Director Park Chan-wook. Korean with English subtitles. 2h 19m.
Presaging the likely fate of middle managers and skilled industry workers writ large, director Park Chan-wook’s protagonist You Man-su suddenly finds himself out of work. The new bosses of the paper mill had ‘no other choice’ but to let him go, as the company reinvents itself for the digital age. How can Man-su find work and preserve his extremely shaky status as family breadwinner? Answer: nobble the competition for what few job vacancies come up. Mass murder ensues in Park’s award-winning surreal comedy. They say the best humour is underpinned by the most terrible truths.
Director Rich Peppiatt. Irish with English subtitles and English. 1h 45m.
Manic, irreverent, ketamine-fueled and ‘mostly true’, Rich Peppiatt’s award-winning drama documentary creates an origin myth for the real life band Kneecap. What’s it all about? Well, you’ll have to follow the subtitles unless you speak the language. And this is the serious point behind this wild sex, drugs and hip hop caper. The preservation and promotion of the Irish language itself. Avowedly Republican in sentiment, this is not a film that will be to everyone’s taste, but if you want to give your sense of humour a run for its money, it’s a must see.
Director Lukas Dhont. French with English subtitles. 2h 7m.
1916/17, Belgian Western Front: death stalks the trenches. Well, we could all do with a bit of a laugh, a bit of a knees up, a bit of bawdry. And look, here comes the Band of Rejects ready and able to give us just that. An odd place to find a lover, but in Lukas Dhont’s Coward, that’s exactly where the shoots of love are to be found, growing out of the mud and the blood. A queer history but one with an unexpected, life-affirming ending.
If you’re into titillation, and relish squirming in your seat at the antics of feckless hosts Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) as they try to keep pace with their super cool upstairs neighbours and dinner guests Pina (Penelope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), then this is an absolute must-see movie. If you’re not, the film is still more than worthy of your attention for its humour, its sure-fire crisscrossing dialogue and the lovely dramatic arc of its unfolding story. A sex comedy of sorts served up for dinner by Director Olivia Wilde with inedible food and no wine.
Director Joachim Trier. Norwegian with English subtitles. 2h.
It’s difficult being twenty-something. It’s difficult being so light and oh so pretty – you can (and can’t) get away with anything. It’s difficult when you are moving through life at a different pace from everyone else. It’s difficult finding yourself when you keep losing yourself. It’s difficult being the worst person in the world when you’re not.
Director Joachim Trier’s romantic tragicomedy somehow strikes every note pitch perfectly. Actor Renate Reinsve won multiple awards for her central role as Julie, searching for herself as she leaves her twenties. Enjoy!
