Another great week for moviegoers thanks to a fresh batch of not-to-be-missed new releases ready to spoil for choice both mainstream and arthouse audiences. Among them, the one we liked the most -by a very narrow margin- is young Greek director Giorgios Lanthimos’ third feature ‘Alps’★★★★ . The follow-up to his Oscar nominated “Dogtooth” preserves all the elements that made its predecessor such an international success, establishing Lanthimos as one of the most unique voices in contemporary European cinema. ‘Alps’ is the name of a group comprised of four peculiar characters: the paramedic who manages it; a nurse; a gymnast and her coach. Altogether they offer bereaved families a service to replace their lost ones for some time, making their suffering more bearable. Trouble arises as one of them becomes too emotionally involved. A reflection on the ways we deal with death; ‘Alps’ is another impressive piece of work reminiscent on his minimalism of some Dogma films such as Lars Von Triers ‘The Idiots’.
And if Greece gets the gold, the USA and Great Britain share the silver. The latter with one of the most accomplished debuts of the year and the former thanks to what’s already been hailed as the film to beat at this year’s Oscar race, “Argo” ★★★★. Based on true events whose documents were recently declassified by the CIA, Ben Affleck’s excellent third feature takes us back to the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979, when the American Embassy was raided and their delegates kidnapped in the midst of a popular revolutionary upsurge. A few managed to leave and hide in the Canadian ambassador’s home. Knowing their lives were endangered, the US government faked the shooting of a Hollywood sci-fi film as a cover-up for their rescue operation. Perfectly recreating the times, this gripping thriller nicely tones down towards comedy whenever the action moves from Iran to the rushed preparation of the fictitious Sci-Fi production. Affleck’s flawless directorial career to date is already earning him comparisons to Clint Eastwood, both having proved to be much better behind the camera.
On British shores, ‘My Brother The Devil’ ★★★★ takes a look at the relationship between two young siblings of Egyptian descent, growing up in one of Hackney’s rough council states. It successfully transcends the drugs and gang clichés of the genre by throwing in the sexual identity issues of his main character, whose life as part of a gang of dealers leads to an escalating feud with a rival gang. Keeping an eye on his family, he tries to delay his impressionable younger sibling to join in that violence-ridden world. Sally El Hosaini gets superb performances from its two lead actors, supported by La Haine’s star Saïd Taghmaoui and backed by a cast of mostly non-professional neighbours, whom opened the doors to their homes adding a feel of authenticity to this complex and beautifully observed debut that’s piling up awards in festivals around the globe.
Other excellent new releases are ‘The Sapphires’,a crowd pleasing comedy with Chris O’Down as the improvised manager of an aboriginal Aussie girl band embarking on a tour to entertain the US troops in Vietnam; or Romanian auteur Christi Puiu as impressive as overlong new feature ‘Aurora’.
Check our Top 20 recommended films here.