Films — by Collection

Staff Picks: Rebecca McMillan

I have seen half of these films and each and every one features a scene, a moment or an image that I am grateful to now have with me for life. (Paul Dano’s debut observing the breakdown of a marriage in the 50s Midwest is elegant and loving; Wildlife is an instant classic. Thank goodness for the cameras that captured McQueen’s creativity and vision in those runway shows. In the Aisles observes the gentle kindness of humans in the most ordinary of places.) The other half I’m yet to see and my festival promises an eclectic trip through the 80s, moving observations of love and what it means to be a parent, plenty of WTF?! and a memorable Nic Cage revenge-fest. I’m going to see them on the biggest screens this Festival.

Shoplifters

Manbiki kazoku

Kore-eda Hirokazu

This year’s surprise Cannes Palme d’Or winner is one of Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu’s finest films, about a loving, unconventional family making ends meet on the margins of Tokyo.

Mandy

Panos Cosmatos

“Panos Cosmatos’ follow-up to Beyond the Black Rainbow is a gloriously lurid mock-80s revenge quest that aims a raging, roaring Nicolas Cage at villains from another dimension.” — Katherine McLaughlin, Sight & Sound

Girl

Lukas Dhont

Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont won the award for best first feature at Cannes with this empathetic, emotionally rich portrait of a 15-year-old trans girl who aspires to become a ballerina.

Burning

Beoning

Lee Chang-dong

A love triangle and mystery based on a Murakami Haruki short story, Korean great Lee Chang-dong’s (Secret Sunshine,  Poetry) latest was the best-reviewed film at Cannes, an unforgettable now-or-never must-see on a giant screen.