Whenever America gets me depressed—which is several times daily, of late—I try to remind myself that the world is a bigger place. Getting out into nature is a good way to find that perspective. Going out to the movies is another, especially if you seek out international films.
The Norwegian documentary Songs of Earth combines these strategies into a film that promises dramatic renewal of perspective. Directed by veteran filmmaker Margreth Olin, the documentary profiles Olin’s 85-year-old father, who has lived his entire life in one particular valley beneath the majestic mountains of Norway. Olin spent a full year with her father, filming the cycle of seasons that have passed through their valley for millions of years.
Critics are praising the film’s magnificent cinematography, and this is certainly the kind of film you want to see on a big screen. Pair that with the story underneath—a daughter bonds with her father in the late autumn of his life—and you’ve got a movie that is all about perspective. Songs of Earth engages with big themes—nature, family, time. It should be good medicine for anyone feeling the crush these days.
Keeping with the theme of alternate perspectives, the new film from Romanian director Radu Jude offers a different point of view for the discerning foreign film enthusiast. Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World is a kind of gonzo black comedy—structurally experimental, consistently rude, and by all accounts, very funny.
Plotwise, Jude’s film follows the adventures of Angela, an underpaid Bucharest production assistant tasked with driving around the city to shoot footage for a soulless corporate training video. The film’s actual topic, however, is what it’s like to live in these seemingly terminal days of a world gone mad—suicidal greed, willful ignorance, economic inequality, pervasive cruelty. We’re all familiar, I think.
You’ll want to find the (NSFW) trailer online to get a sense of the film’s ferocious satire. It’s a kind of flipside approach to the perspective shift. Rather than running off to the serenity of the mountains, Jude invites us to lean into the death spiral and laugh. It’s hard to find a movie like this in American theaters anymore. Think of it as a gift from Romania’s indie filmmaking community. Thanks, guys.
For a third option this month, check out The Bikeriders, a historical drama concerning the downfall of a Chicago motorcycle gang circa 1965. This makes the list primarily due to director Jeff Nichols, alumnus of the UNC School of the Arts, who always makes interesting movies. The cast includes Nichols’s longtime collaborator Michael Shannon, plus Tom Hardy and the hypnotic Jodie Comer from the BBC’s Killing Eve.
Quick Picks:
For yet another international film option, check out the Turkish drama About Dry Grasses, which played to very good reviews at the Cannes film festival last year.
Two superior sci-fi franchise installments are in theaters just now, George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and the surprisingly excellent Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.
Pixar is back on June 14 with Inside Out 2, sequel to the great 2015 original. The first film’s anthropomorphic emotions are joined by a new teenage-specific squad, including Anxiety, Embarrassment, and Ennui. That sounds right.
For arthouse old-timers who still appreciate a British period drama, Firebrand stars Alicia Vikander as Katherine Parr, the last of Henry VIII’s six wives and the one who finally put the old bastard in the ground.
Comment on this story at backtalk@indyweek.com.
