugua Diaries (2021), and his Arabian Nights trilogy (2015). Grand Tour was already announced as part of the prestigious Competition at Cannes 2024 this year, which is a big deal for a film like this. Edward, civil servant, flees fiancee Molly on their wedding day in Rangoon, Burma, in 1917. His travels replace panic with melancholy. Molly, set on marriage and amused by his escape, trails him across Asia. The film stars Gonçalo Waddington & Crista Alfaiate. Variety says it features a mix of "narrative sequences shot in a studio [which are] intercut with footage of contemporary Asia." It is...
- 4/18/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Among our most-anticipated premieres at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, now less than a month away, is Grand Tour, marking the return of Portuguese director Miguel Gomes. Starring Gonçalo Waddington, Crista Alfaiate, Cláudio da Silva, and Lang Khê Tran, the 1917-set film follows a civil servant who flees from his fiancée, who subsequently attempts to track him down across Asia. Mixed in with this narrative is 16mm footage of contemporary Asia. Ahead of the Cannes premiere, the beautiful first trailer has now arrived.
Here’s the synopsis: “Rangoon, Burma, 1917. Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire, runs away from his fiancée Molly the day she arrives to get married. During his travels, however, panic gives way to melancholy. Contemplating the emptiness of his existence, the cowardly Edward wonders what has become of Molly… Determined to get married and amused by Edward’s move, Molly follows his trail on this Asian grand tour.
Here’s the synopsis: “Rangoon, Burma, 1917. Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire, runs away from his fiancée Molly the day she arrives to get married. During his travels, however, panic gives way to melancholy. Contemplating the emptiness of his existence, the cowardly Edward wonders what has become of Molly… Determined to get married and amused by Edward’s move, Molly follows his trail on this Asian grand tour.
- 4/18/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Variety has been granted exclusive access to the trailer (below) for Portuguese director Miguel Gomes’ “Grand Tour,” which will have its world premiere in Cannes Film Festival’s Competition section. Variety can also exclusively reveal that that distribution on “Grand Tour” will be handled in France by Tandem, and in Italy by Lucky Red, and that Gomes’ next film will be “Savagery.”
“Grand Tour” kicks off in 1917 in Burma. It centers on Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire, who runs away from his fiancée Molly the day she arrives to get married. During his travels, however, panic gives way to melancholy. Contemplating the emptiness of his existence, the cowardly Edward wonders what has become of Molly… Determined to get married and amused by Edward’s move, Molly follows his trail on this Asian grand tour.
The film stars Gonçalo Waddington and Crista Alfaiate, and the cast also includes...
“Grand Tour” kicks off in 1917 in Burma. It centers on Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire, who runs away from his fiancée Molly the day she arrives to get married. During his travels, however, panic gives way to melancholy. Contemplating the emptiness of his existence, the cowardly Edward wonders what has become of Molly… Determined to get married and amused by Edward’s move, Molly follows his trail on this Asian grand tour.
The film stars Gonçalo Waddington and Crista Alfaiate, and the cast also includes...
- 4/18/2024
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The first image has been unveiled from Miguel Gomes’ upcoming late 1910s drama “Grand Tour,” which is being sold by The Match Factory. The film is currently shooting in Italy, and stars Gonçalo Waddington and Crista Alfaiate.
“Grand Tour” comes after the successful international sales and distribution of Gomes’ critically acclaimed features “Tabu,” “Arabian Nights” and “The Tsugua Diaries” – all titles sold by The Match Factory.
“Grand Tour” kicks off in Rangoon, Burma, 1917. Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire, runs away from his fiancée Molly the day she arrives to get married. During his travels, however, panic gives way to melancholy. Contemplating the emptiness of his existence, the cowardly Edward wonders what has become of Molly… Yet Molly, determined to get married and amused by his move, follows his trail on this Asian grand tour.
The creative process for the film began with a research trip to various countries in Asia.
“Grand Tour” comes after the successful international sales and distribution of Gomes’ critically acclaimed features “Tabu,” “Arabian Nights” and “The Tsugua Diaries” – all titles sold by The Match Factory.
“Grand Tour” kicks off in Rangoon, Burma, 1917. Edward, a civil servant for the British Empire, runs away from his fiancée Molly the day she arrives to get married. During his travels, however, panic gives way to melancholy. Contemplating the emptiness of his existence, the cowardly Edward wonders what has become of Molly… Yet Molly, determined to get married and amused by his move, follows his trail on this Asian grand tour.
The creative process for the film began with a research trip to various countries in Asia.
- 3/10/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
There’s just so much summer in “The Tsugua Diaries” — great lashings of sunlight warming and slightly melting every 16mm frame, tangles of hyper-green foliage that seem to sweat in the heat, a generally horny, indolent air of human mischief — that you’d be forgiven for assuming “Tsugua” is some idyllic holiday spot you’ve never heard of, the best-kept secret on the Algarve. As with many elements of Miguel Gomes and Maureen Fazendeiro’s woozy, insouciant experiment, however, a longer look reveals something both surprising and simple. “Tsugua” is simply “August” spelled backwards, which certainly ties into the film’s humid seasonality, and also clues us into its modus operandi.
Everything unfolds backwards in this film about filmmaking under curious circumstances, only gradually revealing the motivations and points of view driving the enterprise, and playfully withholding any sense of what it might all be about. “The Tsugua Diaries” is...
Everything unfolds backwards in this film about filmmaking under curious circumstances, only gradually revealing the motivations and points of view driving the enterprise, and playfully withholding any sense of what it might all be about. “The Tsugua Diaries” is...
- 10/15/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
One of the most acclaimed films on this year’s festival circuit has found a North American home. KimStim have acquired The Tsugua Diaries, Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes’ wistful, sunny antidote to lockdown blues that blurs the line between cinema and life. Gomes is the acclaimed Portuguese director of the Arabian Nights trilogy, Fazendeiro an accomplished documentary filmmaker who first collaborated with him as casting director for Arabian Nights. The cast of Tsugua Diaries includes Crista Alfaiate and Carloto Cotta, both of whom starred in Arabian Nights, as well as João Nunes Monteiro.
The film, which KimStim will release in early 2022 in theaters, had its world premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and screened at Karlovy Vary and TIFF, and will next make its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival as the opening night of Currents this Saturday, September 25. KimStim’s Ian Stimler negotiated the deal with...
The film, which KimStim will release in early 2022 in theaters, had its world premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and screened at Karlovy Vary and TIFF, and will next make its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival as the opening night of Currents this Saturday, September 25. KimStim’s Ian Stimler negotiated the deal with...
- 9/20/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
When the idea of “pandemic movies” becoming a sort of subgenre was formed and necessitated by global conditions, there was a groan that could be heard around the world. We know how this goes. Artists will jump on gimmicky opportunities to shallowly explore interior space and entrapment. It became a cliché before any movie was even made. Yet some great artists found a way to make unique, memorable studies of the current moment. Mati Diop’s In My Room used interior space and feelings of inability to escape to explore monotonous life. Rob Savage’s clever Host turned entrapment into a nightmare of computer-aided terror. The latest film from Portugal’s Maureen Fazandeiro and Miguel Gomes is an exercise in how art itself––and, by virtue, the people involved in making it––has been changed by the pandemic.
The Tsugua Diaries are essentially a recounting of both the narrative arc...
The Tsugua Diaries are essentially a recounting of both the narrative arc...
- 9/20/2021
- by Soham Gadre
- The Film Stage
Film at Lincoln Center on Tuesday revealed the slate for the Currents section of the 2021 New York Film Festival, a slate of cutting-edge and experimental works that showcase fresh voices in contemporary cinema. The section’s opening night film is “The Tsugua Diaries,” a pandemic-era tale that premiered at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight about three housemates in lockdown from Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes (“Arabian Nights”).
Currents includes 15 features, plus 36 shorts contained in eight programs, and represent 27 countries. In addition to the Portuguese “The Tsugua Diaries,” several films center around the pandemic. Shengze Zhu’s “A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces,” is a meditation on Wuhan’s urban spaces before and after the outbreak, while Denis Côté’s “Social Hygiene” is an absurdist comedy in which characters exchange frank barbs from a humorous distance.
“Currents is the section of the festival that attests to cinema’s continued capacity for reinvention,” said Dennis Lim,...
Currents includes 15 features, plus 36 shorts contained in eight programs, and represent 27 countries. In addition to the Portuguese “The Tsugua Diaries,” several films center around the pandemic. Shengze Zhu’s “A River Runs, Turns, Erases, Replaces,” is a meditation on Wuhan’s urban spaces before and after the outbreak, while Denis Côté’s “Social Hygiene” is an absurdist comedy in which characters exchange frank barbs from a humorous distance.
“Currents is the section of the festival that attests to cinema’s continued capacity for reinvention,” said Dennis Lim,...
- 8/24/2021
- by Chris Lindahl
- Indiewire
It’s now been over half a decade since we’ve last seen a feature from Miguel Gomes––his epic three-part adaptation of Arabian Nights––and while the Lisbon-born director was in the works on his follow-up Selvajaria, the pandemic caused him to refocus his sights on a smaller scale project. Co-directed with Maureen Fazendeiro (casting director for Arabian Nights and co-writer for Gomes’ upcoming projects), The Tsugua Diaries will now premiere at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight and the first trailer has arrived.
In the film, Carloto Cotta, Crista Alfaiate, João Nunes Monteiro are building an airy greenhouse for butterflies in the garden. The three of them share household routines, day after day … And they are not the only ones. Screen Daily reports the 16mm-shot feature was made in Portugal and represents both “a lockdown journal” and “also a fiction”.
Watch the trailer below with a hat tip to Criterion Daily.
In the film, Carloto Cotta, Crista Alfaiate, João Nunes Monteiro are building an airy greenhouse for butterflies in the garden. The three of them share household routines, day after day … And they are not the only ones. Screen Daily reports the 16mm-shot feature was made in Portugal and represents both “a lockdown journal” and “also a fiction”.
Watch the trailer below with a hat tip to Criterion Daily.
- 6/18/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
New feature from the ‘Arabian Nights’ director is co-directed by documentary filmmaker Maureen Fazendeiro.
Leading German sales company The Match Factory has acquired world sales rights to the upcoming feature by Miguel Gomes, the acclaimed Portuguese director of the Arabian Nights trilogy.
Co-directed by French documentarian Maureen Fazendeiro, Tsugua Diaries was shot entirely in 16mm during the Covid-19 lockdown in Portugal. The filmmakers are keeping plot details under wraps but describe it both as “a lockdown journal” and “also a fiction”.
It reunites The Match Factory with Gomes, having sold Arabian Nights, which debuted in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2015, and Tabu,...
Leading German sales company The Match Factory has acquired world sales rights to the upcoming feature by Miguel Gomes, the acclaimed Portuguese director of the Arabian Nights trilogy.
Co-directed by French documentarian Maureen Fazendeiro, Tsugua Diaries was shot entirely in 16mm during the Covid-19 lockdown in Portugal. The filmmakers are keeping plot details under wraps but describe it both as “a lockdown journal” and “also a fiction”.
It reunites The Match Factory with Gomes, having sold Arabian Nights, which debuted in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2015, and Tabu,...
- 3/2/2021
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Miguel Gomes’s three-part modern Portuguese version of Scheherezade’s stories concludes on a flat note
Anyone who has already sat through the cumulative 257 minutes of Volumes 1 and 2 of Miguel Gomes’s idiosyncratic portrait of contemporary Portugal (released in consecutive weeks last month) is unlikely to want to skip the third instalment. However, it is fair to say that this is the least essential of the three films. The narrator Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate) is fleshed out as a character. Her adventure – a brief escape to an archipelago populated by outlaws – is a playful tangle of anachronisms. But charm dissipates with the final story, an overlong documentary-style portrait of a working-class bird-trapping community. Tonally, it’s reminiscent of Raymond Depardon’s glum portraits of French rural life, spiked with surreal flashes. If this was Scheherazade’s final story, it would have been unlikely to stave off her execution.
Continue reading...
Anyone who has already sat through the cumulative 257 minutes of Volumes 1 and 2 of Miguel Gomes’s idiosyncratic portrait of contemporary Portugal (released in consecutive weeks last month) is unlikely to want to skip the third instalment. However, it is fair to say that this is the least essential of the three films. The narrator Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate) is fleshed out as a character. Her adventure – a brief escape to an archipelago populated by outlaws – is a playful tangle of anachronisms. But charm dissipates with the final story, an overlong documentary-style portrait of a working-class bird-trapping community. Tonally, it’s reminiscent of Raymond Depardon’s glum portraits of French rural life, spiked with surreal flashes. If this was Scheherazade’s final story, it would have been unlikely to stave off her execution.
Continue reading...
- 5/8/2016
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
The final part of Miguel Gomes’s docu-fantasy trilogy includes Scheherazade as a romantic warrior queen and an interplanetary Karen Carpenter
Miguel Gomes’s wayward, opaque and sometimes dreamily erotic Arabian Nights docu-fantasy trilogy about Portugal’s austerity nightmare enters its final section, and in this episode, the on-screen intertitles – so sparing in the previous episodes – now recur almost continuously, commenting ironically or enigmatically on the action, quoting the imaginary tale, even transcribing birdsong. Gomes pulls off this asymmetric quirk as insouciantly as he does everything else. Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate) takes centre stage, the “enchanted one” herself; we see her romantic yearnings and emotional relationship with her father. This emergence confers on her a strange, understated sort of heroism, Portugal’s warrior-queen tribune. Apart from her story, there are two tales: one about chaffinches hints at the reason why the nation’s caged bird sings; another about a lonely young...
Miguel Gomes’s wayward, opaque and sometimes dreamily erotic Arabian Nights docu-fantasy trilogy about Portugal’s austerity nightmare enters its final section, and in this episode, the on-screen intertitles – so sparing in the previous episodes – now recur almost continuously, commenting ironically or enigmatically on the action, quoting the imaginary tale, even transcribing birdsong. Gomes pulls off this asymmetric quirk as insouciantly as he does everything else. Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate) takes centre stage, the “enchanted one” herself; we see her romantic yearnings and emotional relationship with her father. This emergence confers on her a strange, understated sort of heroism, Portugal’s warrior-queen tribune. Apart from her story, there are two tales: one about chaffinches hints at the reason why the nation’s caged bird sings; another about a lonely young...
- 5/5/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
In the second serving of Miguel Gomes’s potent trilogy, Scheherazade narrates tales of a killer turned folk hero, judicial madness and a stray dog
Related: Arabian Nights Vol 1: The Restless One review – resistance through filmic poetry
And so Miguel Gomes’s poetic trilogy continues: elegant, mystifying and demure, inspired by Portugal’s miseries under austerity and by The Arabian Nights. This middle section is the “desolate” one, as opposed to the “restless” first episode or the “enchanted” third part, yet to come. The desolation manifests itself in the final five minutes, although it perfumes the entire film. As before, Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate) narrates and we hear three more tales, supposedly selected from the 470th, 484th and 497th nights of her ordeal (there is a gigantic epic somewhere out there, of which this huge trilogy is just a sample). There are erotic images of naked women, a visual rhyme...
Related: Arabian Nights Vol 1: The Restless One review – resistance through filmic poetry
And so Miguel Gomes’s poetic trilogy continues: elegant, mystifying and demure, inspired by Portugal’s miseries under austerity and by The Arabian Nights. This middle section is the “desolate” one, as opposed to the “restless” first episode or the “enchanted” third part, yet to come. The desolation manifests itself in the final five minutes, although it perfumes the entire film. As before, Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate) narrates and we hear three more tales, supposedly selected from the 470th, 484th and 497th nights of her ordeal (there is a gigantic epic somewhere out there, of which this huge trilogy is just a sample). There are erotic images of naked women, a visual rhyme...
- 4/28/2016
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
★★★★☆ The second part in the Arabian Nights saga slowly but surely raises a middle finger to the Portuguese establishment. As its subtitle suggests the mood moves toward the disconsolate, the desperate and the disenfranchised. There's a weary helplessness to The Desolate One which makes its overall tone far more sombre than the amusing oddity witnessed in The Restless One. Director Miguel Gomes applies the rule of three to part two of his trilogy. The Escape of Simao Without Bowels, The Tears of the Judge and The Owners of Dixie constitute three extended chapters, each narrated by the disembodied, omniscient voice of Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate).
- 4/27/2016
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
While the end of any given year is chock full of films that come across as more spectacle than actual substance, few films have brought both with as much consistency and assurance as the latest and possibly greatest effort from director Miguel Gomes. Over the last two weeks, the first two films from Gomes’ Arabian Nights trilogy(?) have begun a theatrical run that has brought both Gomes’ absurdist take on the legendary fables from which the film draws its title as well as his powerful dissection of modern injustices that has sent his native Portugal into a downward spiral. And now, with The Enchanted One, the triptych comes to a close, and with a hell of a bang.
Taking back over the narrative thrust of the story, Volume Three puts its focus back on the central narrative force of the trilogy, the beautiful storyteller Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate). Whereas the first...
Taking back over the narrative thrust of the story, Volume Three puts its focus back on the central narrative force of the trilogy, the beautiful storyteller Scheherazade (Crista Alfaiate). Whereas the first...
- 12/17/2015
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
The title Arabian Nights conjures up very specific images. Itself a collection of Middle Eastern and South Asian tales best known for stories like Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and The Seven Voyages Of Sinbad The Sailor (all of which were not a part of the original versions but added in later translations), the tales have been fodder for visual arts ranging from centuries old paintings to the very earliest efforts from the fathers of cinema, like George Melies. The inspiration for musical pieces coming as early as 1800 and helping inspire literature icons like Marcel Proust and James Joyce, these stories have become some of the most recognizable folk tales in all of world history. And yet, few adaptations have been quite like the loose one (if by loose one means connected almost in name only) director Miguel Gomes has given the world.
Volume one of Gomes’ latest masterpiece,...
Volume one of Gomes’ latest masterpiece,...
- 12/2/2015
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
What do you do after you make an intimate and acclaimed black-and-white drama? If you're "Tabu" director Miguel Gomes, you take a major risk and helm the three-part, six-hour plus omnibus "Arabian Nights." The film finds Gomes' skills matching his ambition —our review out of Cannes calls it "whimsical, swooningly romantic, inspiring, and fascinating." And now you can get a taste with the new U.S. trailer for the movie. Starring Adriano Luz, Americo Silva, Carloto Cotta, Crista Alfaiate, Fernanda Loureiro and Rogerio Samora, the film is very loosely based on the classic collection of fairy tales, using them to launch into a commentary on the state of affairs in contemporary Portugal. Here's the official synopsis: In Portugal- one European country in crisis- a film director proposes to build fictional stories from the miserable reality he is immersed in. However, failing to find meaning in his work, he cowardly runs.
- 11/24/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Spectre is the longest Bond ever and The Hateful Eight 70mm event is over three hours, but the most epic cinematic event of the fall will be experiencing Miguel Gomes‘ Tabu follow-up Arabian Nights. Clocking in at 6 hours and 21 minutes and spread across three separate films, technically, it captures fictional stories “from the miserable reality he is immersed in,” some quite hilarious, others not so much.
Set to debut in December at NYC’s Film Society of Lincoln Center — more dates to come here, thanks to Kino Lorber — Gomes stopped by there during the New York Film Festival to give, fittingly, three separate talks. Over the 80 or so minutes, he touches on a variety aspects of the year-long shoot, notably how he came across the stories to pull in and the on-the-fly adaptation process. If you’ve managed to see the films on the festival circuit, it’s a must-watch...
Set to debut in December at NYC’s Film Society of Lincoln Center — more dates to come here, thanks to Kino Lorber — Gomes stopped by there during the New York Film Festival to give, fittingly, three separate talks. Over the 80 or so minutes, he touches on a variety aspects of the year-long shoot, notably how he came across the stories to pull in and the on-the-fly adaptation process. If you’ve managed to see the films on the festival circuit, it’s a must-watch...
- 10/21/2015
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Arabian Nights — Volume 3, The Enchanted One
Written by Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo, and Telmo Churro
Directed by Miguel Gomes
Portugal, 2015
In spite of its seemingly monumental ambitions, Miguel Gomes’s Arabian Nights has never been in danger of being weighed down by pretensions. From the opening minutes of Volume One, Gomes has maintained an effervescent tone, albeit one tamed somewhat in the darker Volume Two. Even there, Arabian Nights keeps its focus on its main subject: the Portuguese people, and the ways in which they’ve felt the impact of austerity. As such, Gomes’s film always true to itself and never seems to stray from the director’s vision.
With all that in mind, even if the segment which comprises the bulk of Volume Three, titled “The Inebriated Chorus of the Chaffinches,” would seem meandering and aimless in a different film, the documentary-like footage feels perfectly suited to Gomes’s aims.
Written by Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo, and Telmo Churro
Directed by Miguel Gomes
Portugal, 2015
In spite of its seemingly monumental ambitions, Miguel Gomes’s Arabian Nights has never been in danger of being weighed down by pretensions. From the opening minutes of Volume One, Gomes has maintained an effervescent tone, albeit one tamed somewhat in the darker Volume Two. Even there, Arabian Nights keeps its focus on its main subject: the Portuguese people, and the ways in which they’ve felt the impact of austerity. As such, Gomes’s film always true to itself and never seems to stray from the director’s vision.
With all that in mind, even if the segment which comprises the bulk of Volume Three, titled “The Inebriated Chorus of the Chaffinches,” would seem meandering and aimless in a different film, the documentary-like footage feels perfectly suited to Gomes’s aims.
- 10/19/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
Arabian Nights — Volume 1, The Restless One
Written by Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo, and Telmo Churro
Directed by Miguel Gomes
Portugal, 2015
From a simplistic description, Miguel Gomes’s film Arabian Nights could sound unbearably self-important. Taking its name from a foundational collection of folk literature and running at a total of over six hours, the film almost sounds like a parody of arthouse excess. Add in the political goals of depicting life in contemporary Portugal under the pain of its economic collapse, and the mere concept of the film threatens to implode in self-seriousness.
But in spite of this, the first segment of Arabian Nights (it’s being screened in three parts), subtitled The Restless One, maintains a whimsical tone throughout which quickly puts to rest any fears of pretentiousness. The film is funny, fast-moving, and too jocular to let accusations of self-importance stick. Not that Gomes doesn’t have serious ambitious for his project,...
Written by Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo, and Telmo Churro
Directed by Miguel Gomes
Portugal, 2015
From a simplistic description, Miguel Gomes’s film Arabian Nights could sound unbearably self-important. Taking its name from a foundational collection of folk literature and running at a total of over six hours, the film almost sounds like a parody of arthouse excess. Add in the political goals of depicting life in contemporary Portugal under the pain of its economic collapse, and the mere concept of the film threatens to implode in self-seriousness.
But in spite of this, the first segment of Arabian Nights (it’s being screened in three parts), subtitled The Restless One, maintains a whimsical tone throughout which quickly puts to rest any fears of pretentiousness. The film is funny, fast-moving, and too jocular to let accusations of self-importance stick. Not that Gomes doesn’t have serious ambitious for his project,...
- 10/10/2015
- by Max Bledstein
- SoundOnSight
When the 44th edition of the Festival du Nouveau Cinema announced their lineup two weeks ago, I wasn’t sure where to even begin when deciding what I should see. The festival which takes place in Montreal from October 7 to 18 is screening nearly 400 films and events in only 11 days. This includes 151 feature films and 203 short films from 68 countries – 49 world premieres, 38 North American premieres and 60 Canadian premieres. Because of it’s strong line-up, there is no possible way to see everything – so we decided to come up with a list of our ten most anticipated films — and trust me, it wasn’t easy. We will of course be covering the event once again this year, so be sure to revisit our site over the next few weeks. In the meantime, here is our 10 most anticipate films.
Arabian Nights
With a total running time of over six hours Arabian Nights is certainly...
Arabian Nights
With a total running time of over six hours Arabian Nights is certainly...
- 10/8/2015
- by Staff
- SoundOnSight
The Vancouver International Film Festival has announced its most anticipated films in the Gala and Special Presentation categories. The films selected represent a true showcase of international cinema, while highlighting homegrown talent in the world's largest showcase of Canadian films during the 34th annual festival running from September 24th to October 9th.
John Crowley's "Brooklyn" starts the festival off in the Opening Night Gala spot. Marc Abraham's "I Saw the Light" holds the Closing Night Gala position with a feature on the life of country star Hank Williams. The film was produced by Vancouver's Bron Studios. Canadian productions remain a crucial part of the festival, Philippe Falardeau's "My Internship in Canada" will open the Canadian Images program, while Patricia Rozema's "Into the Forest" will occupy the BC Spotlight Awards Gala spot.
In 2015, Vancouver audiences will be exposed to 355 films from 70 countries. With 32 World Premieres, 33 North American Premieres and 53 Canadian Premieres, this year's festival promises to be a feast for Canadian film lovers.
The full line-up and ticket are available at viff.org. Here are some highlights:
Opening Gala "Brooklyn" (John Crowley, U.K/Ireland/Canada)
Lured from Ireland by the American Dream, Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) instead lands in a hardscrabble reality of cramped boarding houses and grungy dancehalls. As homesickness grips her, she's also torn between two admirers (Domhnall Gleeson and Emory Cohen). With Nick Hornby scripting, John Crowley crafts a stirring 50s-era immigration tale that also serves as an exhilarating profile of female empowerment.
Closing Gala "I Saw the Light" (Marc Abraham,USA) Having played gods and monsters with aplomb, Tom Hiddleston takes centre stage as country music legend/renegade Hank Williams. In turns as rambunctious as a barn dance and as reflective as a ballad, Marc Abraham's film chronicles Williams' rapid ascent to stardom and the tragedy of a career cut short by substance abuse. Laid to rest at only 29, Williams left behind a truly remarkable body of work. Handling the singing chores himself, Hiddleston does the man—and his music—proud.
Canadian Images Opening Film My Internship in Canada (Philippe Falardeau, Canada)
Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar") returns with an energetic, laugh-out-loud political comedy that couldn't be more timely. Steve Guibord (Patrick Huard, brilliant) is an independent Quebec MP traveling to his northern riding with a new Haitian intern. Soon after finding themselves caught in the crossfire of activists, miners, truckers, politicians and aboriginal groups, it turns out that Guibord somehow holds the decisive vote in a national debate that will decide whether Canada will go to war in the Middle East! The fabulous Suzanne Clément co-stars.
BC Spotlight Awards Gala "Into the Forest" (Patricia Rozema, Canada)
The BC coastal forest is in all its glory as a father and his two daughters drive off to their remote and idyllic getaway home. They have little sense at first of the growing apocalypse that they are leaving in their wake. It will come to them. Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie and Michael Eklund star in this Patricia Rozema-directed adaptation of Jean Hegland's novel.
Spotlight Gala "Beeba Boys" (Deepa Mehta, Canada/India)
Mix propulsive bhangra beats, blazing Ak-47s, bespoke suits, solicitous mothers and copious cocaine, and you have the heady, volatile cocktail that is Deepa Mehta's latest film, an explosive clash of culture and crime. Jeet Johar (Indian star Randeep Hooda) and his young, charismatic Sikh crew vie to take over the Vancouver drug and arms trade in this all-out action/drama. Blood is spilled, heads are cracked, hearts are broken and family bonds are pushed to the brink.
Special Presentations "Arabian Nights" ("Miguel Gomes," Portugal)
Miguel Gomes' ("Tabu," "Our Beloved Month of August") astonishing three-volume, six-hour epic draws inspiration from the tales of Scheherazade (here played by Crista Alfaiate) and once again uses a fascinating combination of reality and fiction to comment on Portugal's past, present and future.
"Dheepan" (Jacques Audiard, France)
Jacques Audiard's ("A Prophet," "Rust and Bone") latest dramatic inquiry into life on society's margins is an alternately gripping and tender love story about the eponymous former Tamil fighter (Antonythasan Jesuthasan) and his improvised family, who exchange war in Sri Lanka for violence of another kind in Paris.
"High-Rise" (Ben Wheatley, U.K)
Ben Wheatley's bold adaptation of Jg Ballard's novel takes no prisoners. This scorching satire on class, hedonism and depravity in an imploding luxury apartment building is an even more apocalyptic class polemic than "Snowpiercer". Throw in exquisitely unsettling turns from Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons, a string quartet cover of Abba's 1975 hit "Sos," an orgy or two and spice with cannibalism, and you have a tour de force of astonishing architectural ambition.
"Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words" (Stig Björkman, Sweden ), Canadian Premiere
Casablanca , Notorious, Voyage to Italy... That Ingrid Bergman, three-time Oscar winner, is one of filmdom's all-time greats is inarguable. Narrated by Swedish (and now Hollywood) star Alicia Vikander, Stig Björkman's intimate exploration of Bergman's personal and professional life benefits immensely from the cooperation of Bergman's daughter Isabella Rossellini, who allowed him access to never-before-seen private footage, notes, letters, diaries and interviews. The result is a rich and multicolored portrait of this extraordinary human being—in her own words.
"Louder Than Bombs" (Joachim Trier, U.S.A/France)
When a war photographer (Isabelle Huppert) dies on assignment, her husband (Gabriel Byrne) struggles to mount a retrospective while dealing with his grieving sons (Jesse Eisenberg, Devin Druid) and her combative colleague (David Strathairn). Joachim Trier ("Oslo, 31st August") poses tough questions about family, marital responsibility and balancing one's calling and kin.
"Room" (Lenny Abrahamson, Ireland, Canada, U.K)
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson and based on the best-selling Man Booker Prize-nominated novel by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue, this is the story of five-year old Jack, who lives in an 11-by-11-foot room with his mother. Since it's all he's ever known, Jack believes that only "Room" and the things it contains (including himself and Ma) are real. Then reality intrudes and Jack's life is turned on its head... A remarkable and disturbing work.
"A Tale of Three Cities" (Mabel Cheung, Hong Kong/China)
A rousingly entertaining movie romance, this historical drama tells the deeply moving story of kung fu superstar Jackie Chan's parents. Both grew up in China's tumultuous 20th century, swept by war, revolution and resistance. When charismatic customs officer Fang (Lau Ching-wan) meets impoverished young widow Chen (Tang Wei), an unbreakable bond is forged. Together, their love endures through extraordinary adventures, as they head towards a future in Hong Kong.
"This Changes Everything" (Avi Lewis, Canada)
Naomi Klein ("Shock Doctrine") has risen to prominence around the world as one of Canada's most forceful and relevant public intellectuals. Her cogent call to direct action has inspired youth, helped chart roadmaps for social progressives and environmentalists, and yet worried those who believe that her critique of capitalism plays into the hands of right wingers who think climate change is a socialist plot. Join us, Naomi Klein and director Avi Lewis for this special presentation of "This Changes Everything."
"Youth" (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France/Switzerland/U.K)
Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Rachel Weisz anchor Paolo Sorrentino's gorgeous follow-up to The Great Beauty. Fred (Caine), a retired composer, and friend Mick (Keitel), a film director, are sojourning in a stunning Swiss alpine spa. Surrounded by bodies old and young, supple and sagging, they reconsider their pasts–while Sorrentino choreographs the action with exquisite control.
Canadian Images Special Presentations "Hyena Road" (Paul Gross, Canada)
In Paul Gross' film, ripped from the headlines, a sniper, who has never allowed himself to think of his targets as human, becomes implicated in the life of one of them. An intelligence officer, who has never contemplated killing, becomes the engine of a plot to kill. A legendary Mujahideen warrior, who had put war behind him, is now deeply involved. Three different men, three different worlds, three different conflicts, yet all stand at the intersection of modern warfare.
"Remember" (Atom Egoyan, Canada)
Atom Egoyan returns with a completely original take on the darkest chapter of horror in the last century. Christopher Plummer plays a man who's looking for the person who might be responsible for wiping out his family, as he strains to seize the evanescent memories of long-ago brutality. The all-star cast includes Henry Czerny, Martin Landau and Bruno Ganz. Benjamin August's screenplay will keep you guessing until the very end.
John Crowley's "Brooklyn" starts the festival off in the Opening Night Gala spot. Marc Abraham's "I Saw the Light" holds the Closing Night Gala position with a feature on the life of country star Hank Williams. The film was produced by Vancouver's Bron Studios. Canadian productions remain a crucial part of the festival, Philippe Falardeau's "My Internship in Canada" will open the Canadian Images program, while Patricia Rozema's "Into the Forest" will occupy the BC Spotlight Awards Gala spot.
In 2015, Vancouver audiences will be exposed to 355 films from 70 countries. With 32 World Premieres, 33 North American Premieres and 53 Canadian Premieres, this year's festival promises to be a feast for Canadian film lovers.
The full line-up and ticket are available at viff.org. Here are some highlights:
Opening Gala "Brooklyn" (John Crowley, U.K/Ireland/Canada)
Lured from Ireland by the American Dream, Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) instead lands in a hardscrabble reality of cramped boarding houses and grungy dancehalls. As homesickness grips her, she's also torn between two admirers (Domhnall Gleeson and Emory Cohen). With Nick Hornby scripting, John Crowley crafts a stirring 50s-era immigration tale that also serves as an exhilarating profile of female empowerment.
Closing Gala "I Saw the Light" (Marc Abraham,USA) Having played gods and monsters with aplomb, Tom Hiddleston takes centre stage as country music legend/renegade Hank Williams. In turns as rambunctious as a barn dance and as reflective as a ballad, Marc Abraham's film chronicles Williams' rapid ascent to stardom and the tragedy of a career cut short by substance abuse. Laid to rest at only 29, Williams left behind a truly remarkable body of work. Handling the singing chores himself, Hiddleston does the man—and his music—proud.
Canadian Images Opening Film My Internship in Canada (Philippe Falardeau, Canada)
Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar") returns with an energetic, laugh-out-loud political comedy that couldn't be more timely. Steve Guibord (Patrick Huard, brilliant) is an independent Quebec MP traveling to his northern riding with a new Haitian intern. Soon after finding themselves caught in the crossfire of activists, miners, truckers, politicians and aboriginal groups, it turns out that Guibord somehow holds the decisive vote in a national debate that will decide whether Canada will go to war in the Middle East! The fabulous Suzanne Clément co-stars.
BC Spotlight Awards Gala "Into the Forest" (Patricia Rozema, Canada)
The BC coastal forest is in all its glory as a father and his two daughters drive off to their remote and idyllic getaway home. They have little sense at first of the growing apocalypse that they are leaving in their wake. It will come to them. Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie and Michael Eklund star in this Patricia Rozema-directed adaptation of Jean Hegland's novel.
Spotlight Gala "Beeba Boys" (Deepa Mehta, Canada/India)
Mix propulsive bhangra beats, blazing Ak-47s, bespoke suits, solicitous mothers and copious cocaine, and you have the heady, volatile cocktail that is Deepa Mehta's latest film, an explosive clash of culture and crime. Jeet Johar (Indian star Randeep Hooda) and his young, charismatic Sikh crew vie to take over the Vancouver drug and arms trade in this all-out action/drama. Blood is spilled, heads are cracked, hearts are broken and family bonds are pushed to the brink.
Special Presentations "Arabian Nights" ("Miguel Gomes," Portugal)
Miguel Gomes' ("Tabu," "Our Beloved Month of August") astonishing three-volume, six-hour epic draws inspiration from the tales of Scheherazade (here played by Crista Alfaiate) and once again uses a fascinating combination of reality and fiction to comment on Portugal's past, present and future.
"Dheepan" (Jacques Audiard, France)
Jacques Audiard's ("A Prophet," "Rust and Bone") latest dramatic inquiry into life on society's margins is an alternately gripping and tender love story about the eponymous former Tamil fighter (Antonythasan Jesuthasan) and his improvised family, who exchange war in Sri Lanka for violence of another kind in Paris.
"High-Rise" (Ben Wheatley, U.K)
Ben Wheatley's bold adaptation of Jg Ballard's novel takes no prisoners. This scorching satire on class, hedonism and depravity in an imploding luxury apartment building is an even more apocalyptic class polemic than "Snowpiercer". Throw in exquisitely unsettling turns from Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons, a string quartet cover of Abba's 1975 hit "Sos," an orgy or two and spice with cannibalism, and you have a tour de force of astonishing architectural ambition.
"Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words" (Stig Björkman, Sweden ), Canadian Premiere
Casablanca , Notorious, Voyage to Italy... That Ingrid Bergman, three-time Oscar winner, is one of filmdom's all-time greats is inarguable. Narrated by Swedish (and now Hollywood) star Alicia Vikander, Stig Björkman's intimate exploration of Bergman's personal and professional life benefits immensely from the cooperation of Bergman's daughter Isabella Rossellini, who allowed him access to never-before-seen private footage, notes, letters, diaries and interviews. The result is a rich and multicolored portrait of this extraordinary human being—in her own words.
"Louder Than Bombs" (Joachim Trier, U.S.A/France)
When a war photographer (Isabelle Huppert) dies on assignment, her husband (Gabriel Byrne) struggles to mount a retrospective while dealing with his grieving sons (Jesse Eisenberg, Devin Druid) and her combative colleague (David Strathairn). Joachim Trier ("Oslo, 31st August") poses tough questions about family, marital responsibility and balancing one's calling and kin.
"Room" (Lenny Abrahamson, Ireland, Canada, U.K)
Directed by Lenny Abrahamson and based on the best-selling Man Booker Prize-nominated novel by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue, this is the story of five-year old Jack, who lives in an 11-by-11-foot room with his mother. Since it's all he's ever known, Jack believes that only "Room" and the things it contains (including himself and Ma) are real. Then reality intrudes and Jack's life is turned on its head... A remarkable and disturbing work.
"A Tale of Three Cities" (Mabel Cheung, Hong Kong/China)
A rousingly entertaining movie romance, this historical drama tells the deeply moving story of kung fu superstar Jackie Chan's parents. Both grew up in China's tumultuous 20th century, swept by war, revolution and resistance. When charismatic customs officer Fang (Lau Ching-wan) meets impoverished young widow Chen (Tang Wei), an unbreakable bond is forged. Together, their love endures through extraordinary adventures, as they head towards a future in Hong Kong.
"This Changes Everything" (Avi Lewis, Canada)
Naomi Klein ("Shock Doctrine") has risen to prominence around the world as one of Canada's most forceful and relevant public intellectuals. Her cogent call to direct action has inspired youth, helped chart roadmaps for social progressives and environmentalists, and yet worried those who believe that her critique of capitalism plays into the hands of right wingers who think climate change is a socialist plot. Join us, Naomi Klein and director Avi Lewis for this special presentation of "This Changes Everything."
"Youth" (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France/Switzerland/U.K)
Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Rachel Weisz anchor Paolo Sorrentino's gorgeous follow-up to The Great Beauty. Fred (Caine), a retired composer, and friend Mick (Keitel), a film director, are sojourning in a stunning Swiss alpine spa. Surrounded by bodies old and young, supple and sagging, they reconsider their pasts–while Sorrentino choreographs the action with exquisite control.
Canadian Images Special Presentations "Hyena Road" (Paul Gross, Canada)
In Paul Gross' film, ripped from the headlines, a sniper, who has never allowed himself to think of his targets as human, becomes implicated in the life of one of them. An intelligence officer, who has never contemplated killing, becomes the engine of a plot to kill. A legendary Mujahideen warrior, who had put war behind him, is now deeply involved. Three different men, three different worlds, three different conflicts, yet all stand at the intersection of modern warfare.
"Remember" (Atom Egoyan, Canada)
Atom Egoyan returns with a completely original take on the darkest chapter of horror in the last century. Christopher Plummer plays a man who's looking for the person who might be responsible for wiping out his family, as he strains to seize the evanescent memories of long-ago brutality. The all-star cast includes Henry Czerny, Martin Landau and Bruno Ganz. Benjamin August's screenplay will keep you guessing until the very end.
- 9/6/2015
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks, will make its World Premiere at the 53rd New York International Film Festival, running from September 25 to October 11. The film was one of 26 announced as part of the festival’s main slate, along with one of four World Premieres.
Some of the main slate highlights include Todd Haynes’s Carol, featuring Cannes Best Actress Winner Rooney Mara alongside Cate Blanchett, Miguel Gomes’s three part saga Arabian Nights, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin, the Us premiere of Michael Moore’s latest Where to Invade Next, Michel Gondry’s French film Microbe et Gasoil, and the World Premiere of the documentary Don’t Blink: Robert Frank, about the life of the fames photographer and filmmaker.
Previously announced films include the World Premiere of The Walk, Robert Zemeckis’s Philippe Petit biopic serving as the opening night film, the World Premiere of...
Some of the main slate highlights include Todd Haynes’s Carol, featuring Cannes Best Actress Winner Rooney Mara alongside Cate Blanchett, Miguel Gomes’s three part saga Arabian Nights, Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s The Assassin, the Us premiere of Michael Moore’s latest Where to Invade Next, Michel Gondry’s French film Microbe et Gasoil, and the World Premiere of the documentary Don’t Blink: Robert Frank, about the life of the fames photographer and filmmaker.
Previously announced films include the World Premiere of The Walk, Robert Zemeckis’s Philippe Petit biopic serving as the opening night film, the World Premiere of...
- 8/13/2015
- by Brian Welk
- SoundOnSight
How nice it's been to anticipate another set of tales from modern Portugal in the form of Miguel Gomes's Arabian Nights! The film's three parts have been shown every other day here in Cannes, and I've finally caught the last and I must say I already miss the idea that Gomes and his Scheherazade will unspool even more for me two days hence. If she told the stories to her king to stave off her death, I feel Gomes is telling me stories, among many others reasons, in order to stave off the powerful aura of respectable averageness prevalent at Cannes 2015.Arabian Nights Volume 3: The Enchanted One had me smiling for a good forty-five minutes in a row. After a brief glimpse of Gomes's modern version of Scheherazade in Volume 1, we finally get to spend some time with her in "Baghdad," wandering the landscape encountering lovers and bandits,...
- 5/24/2015
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
Read More: 2015 Indiewire Cannes Bible The latest film from acclaimed Portuguese auteur Miguel Gomes ("Our Beloved Month of August," "Tabu") is his most ambitious work by far. Divided into three feature-length "volumes" — "The Restless One," "The Desolate One," and The Enchanted One" — "Arabian Nights" is a six-hour epic consisting of interwoven stories. Taking its namesake from the famous ancient collection of folktales, the film makes it clear early on that this is not an adaptation despite being inspired by the book's structure, in which the beautiful Scheherazade (played here by Crista Alfaiate) tells a fantastical tale every evening for 1001 nights to distract the tyrannical king from killing her. If the movie's cumbersome running time appears intimidating, its episodic nature makes it easily digestible, and here at the Cannes Film Festival it has been presented on three separate days — a fine way to experience...
- 5/22/2015
- by Adam Cook
- Indiewire
Spanning more than six hours, spread across three films, "Tabu" director Miguel Gomes' "Arabian Nights" will test the stamina (and scheduling) of moviegoers and press at Cannes. His latest film will unspool as part of the Cannes Directors' Fortnight, and today we get a three-minute glimpse of the epic movie he's preparing to unveil. Crista Alfaiate, Adriano Luz, Américo Silva, Carloto Cotta, Crista Alfaiate, Chico Chapas, Luísa Cruz, Gonçalo Waddington, Joana de Verona, Teresa Madruga, and Jing Jing Guo are among the cast in the film which uses the classic fables to paint a portrait of contemporary Portugal, with stories that look to span a variety of social, political, and economic settings. Here's the official synopsis for all three volumes: Volume 1, The Restless One In which Scheherazade tells of the restlessness that befell the country: “It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country among all countries,...
- 5/12/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man, Simon Stone.s The Daughter, Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Jen Peedom.s feature doc Sherpa will have their world premieres at the Sydney Film Festival.
The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.
Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.
Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.
As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...
The festival program unveiled today includes 33 world premieres (including 22 shorts) and 135 Australian premieres (with 18 shorts) among 251 titles from 68 countries.
Among the other premieres will be Daina Reid.s The Secret River, Ruby Entertainment's. ABC-tv miniseries starring Oliver Jackson Cohen and Sarah Snook, and three Oz docs, Marc Eberle.s The Cambodian Space Project — Not Easy Rock .n. Roll, Steve Thomas. Freedom Stories and Lisa Nicol.s Wide Open Sky.
Festival director Nashen Moodley boasted. this year.s event will be far larger than 2014's when 183 films from 47 countries were screened, including 15 world premieres. The expansion is possible in part due to the addition of two new screening venues in Newtown and Liverpool.
As previously announced, Brendan Cowell...
- 5/6/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
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