The Brutalist
A melodrama about a fictional Hungarian architect, Laszlo Toth, played by Adrian Brody, who makes his way to America after being released from a concentration camp. He has no idea if his wife Erzsebet and niece Zsofia are alive or dead. He settles in Philadelphia where he has a cousin with a furniture shop. He finds out his wife and niece are alive but things go badly when his chance to design interiors for a wealthy client crashes and burns. Toth spends years as a laborer and begins to use heroin to combat the pain of an injury from his time in the camps. His fate takes a turn again when the same man who didn’t like his designs previously, changes his mind and hires him again.
“The Brutalist” is a three-and-a-half hour film that took 7 years for its director to raise the money for. Shot in Hungary over just 36 days and working on a strict budget, this film underscores what can be achieved with innovation and planning in light of the extravagance of mostly forgettable, big-budget films. Ten Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor and Screenplay make this a standout in 2024.Starring Adrian Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce.
Now Playing at the State Theatre.
Nickel Boys
Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Coleson Whitehead and directed by RaMell Ross (“Hale County,” “This Morning,” “This Evening”), “Nickel Boys” is the story of a friendship between two young African American men at Nickel Academy, a Florida reform school in the Jim Crow south. While the story is fiction, it’s based on a real reform school known for it’s harsh and abusive treatment of boys, unfortunate enough to be sent there.
Director Ross started his career as a cinematographer, and he utilizes the point-of-view shot to tell the story entirely from the protagonist’s view. Very few films have been shot entirely in this style. The film noir classic “Lady in the Lake” (1946) is probably the best-known example. The technique invites the viewer to experience the film from a more intimate vantage point.
Nominated for two Oscars — Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. Starring Ethan Heirsse, Brandon Wilson and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor.
Now Playing at the State Theatre.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
An Iranian political thriller nominated for Best International Feature and filmed secretly during violent protests. The film tells the story of a judge forced to compromise his own morals with the Iranian government’s which creates a divisive and dangerous effect on his family while societal rules begin to crumble. Director Mohammad Rasoulof also wrote the story and screenplay. In Persian (Farsi) with English subtitles. Starring Soheila Golestani and Missagh Zareh.
Now Playing at the State Theatre.
I’m Still Here
Director Walter Salles (“Central Station,” “The Motorcycle Diaries”) helms this intense political drama set in 1971 about a woman whose husband is take from their home after he criticizes Brazil’s newly formed military dictatorship. The film focuses on wife Eunice’s search over decades to uncover the truth about what really happened to her husband.
Based on her son Ruben Marcelo Pavia’s memoir, the film is nominated for three Oscars —Best Picture, Best International Picture and Best Actress, Fernanda Torres. Look for Fernanda Montenegro as the older Eunice who starred in and was nominated for Best Actress in the filmmakers 1999 film, “Grand Central.” Also Starring Selton Mello, Antonio Saboia and Valentina Herszage.
Opens Feb. 7 at the Michigan Theater.
Special Screening
The Taste of Things
Cook Eugenie and her boss Dodin grow fond of one another over 20 years, and their romance gives rise to dishes that impress even the world’s most illustrious chefs. When Dodin is faced with Eugenie’s reluctance to commit, he begins to cook for her. From writer/director, Tran Anh Hung, and starring Juliette Binoche.
Part of their Science on Screen series, the screening is followed by a discussion with chef Allison on the science of gastronomy.
Playing Feb. 5 at the Michigan Theater.
