Anora

Writer, director, and editor, Sean Baker, who gave us, "The Florida Project" and "Red Rocket," has a brilliant new film out, "Anora." In the wheelhouse of films like John Cassavetes's "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," Elaine May's "Mikey & Nicky," or Benny and Josh Safdie's "Uncut Gems," "Anora" is the story of Ani, a.k.a Anora (Mikey Madison - I hope she is nominated for all the awards) who is an exotic dancer in a strip club. She meets a Russian boy, Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) who has extremely wealthy parents and seems to have an endless supply of money and appetite for drugs, alcohol, and Ani. He pays her for a private week (a kind of "Pretty Woman" scenario) and ends up in Vegas. Ivan's antics are discovered by his parents' keepers and what follows is a mob like intervention to detangle the relationship between Ivan and Ani. It's a long and often hilarious journey through bars, restaurants, candy stores, and strip clubs. It's a wild and messy ride, a broken vodka bottle soaked carpet and a double kick to the face. This is one of the best films of the year and it's now playing in theatres. 

Conclave

The Pope has died and Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is to run the conclave for selecting the next one. There are four main candidates vying for the position. John Lithgow plays a corrupt Cardinal. Stanley Tucci plays the left leaning, progressive voice. The far right is portraited by Sergio Castellitto. And there is a black Cardinal played by Lucian Msamati who quickly becomes disqualified by the dirty tricks of Lithgow's character. Days of voting go by, which looks like mostly white men in red robes folding pieces of paper, babbling out Latin, and going for smoke breaks in the courtyard. It does sound dull but it's rather exciting. This isn't edge of your seat stuff, however the film remains captivating throughout. There are some excellent little speeches about faith and doubt. Isabella Rossellini shows up looking pensive and slightly pissed off - yes, she plays a nun. I thought I figured out the end, and I did, but this one gives us an extra twist M. Night Shyamalan would be proud to own. Catch the holy moly in theatres now. Amen. 

The Promised Land

Fans of "The Man in the Iron Mask," "Tombstone," "The Count of Monte-Cristo," and this kind of historical period piece should check out co-writer and director, Nikolaj Arcel's film, "The Promised Land." This Danish film stars Mads Mikkelsen as Ludvig Kahlen, a 30-year, army-serving captain who wants to turn the vast wasteland of Jutland into a habitual farming community - in the name of the King! And Ludwig would like a noble title and some servants of his own in return. It's an underdog story. It's a story about class, racism, cruelty, and ego. It's about winning at the expense of those we love. Ludwig's neighbour, Frederik De Schinkel (Morten Hee Andersen) is a rich, spoiled drunk who wants Ludwig to fail at all costs. And the woman Frederik has his eye on for marriage, well she wants nothing to do with Fredrick and all to do with Ludwig. So there you have it. This film is a captivating drama and it's beautiful to look at. I'm not a huge fan of period pieces and I loved this one. Catch it on CRAVE or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa.