“The Northman”
As one of the more anticipated films of the upcoming season, “The Northman” has a high bar to reach due to its director. Directed by Robert Eggers (“The Lighthouse,” “The Witch”) and co-written between him and Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón Sigurdsson, the film is set in Iceland at the turn of the 10th century and centers on a Nordic prince who is seeking revenge for the death of his father. Alexander Skarsgård leads the film with an extensive and eclectic cast, including Ethan Hawke, Nicole Kidman, Björk, and Willem Dafoe, along with reuniting him with “The Witch” star Anya Taylor-Joy.
Release Date: April 22 in theaters via Focus Features.
“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”
Nicholas Cage has had quite the slow but sturdy comeback over the past few years, regularly popping up in some of the year’s best indie films such as “Mandy,” “Color Out of Space,” and last year’s “Pig.” His next project is his most meta yet, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” directed by Tom Gormican. The story follows Nicholas Cage after accepting a $1 million offer to attend a wealthy fan’s birthday party – played by Pedro Pascal – due to facing financial ruin. Things take a turn when a CIA operative recruits Cage for an unusual mission. Our critic saw the film at SXSW and wrote, “…Cage delivers a crowd-pleasing triumph that reminds audiences that he’s always been — no matter the part, no matter the reviews — a star who makes the movies infinitely better just by being him.”
Release Date: April 22 in theaters via Lionsgate Films.
“Petite Maman”
A favorite on last year’s festival circuit, Céline Sciamma (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”), returns with the empathetic and graceful “Petite Maman.” Centering on an 8-year-old girl who is helping her mother clean out her recently deceased grandmother’s old house, the melancholic tale gets a hint of whimsy when, one day in the woods, she meets another girl her age trying to build a treehouse. Our critic wrote, “Its achievement lies in the space it creates for these children to open up a dialogue they rarely get to have – one that inevitably asks more questions, but that welcomes them as mature thinkers, keen to understand more about those raising them and the conditions in which they are being raised.”
Release Date: April 22 in theaters via NEON.
“Hit The Road”
Panah Panahi makes his directorial debut with “Hit The Road,” yet another favorite on the 2021 festival circuit. Extra excitement was built for the film due to his father, Jafar Panahi, an Iranian New Wave scene icon. Panahi writes the film as well, centering the story on a middle-aged couple and their two sons as they embark on a road trip across the Iranian countryside while dealing with the past and their fear of the future. Hassan Madjooni, Pantea Panahiha, Rayan Sarlak, and Amin Simiar star. Our critic at last year’s Cannes called it “… a breath of fresh air and a truly original work that marks him as a talent to watch and raises the bar for all the other films playing in Directors’ Fortnight but also across the whole Festival de Cannes this year.”
Release Date: New York on April 22 via Kino Lorber.
The start of the month will also have the first of two upcoming Chris Pine performances with “The Contractor,” reuniting him with his “Hell or High Water” costar Ben Foster for an on-the-run thriller. Liam Neeson returns to the screen with a similar film in “Memory,” releasing in April, playing an assassin whose refusal to complete a mission makes him a target. Mel Gibson and Mark Whalberg’s team-up “Father Stu,” directed by Rosalind Ross, and “Hatching,” directed by Hanna Bergholm is an intriguing horror/genre character study.
