2017 Season
Little Men
January 11th, 2017
Dir. Ira Sachs | 85 mins | 2016 | United States, Greece, Brazil | English, Spanish
Two teens develop a growing friendship in Brooklyn while the feud between their respective parents (Greg Kinnear & Jennifer Ehle) continues to escalate.
In the Los Angeles Times, Sheri Linden raves: “Ira Sachs’ beautifully observed LITTLE MEN zeros in on teen-spirit qualities that might, by conventional standards, be considered less cinematic: creativity and innocence, a tender spark brought to life by terrific newcomers Theo Taplitz and Michael Barbieri.” In the Village Voice, Alan Scherstuhl claims: “Sachs, a clear-eyed humanist, honors all his characters’ pained perspectives.” And in Rolling Stone, Peter Travers wrties: “LITTLE MEN, with its two boys racing at life with the brick wall of maturity still at a distance, is funny, touching and vital. It’s truly an exhilarating gift.”
The Handmaiden
January 25th, 2017
Dir. Park Chan-wook | 144 mins | 2016 | South Korea | Korean, Japanese
In this stunning thriller, a Korean con man hires an orphaned pickpocket to seduce and defraud a young Japanese woman out of her inheritance.
In the New York Times, Manohla Dargis raves: “This is a movie that tries to ravish your senses so thoroughly you may not notice its sleights of hand… A romance, a gothic thriller and a woozy comedy, THE HANDMAIDEN is finally and most significantly a liberation story.” In the Los Angeles Times, Justin Chang writes: “Park has given us a teasingly witty and elegant puzzle-box of a thriller.” And in the Boston Globe, Ty Burr claims: “Elegantly depraved and immaculately degenerate, THE HANDMAIDEN is an astonishment. The filmmaking is masterful, very near to Hitchcock in its sly, controlled teasing of the audience.”
Manchester By The Sea
February 15th, 2017
Dir. Kenneth Lonergan | 137 mins | 2016 | USA | English
Lee Chandler is a brooding, irritable loner who works as a handyman for a Boston apartment block. One damp winter day he gets a call summoning him to his hometown, north of the city. His brother’s heart has given out suddenly, and he’s been named guardian to his 16-year-old nephew. As if losing his only sibling and doubts about raising a teenager weren’t enough, his return to the past re-opens an unspeakable tragedy.
Julieta
February 22nd, 2017
Dir. Pedro Almodóvar | 96 mins | 2016 | Spain, France, United States | English
Julieta (Emma Suarez) is a middle-aged woman living in Madrid with her boyfriend Lorenzo. They are about to move to Portugal when she casually runs into Bea, the former best friend of Julieta’s daughter Antia. Bea reveals that Antia is living in Switzerland, married, with three children. Heartbroken after 12 years of estrangement from her daughter, Julieta cancels the move to Portugal and moves to her former building, hoping that Antia will send her a letter. Alone with her thoughts, Julieta starts to write her memories to confront the pain of the events that happened when she was a teenager (Adriana Ugarte) and met Galician fisherman Xoan. Falling in love with him, Julieta divides her time between her family, her job, and Antia’s education until a fatal accident changes their lives. Slowly falling into a depression, Julieta is helped by Antia and Bea, but one day Antia suddenly goes missing after a vacation, with no clues about where to find her, leaving Julieta desperate to understand the reasons of her disappearance.
Moonlight
March 8th, 2017
Dir. Barry Jenkins | 111 mins | 2016 | USA | English
A timeless story of human connection and self-discovery, MOONLIGHT chronicles the life of a young black man from childhood to adulthood as he struggles to find his place in the world while growing up in a rough neighborhood of Miami.
In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Tirdad Derakhshani calls MOONLIGHT “a true American masterpiece and one of the best films of the decade.” In the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan writes: “MOONLIGHT is magic. So intimate you feel like you’re trespassing on its characters’ souls, so transcendent it’s made visual and emotional poetry out of intensely painful experience. It’s a film that manages to be both achingly familiar and unlike anything we’ve seen before.” And in the Boston Globe, Ty Burr declares: “In its quietly radical grace, it’s a cultural watershed — a work that dismantles all the ways our media view young black men and puts in their place a series of intimate truths. You walk out feeling dazed, more whole, a little cleaner.”
Paterson
March 22nd, 2017
Dir. Jim Jarmusch | 118 mins | 2016 | France, Germany, United States | English, Italian
This powerful new film by visionary director Jim Jarmusch observes the triumphs and defeats in the life of a bus driver and aspiring poet, played by Adam Driver in a quietly moving performance. Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%.
In the San Francisco Chronicle, David Wiegand raves: “Jarmusch has created a small miracle of a film, one that is both intellectually dazzling and emotionally provocative.” In the Austin Chronicle, Marjorie Baumgarten writes: “Not only is it a film about a poet, PATERSON transcends its story to become a work of poetry itself.” And in Time Magazine, Stephanie Zacharek declares: “It’s about love and poetry and dreams, and about the chance encounter that can close a wound with the magic effeciency of a tiny butterfly bandage. How you pour all that into one movie is something of a mystery. But then, a good poem is always something of a mystery too.”
Toni Erdmann
April 5th, 2017
Dir. Maren Ade | 162 mins | 2016 | Germany, Austria, Monaco, Romania, France, Switzerland | French, German, English, Romanian
In this award-winning German comedy, a father tries to reconnect with his hard-working daughter by creating an outrageous alter ego and posing as her CEO’s life coach.
In the Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern calls TONI ERDMANN a “brilliantly funny and moving comedy.” In the Philadelphia Inquirer, Tirdad Derakhshani raves: “It’s an immensely rich, deeply felt exploration of human relationships that draws you in and holds you fast.” And in Film Stage, Giovanni Camia declares: “TONI ERDMANN is one of the most stirring cinematic experiences to come around in a long time.”
The Sweet Hereafter
April 19th, 2017
Dir. Atom Egoyan | 112 mins | 1997 | Canada | English
To celebrate National Canadian Film Day, North Bay Film is hosting a FREE screening of the Canadian classic film by Atom Egoyan. THE SWEET HEREAFTER is a powerful story of a tragic accident and class action lawsuit in small town British Columbia.
Upon its release in 1997, THE SWEET HEREAFTER won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival and seven Genie Awards (including Best Motion Picture). It was also nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay). THE SWEET HEREAFTER is considered one of the best Canadian films of all time.
Song to Song
May 3rd, 2017
Dir. Terrence Malick | 129 mins | 2017 | USA | English
In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas, music scene, two entangled couples chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.
In The Independent, Christopher Hooton raves: “Why do we go to the cinema? To get away from the world, yes, but also to learn more about it and about ourselves. In this regard SONG TO SONG affected me more than any film I’ve seen in the past few years.” Erin Whitney, in Screen Crush, writes: “Malick has found a way to translate how a familiar song has the ability to transport you back to a particular time and conjure a specific set of emotions. Whatever he’s been exploring over the past few years pays off here.” And in the Village Voice, Bilge Ebiri declares: “Connect with the kineticism of SONG TO SONG, and it might just leave you breathless.”
Two Lovers and a Bear
May 17th, 2017
Dir. Kim Nguyen | 96 mins | 2016 | Canada | English
In a small town near the North Pole, two burning souls come together to find inner peace. Filmed in part in Northern Ontario.
In We Got This Covered, Darren Ruecker raves: “TWO LOVERS AND A BEAR finds a blend of magic realism, romance and isolation that produces a tremendously moving result.” In Variety, Peter Debruge writes that Nguyen’s film transforms “into something totally unpredictable, taking full advantage of the gorgeous widescreen lensing to convey the atmosphere and magic of his locations.” And in the Globe and Mail, Simon Houpt promises: “Give yourself over to the experience, and you’ll be transported.” Our feature film will be accompanied by the short film Drunken Bastard – Film, by local filmmaker Darren MacDonald.
The Other Half
September 6th, 2017
Dir. Joey Klein | 103 mins | 2016 | Canada | English
A woman with bipolar disorder and a grief-stricken man struggle to forge a simpler life.
In The Globe and Mail, Brad Wheeler raves: “The performances are pitch perfect; the soundtrack is evocative; the photgraphy is artful.” In Variety, Justin Chang calls THE OTHER HALF “a troubled, anguised love story that neither exaggerates nor soft-pedals the demons on display.” And in The New York Times, Andy Webster argues: “Mr. Klein is well served by his actors, who exude conviction, charisma and palpable ardor.”
Tulip Fever
September 20th, 2017
Dir. Justin Chadwick | 107 mins | 2017 | United Kingdom, USA | English
An artist in 17th century Amsterdam falls for a young married woman while he’s commissioned to paint her portrait. Based on the worldwide bestselling novel by Deborah Moggach.
Bob Mondello, writing for NPR, raves that TULIP FEVER’s screenplay, “cleverly penned—I’m picturing with actual quills—by author Debroah Moggach and playwright Tom Stoppard,” succeeds with an intoxicating blend of “virtue and vanity, God and guilders, bulbs and blackmail.” Philippa Gregory, author of THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, claims that TULIP FEVER is “beautifully filmed, with a stellar cast that takes you to the atmospheric streets of Amsterdam.” And Sally Bedell Smith, author of DIANA IN SEARCH OF HERSELF, writes: “TULIP FEVER is thoroughly suspenseful, stunningly filmed and beautifully acted.”
A Ghost Story
October 4th, 2017
Dir. David Lowery | 92 mins | 2017 | USA | English, Spanish
A recently deceased, white-sheeted ghost returns to his suburban home to try to reconnect with his wife.
In Consequence of Sound, Dominick Mayer raves: “A GHOST STORY is filmmaking that challenges and exhilarates, a potent reminder of how many new places film can still be taken even after a century of people working in the medium.” In USA Today, Brian Truitt claims: “The best film so far this year is a thought-provoking, singularly special masterpiece about love, mortality and how our heart keeps beating even after it stops.” And Matt Zoller Seitz, writing for RogerEbert.com, writes: “I rarely see a movie so original that I want to tell people to just see it without reading any reviews beforehand, including my own. David Lowry’s A GHOST STORY is one of those movies.”
Tanna
October 18th, 2017
Dir. Martin Butler & Bentley Dean | 100 mins | 2015 | Australia, Vanuatu | Southwest Tanna
Set on a remote Pacific island, covered in rain forest and dominated by an active volcano, this heartfelt story, enacted by the Yakel tribe, tells of a sister’s loyalty, a forbidden love affair and the pact between the old ways and the new.
In The Washington Post, Stephanie Merry raves: “The movie is a tremendous accomplishment, especially considering that the cast had never seen cameras before—much less movies—yet still agreed to star in the drama. Their performances are as stunning as the setting, and that’s truly saying something.” In The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney calls TANNA “a haunting love story with classic undertones [and] a glimpse into a little-know culture.” And in The Guardian, Luke Buckmaster writes: “The Yakel people’s passion to tell this story is undoubtedly at the heart of the film’s success. TANNA has a warm, shimmering vitality. Like the trees and the birds, the frame feels alive.”
Detroit
November 1st, 2017
Dir. Kathryn Bigelow | 143 mins | 2017 | USA | English
From Kathryn Bigelow, the Academy Award-winning director of THE HURT LOCKER and ZERO DARK THIRTY, DETROIT tells the gripping story of one of the darkest moments during the civil unrest that rocked the United States in the summer of ’67.
In The Washington Post, Anne Hornady calls DETROIT “an audacious, nervy work of art. In scale, scope and the space it offers for a long-awaited moral reckoning, it’s nothing less than monumental.” In Vox, Alissa Wilkinson argues: “The reason films like DETROIT are important isn’t just because they remind us that the more things change, the more they stay the same; it’s because watching them forces us to tread moral ground alongside the characters.” And in The Wall Street Journal, Joe Morgenstern raves: “Dramatically relentless and emotionally shattering, it brings news from a turbulent past that casts a baleful light on America’s troubled present.”