“Malmkrog”
Five members of high-class society arrive at an ornate Transylvanian estate on a snowy Christmas Eve, setting the stage for Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu’s (“The Death of Mr. Lazarescu,” “Sieranevada”) simmering social study. The masks of civility start tearing off as the estate’s occupants partake in a score of debates on a series of progressively taboo 20th-century subjects, the dark underbelly behind the truth of their wealth-driven lives slowly rising to the surface. Arguing over philosophical and religious notions of vice and virtue, the blunt nature of the topics discussed reveals the pervasive crawl of Eurocentric colonialism, eyes widening to the illusory facade as the elite unveil what’s behind their elegant smokescreens. Featuring breathtakingly haunting compositions that evoke the feeling of a sordid canvas come to life, “Malmkrog” is a prompt and ghastly examination of masquerade and pretense. – AB
“MLK/FBI“
Just days after Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous March on Washington speech in 1963, white America was rattled and the second in command at the FBI sent a memo labeling him the most dangerous negro in America. Thus, afraid of the status-quo and civil rights freedoms he would help usher in, what ensued was years of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies treating him like an enemy of the state. Sam Pollard‘s damning documentary about the FBI’s tactics of surveillance, wire-tapping, and shadowy pursuit of the activist in hopes of blackmailing him, later on, is both a searing indictment on this law enforcement agency and a harsh reminder that that true American progress is always hard-won. The film has already been so well-received at TIFF, it was promptly bought by IFC Films who will surely push it in the Oscar doc race. Our review by Robert Daniels says the film is about “a critical chapter [in our history] that should be imprinted inside every white American’s heart. Especially right now.” – Rodrigo Perez
“Nomadland”
After premiering to near-universal raves and winning Venice’s Golden Lion, Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” will be the centerpiece selection of this year’s New York Film Festival. If you’re a regular Playlist reader, we assume you’ve caught at least a bit of our coverage on Zhao’s outstanding new picture, Jessica Kiang’s review singing the highest praise about the “wise, beautiful film summoned up entirely from things authentically seen, felt, and thought.” What makes that sentiment all the more impressive is leading star Frances McDormand, who gives an expectedly tremendous performance, but whose screen power never once detracts from the real-life people Zhao also incorporated into various creative aspects of production – both in front of and behind the camera. Following the story of a woman named Fern who packs all belongings in her van after being hit hard by economic hardship, “Nomadland” is a work inspired by a world of stories the writer/director soaked up on the road over the course of her life (moving between England and China, in her youth). It’s possible that no other working artist so effortlessly strips down authentic cultural vitality in a raw and touching way as affectively as Chloe Zhao, and this is one film lovers most certainly want to keep their eye on. – AB
“On The Rocks”
Returning to the familiar, long-lonely nights of self-discovery with a loved one subgenre, Sofia Coppola’s newest film seems destined to be compared to her love-sick, Oscar-winning rom-dramedy, “Lost in Translation.” Once again casting Bill Murray as a smarm-laden, elderly charmer who’s perhaps not as suave as he thinks, “On the Rocks,” follows the always warm and welcoming Rashida Jones as Laura, a woman starting to have a little bit of an anxious freak-out about turning the big 4-0. Struggling with a bad case of writer’s block and suspicious that her husband (Marlon Wayans) might be sleeping around on her, Laura turns to her problematic father (played by Murray), and father and daughter become intertwined in a romp-like search for themselves, who they have become, and how they truly feel about each other. Returning to the artistic roots that brought her a heap of awards almost two decades ago, Coppola composes another nuanced look at tender relationships at their most complicated. – AB