Wednesday, February 21, 2024
The Persian Version   USA
Location: SilverCity
Showtimes: 6:30 & 8:30 pm

Director: Maryam Keshavarz
Cast: Layla Mohammadi, Niousha Noo
Running time: 107 minutes
Language: English, Persian with English subtitles

Awards: National Board of Review: Top Ten Independent Films; Sundance 2023: Audience Award; Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award (Maryam Keshavarz); Calgary International Film Festival: Audience Award-Best International Feature. Six other nominations. 

“Braids comedy and tragedy, vibrant aplomb and thoughtful soberness...”—Lisa Kennedy, Variety

Writer-director Maryam Keshavarz, who previously won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival for her debut film, “Circumstance,” returns with this uproarious, genre-blurring crowd pleaser about identity, belonging, and secrets — those that tie families together and pull them apart, perhaps at the same time. 

Just as brash as she is introspective, Leila (Layla Mohammadi, “The Sex Lives of College Girls”) defies expectation at every turn: those of her parents, and in particular her mother, Shireen (Niousha Noor, “Kaleidoscope”), who disapproves of Leila’s disregard for tradition and cultural norms; and those of her romantic partners, who are perplexed by the fondness that Leila has for her family (and Iranian heritage) despite their differences, simmering just beneath the surface of her feigned nonchalance. 

But it becomes harder for Leila to keep her opposing lives separate when she discovers she is pregnant just as her family convenes in New York for her father’s heart transplant surgery.

It’s here that the film takes a beautiful and unexpected turn, as we are transported back in time to Shireen’s childhood in Iran through to her initial experiences in America, understanding the level of loss and personal sacrifice that has come to inform her rocky relationship with Leila. 

As past and present continue to collide, the film balances the somber weight of its generations-spanning ambition with a quirky dynamism in the form of “Fleabag-esque”, fourth-wall-breaking monologues and intricately choreographed dance sequences as Leila’s love for retro pop music bleeds onto the screen. 

“The Persian Version” is undeniably full of heart and with it, heartache — one that beats to its own drum and will bring audiences to their feet

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Anatomy of a Fall (France) 
Location: SilverCity
Showtimes: 6:30 & 9:15 pm

Director: Justine Triet
Cast:  Sandra Hüller, Samuel Theis, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner
Running time: 151 minutes
Language: French, German, with English Subtitles 

Awards: Golden Globes: Best Screenplay; Best Non English Language Film; British Independent Film Awards: Best International Independent Film; Gotham Awards: Best International Film, Best Screenplay; National Board of Review: Best Film; Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Non-English Language Film, Best Actress, Best Editing; New York Film Critics Circle Awards: Best International Film; Toronto Film Critics Association: Best Director, Outstanding Lead Performance; 37 other wins, 115  nominations. 

“Triet has made a film that succeeds brilliantly — on terms that are as exacting, rigorous and precise as her unflappable heroine.”—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

The much-lauded winner of this year’s Palme d’Or and Golden Globe winner for Best Screenplay, Justine Triet’s fourth feature has cemented her status as one of today’s great filmmaking talents. Unfolding over two-and-a-half hours like a compulsively readable novel, the riveting “Anatomy of a Fall” is both a dissection of an intimate relationship and of the judiciary process. 

Sandra (a ferocious, magnetic, and edgy Sandra Hüller; “Toni Erdmann,” “The Zone of Interest”) is a successful German writer who lives in the French Alps with her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) and their visually-impaired son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner). 

A brilliant, decibel-bursting opening scene suggests tensions in their isolated chalet, so when Samuel is discovered dead in the snow beneath one of their windows, suspicion is quickly aroused. Did he take his own life, or was he pushed to his death? 

When the investigation proves to be inconclusive — its varying angles hinting at the microscopic examination to come — Sandra is ultimately indicted and put on trial.

A captivating and sharply directed, written, and acted courtroom procedural, “Anatomy of a Fall” functions like a trenchant autopsy of confirmation bias and ambiguity itself, with the court an operatic arena in which every gesture, word, and past interaction are ripe for judgment. 

As scrutiny turns to Sandra’s complex character and her tumultuous relationship with Samuel — their artistic rivalries, romantic jealousies, and contempt — the couple’s young son becomes the key witness. Taut, suspenseful, and thrilling until the final moment, “Anatomy of a Fall” progresses like a heady puzzle that tackles the messiness of existence and the often-elusive nature of truth itself.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024
Maestro USA
Location: SilverCity
Showtimes: 6:30 & 8:45 pm

Director: Bradley Cooper
Cast:  Bradley Cooper, Carey Mulligan, Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke
Running time:  129 minutes
Language: English 

Awards: Las Vegas Film Critics Society: Best Actor (Bradley Cooper), Best Screenplay: Bradley Cooper & Josh Singer; National Board of Review: Top Films 2023; Palm Springs International Film Festival: Best Actress (Carey Mulligan); AFI Awards: Movie of the Year; Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards: Top Ten Films 2023: Capri Hollywood: Visionary Award (Bradley Cooper), Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, Producer Award (Bradley Cooper); New York Film Critics Online: Top Ten Films 2023; Nevada Film Critics Society: Best Actor, Bradley Cooper. Six other wins, 108 nominations

“A movie that is as exhilarating as it is unconventional, a fitting portrait of a man who was determined to always live life on his own terms, no matter the consequences.”—Peter Howell, Toronto Star

“Maestro” follows the complex love story of renowned American composer Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) and actress Felicia Montealegre (Carrie Mulligan), spanning 30 years of their relationship from when they first met at a party in 1946, through their engagement, marriage, and children. 

This is the second feature film from Bradley Cooper as director, and he pulls out all the stops to present his auteur vision of Bernstein’s life. The film switches from bright colours to black and white, uses surrealist imagery next to grounded scenes, and contrasts the noise of arguments with the passionate music of Bernstein’s compositions. 

A change from the typical biographical drama, “Maestro” seeks to communicate the feeling of a life rather than focusing on the historical details. The film does not shy away from depicting the fights and hardships that permeated Leonard and Felicia’s long marriage, nor does it seek to conceal Bernstein’s sexuality and frequent affairs with young, handsome men. 

An exploration of the complexities of a queer identity in a society that limits free expression, the film sympathizes with Bernstein’s struggles while also giving voice to the drama and resentment felt by Bernstein’s family. Cooper, who convincingly ages under Kazu Hiro’s award-winning make up, and Carey Mulligan deliver compelling performances that cut to the core. A symphony in its own right, this passionate tale is a vibrant portrait of love, heartbreak, family, and music