“Am I OK?”
Dakota Johnson was all over Sundance 2022, and she was certainly front and center in “Am I OK?,” a romantic lesbian drama by romantic partners Stephanie Allynne and comedienne Tig Notaro. Featuring a great cast, Johnson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jermaine Fowler, Kiersey Clemons, Molly Gordon, June Diane Raphael, Tig Notaro, and Sean Hayes. The film center on a 30-something LA woman (Johnson) who realizes she’s a lesbian. Through the help of her lifelong best friend, she attempts to navigate coming out and dating women in her 30s. While sometimes familiar, our review from Sundance wrote, the film “finds transcendence in Johnson and Mizuno’s authentic, intertwined performances and Pomerantz’s deeply personal, heartwarming screenplay.” – RP
Release Date: TBD on HBO Max.
“Squaring The Circle: The Story of Hipgnosis”
You may know Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn as the filmmaker behind moody spy thrillers “The American” with George Clooney or “A Most Wanted Man” with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but to get the full picture, look to his debut “Control” about the rock band Joy Division. Before he became a feature director Corbijn was one of the premiere rock photographers in the world, immortalizing the likes of Joy Division, New Order, Depeche Mode, U2, Tom Waits, and more in moody photographs and striking music videos. Music is still at the center of his soul, however, which leads him to “The Story of Hipgnosis.” Who? The design studio that arguably created the most iconic (and expensive) rock album covers of all time for the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and many more. These abstract, enigmatic, and mysterious album covers were like a gateway drug to the music for Corbijn, and in his engaging documentary (read our review), he gives tribute to the duo of designers that created Hipgnosis and the ambitious and audacious art they created with ‘70s LP art. – RP
“Rebel”
Certainly one of the most brutal pictures scheduled for release in 2023. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah‘s drama about Nassim (Amir El Arbi), a young Muslim boy who is encouraged to join the Jihadi frontline in Syria, and his older brother, Kamal (Aboubakr Bensaihi), a DJ, rapper, and aspiring humanitarian who joins the IS’s inner circle, is explosive and relentless, “gripping us by the throat like a murderous captor.” But, as our review from Cannes noted, the directors of “Bad Boys for Life” may have fired a shot too many: “‘Rebel,’ for better or worse, is profoundly cruel to its ensemble of characters, none truly escaping the ravenous, torturous jaws of conflict. For that, your mileage will vary — but damn, if it isn’t memorable.”
Release Date: TBD.
“Falcon Lake”
Canadian actress Charlotte Le Bon (“Yves Saint Laurent“) made her feature film directorial debut last year with “Falcon Lake” which premiered in Cannes in the Director’s Fortnight section. Starring Canadian actors Joseph Engel, Sara Montpetit, Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, and Monia Chokri, the evocative film, centers on a shy teenager on a summer vacation who experiences the joy and pain of young adulthood when he forges an unlikely bond with an older girl. The film’s finale sees Le Bon push at the boundaries of her story in an ambitious and opaque way,” our Cannes review wrote. “This is a controlled and impressive debut from Le Bon that hints at talent to come and offers a warm, if not always unique, approach to the growing pains of young love.”
Release Date: TBD.
“R.M.N”
A Palme d’Or winner consistently invited to the Cannes Film Festival, Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu (“4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days”) rarely disappoints. His latest, “R.M.N,” tries to understand racism and xenophobia. The film is a non-judgmental analysis of the driving forces of human behavior when confronted with the unknown, of the way we perceive the other, and how we relate to an unsettling future. “The power of Mungiu’s work is his writing,” our review from Cannes wrote. “Like much of Eastern European cinema of the past decade, he’s crafted a morality tale that should prompt a viewer to take a look at themselves in the mirror wherever they may live.” – RP
Release Date: TBD, and still needs to find a U.S. distributor.
