MUN Cinema Series

CROSSING has won a whole bunch of awards and been nominated for more, all well deserved. The Guardian describes this movie as “thoroughly intelligent, emotionally engaging and robustly performed.” Hard to beat that. Largely the story of a journey, the film focuses on Lia, a retired history teacher who follows up on her sister’s dying wish to locate her daughter, a trans woman who just might be living in Istanbul. Lia crosses over from Georgia into Turkey to honour her promise, but not before picking up a rather goofy sidekick. This odd couple then engages a former sex worker in Istanbul to help find Lia’s niece, forming an even more oddball trio. The title contains a multitude of crossings—geographical and gendered obviously, but also psychological and emotional.

Ken Loach, my friends—Ken Loach! A hero of MUN Cinema for his fierce commitment to representing class struggle with wit and humanity, Ken Loach here delivers his latest naturalistic take on the human condition—specifically the post-Brexit of northeast England when Syrian refugees showed up in search of a better life. Well, you know … racism and xenophobia are never far from the surface of the world Loach describes. T.J. Ballantyne, owner of the local pub, the Old Oak, gets to know and like one of the refugees, Yara, but their friendship also exposes the simmering dissatisfaction of the townspeople, long suffering from a history of closed mines and the poverty and deprivation that followed—arguably what led to voting to leave. Loach brilliantly explores the dynamics of that place in this time, grounding his story in the real lives of people while describing a much bigger picture.

Remember June Squibb’s Oscar nomination for “Nebraska” (2013)? Sure, you do. Here, the 94-year-old actor snatches the lead role as a feisty widow who loves to hang with her Gen Z grandson, Daniel, soaking up his pop culture obsessions, especially “Mission Impossible.” One day Thelma becomes the victim of a phone scammer and finds herself out of $10,000—US dollars! Determined to get her money back, she embarks on a hilarious trek with an old friend across the fringes of Los Angeles -- in a scooter. This clever script by first-time filmmaker Margolin reinvents the action genre with an unlikely heroine, the ever-charming Thelma for whom no mission is impossible.

Another MUN Cinema darling, director Wim Wenders here brings Tokyo to life in the most understated ways. The film follows a taciturn guy, Hirayama, who earns a living cleaning toilets. It’s tempting to say that that’s it, that’s the film. But, of course, there’s more. One day his niece shows up and the semblance of a plot evolves, sort of. PERFECT DAYS is a worthy complement to Loach’s study of the historical moment, although in a completely different register. Through his main character, Wenders celebrates the elegant rituals of everyday life. Like Loach, Wenders follows the naturalistic logic of his camera—the realism of character in situation—but his aim is less social analysis, more intimate, personal, and quiet a journey. This is just about a perfect film, no matter how you describe it.

This is broad British comedy as you like it, and so don’t start taking it all too seriously. We’re deliberately screening it the day after the US election when we all just might need a big laugh. Based on a true British scandal in the Twenties, the film stars the always brilliant Olivia Colman as Edith, a woman of a certain age who still lives with her parents. When an Irish single mother named Rose moves next door and the two become friends, the town starts to talk, and Edith starts receiving salaciously suggestive letters. Rose is a party girl. Edith is decidedly not, and so it’s easy to see why one might betray the other. That’s when Gladys, the first female cop in Sussex, shows up to get to the bottom of the wicked little letters. This is a mystery wrapped up in the emerging feminism of post WWI Britain, a delightful diversion from just about everything.

We’ll screen just about anything starring the charismatic Gladstone, and FANCY DANCE conveniently delivers. Here she plays Jax, a hard-scrabble woman trying to make ends meet and keep her 13-year-old niece Roki afloat. The plot is driven by their search for Roki’s mother, yet another story about a missing woman (see CROSSING and WICKED LITTLE LETTERS). We feel a trend coming on. The quest takes the pair on the road, and, as these narratives go, the emphasis is on the pair of searchers and the bond they share in a world either indifferent or hostile to Indigenous women. Gladstone could easily have been nominated for Best Actress here, too, a hugely powerful performance.

You’ve read the book. Now you can see the film adaptation lovingly rendered by talented director Christian Sparkes with the script assistance of none other than author Michael Crummey. Mark Lewis Jones turns in a superb performance as that defiant old guy who just won’t get off his land to resettle come hell or high water. Moses holds the narrative in his head in the novel, but here both Crummey and Sparkes show us the man through a different lens, studying his stubbornness with patience and a measure of empathy. You know the story: outport Newfoundland and the inevitability of and resistance to change. Sara Canning and Mary Walsh have small but memorable turns as supporting characters, but the film belongs to Mark Lewis Jones/Moses in all his familiar, curmudgeonly ways. This should be required viewing for all Newfoundlanders.