“Memory”
Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco returns after the great success of 2020’s “New Order” and 2021’s “Sundown,” which featured his second collaboration with Tim Roth. Hollywood took notice, and his latest is filled with A-list names, including Jessica Chastain, Peter Sarsgaard, Elsie Fisher, Jessica Harper, and Merritt Wever. Playing in competition, the drama centers on a social worker’s life that is blown open when an old friend follows her home from their high school reunion, and their surprise encounter profoundly impacts both of them as they open the door to the past.
“Poor Things”
Heralded Greek weird wave filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos follows up “The Favorite” with another odd-sounding gem that reteams him with Emma Stone. Lead by an all-star cast of Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, and Margaret Qualley, “Poor Things” tells the fantastical evolution tale of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter. The film is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Alasdair Gray, and it looks wild and aptly kooky.
“Ferrari”
One of the few films allowed to participate in promotion during the SAG-AFTRA strike is Michael Mann’s much-anticipated “Ferrari,” a biopic that the legendary American auteur has been trying to mount for years. The film focuses on the life story of Italian sports car entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari, and the film stars Adam Driver, Shailene Woodley, Patrick Dempsey, Penelope Cruze, Jack O’Connell, and Sarah Gadon.
“El Conde”
A satire portraying the malevolent Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet as a 250-year-old vampire; who, after living so long in this world, has decided that it is time to die once and for all. “El Conde” is directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, who knows a thing or two about living under Pinochet’s authoritarian regime and all its horrors. Presented by Netflix, the film stars Alfredo Castro, Paula Luchsinger, Antonia Zegers, and Amparo Noguera. It was co-written by Guillermo Calderon.