Catching up to three big name festival films that opened Wednesday at the specialty box office to start the extended U.S. Thanksgiving holiday weekend – Luca Guadagnino’s Queer from A24 starring 007 Daniel Craig; Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in Pablo Larraín’s Maria from Netflix, both of which premiered at Venice; and Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed Of The Sacred Fig, which won a clutch of awards Cannes including a Special Jury Award.
All three are in limited release (Maria the widest) in the midst of a great, big busy few weeks at the box office with Moana 2 setting records in the wake of Wicked and Gladiator II. Indies are good counter-programming but face massive competition and have a hard time finding screens. If the box office continues to boom with big budget studio fare it will become clearer in the weeks and months ahead whether that lifts all boats, as many believe, or which ones.
Queer is a literary adaptation of book of the same name by prominent Beat writer William S. Burroughs with screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes. Deadline’s review says Craig “nails the sardonic spirit” of the writer and the book that was written in the early 50s but not published until 1985. Craig stars as William Lee, an American expat in 1950s Mexico City in his late forties and leading a solitary life amidst a small American community. The arrival in town of Eugene Allerton, a young student (Drew Starkey) stirs William into finally establishing a meaningful connection with someone.
Also stars Lesley Manville, Jason Schwartzman, Andra Ursuta, Michael Borremans and David Lower.
Opens on seven screens across NY (Lincoln Square, Angelika, Alamo Brooklyn) and LA (The Grove, Century City, Burbank, The Vista).
Neon’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig was written and directedby Rasoulof, who filmed it entirely in secret and dramatically had to flee Iran right after shooting.
Playing at three theaters — the Film Forum and Film Society of Lincoln Center in NY and AMC Century City in LA.
The drama explores the conflict between tradition and progress in modern-day Iran through a middle-class family whose two daughters question their father’s role in the government as student protests erupt in the streets.
Stars Misagh Zare, Soheila Golestani, Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki, Niousha Akhshi, Reza Akhlaghi, Shiva Ordooei and Amineh Arani.
Other awards at Cannes includes the Fipresci Award from the International Federation of Film Critics; the Ecumenical Jury Award: Award of the French Theaters Association; and the Prix Chalais. It also played Telluride, was the Centerpiece film at TIFF and screened at the New York Film Festival.
Deadline’s review called the film a “heartfelt, politically fiery melodrama” It’s at 94% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Rasoulof previously won best director in Un Certain Regard at Canes for Bé Omid é Didar (Goodbye) in 2011, earned the FIPRESCI Prize at Un Certain Regard for Dast Neveshteha Nemisoozand (Manuscripts Don’t Burn) in 2013, and in 2017, won the main prize in the Un Certain Regard section for Lerd (A Man of Integrity).
Larrain’s biopic Maria starring Angelina Jolie as legendary opera singer Maria Callas opens on about 60 screens ahead of a Dec. 11 debut on Netflix. The streamer’s films are different theatrical creatures for box office purposes since it doesn’t release grosses and the films become available on the platform in a few weeks.
The iconic Greek-American diva died in 1977, aged 53 in her longtime Paris home after tumultuous life. The film takes place over one week as Callas unravels physically and psychologically, interspersed with flashbacks of the past. Written by Steven Knight. See Deadline review. It’s interesting that Jolie sings for the film and the voice audiences hear is a blend of Callas and Jolie’s own voice. Also stars Pierfrancesco Favino and Alba Rohrwacher.
It’s the third film by the Chilean director, and opera buff, about iconic women after Spenser, which starred Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, and Jackie with Natalie Portman.
Other specialty openings: Music Box Films’ genre label Doppelgänger Releasing opens rowdy, offbeat Finnish comedy Heavier Trip by directors Juuso Laatio and Jukka Vidgren, marking the return of the film’s fictional heavy metal band, Impaled Rektum. In the followup to 2018’s Heavy Trip, cast and crew reunite to continue the story of the world’s most dangerous (and charming) metal band, including actors Johannes Holopainen, Samuli Jaskio, Max Ovaska and Chike Ohanwe.
In Heavier Trip, the death metal band is incarcerated in a Norwegian prison when they discover that the guitarist’s family is facing financial setbacks. To help, the band breaks out of prison journeys through northern Europe to perform at the world’s largest metal festival, Wacken. Deceived by a dishonest record label and pursued by a murderous prison guard, they try to keep the band together.
Abramorama opens This Search For Meaning about British band Placebo at the Quad Cinema in NYC, directed by BAFTA-Award-Winning Filmmaker Oscar Sansom.
Featuring never-before-seen interviews with Placebo’s Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal, as well as exclusive interviews and footage with David Bowie, Shirley Manson (Garbage), Robbie Williams, Yungblud, Rebecca Lucy Taylor (Self Esteem), Joe Talbot (Idles) and contemporary artist Stuart Semple.
Since emerging from obscurity in the 1990s with provocative songs such as Nancy Boy and Bruise Pristine, Placebo forged a path through the macho Britpop scene, exploring politics, human rights, apathy and corruption.
Sansom is known for directing Down by the River Thames, a groundbreaking concert film capturing the legendary Liam Gallagher (Oasis) play a surreal live performance whilst steaming up the river Thames at sunset.
Early next week, Hundreds of Beavers returns to screens on Dec. 3 adding about 80 theaters throughout the weekend. The microbudget film premiered at Fantastic Fest 2022 and eventually was self-distributed by director Mike Cheslik and producers and released last January, grossing $500k domestically and another $157k international. Debuted on streaming in April. A 35mm print will debut a tour in early 2025 as people see to dig the slapstick epic about a frostbitten battle between a dim man named Jean Kayak and hundreds of diabolical beavers who stand between him and survival. “In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman must go from zero to hero and become North America’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers,” reads the logline. It’s 97% with RT critics, 85% with audiences. Written by Cheslik with Ryland Brickson and Cole Tews.
