Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
That’s the precise wording of the famous old aphorism about the dangers of forgetting history. Written in 1905 by Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana, the saying is often misquoted and/or misattributed, usually to Winston Churchill. Anyway, it’s a hard little nugget of Truth, in these confusing times, and a good theme for this month’s guide to strategic Triangle moviegoing.
The first of two intriguing historical dramas coming to local theaters in September, The Uprising is a dramatization of the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt in England. Andrew Garfield plays the lead as an anonymous ploughman who leads a revolution of the poor and desperate against the rich and powerful.
Alert readers may spot the relevance to our time and place, and The Uprising has just the right director to pull it off. British filmmaker Paul Greengrass is a former journalist known for his politically conscious storytelling and documentarian’s eye. He’s best remembered stateside for his work on the Jason Bourne spy series, which employs a fast-cut, shaky cam technique that generates a sense of urgency and hyperrealism.
His style looks chaotic, but he always leads your eye to exactly what he wants you to notice. It should be fun to see what he does with 14th-century England.
Also be aware that, despite some truly bizarre marketing shenanigans, The Uprising has nothing to do with the story of Robin Hood, aside from a shared interest in working-class resistance movements. History heads can tell you: Robin Hood was a couple of centuries earlier.
From medieval England to 1930s Oregon: The Weight stars Ethan Hawke as a Depression-era prisoner named Murphy, caught in a tricky dilemma. He’s going to lose his young daughter to the state if he doesn’t break free. The labor camp’s crooked warden (Russell Crowe) offers him a deal. Murphy can win his freedom if he transports several heavy packs of stolen gold across five days of treacherous Oregon territory. Murphy gets to choose his fellow prisoner-porters, but the mission will be policed by two thuggish deputies.
Directed by newcomer Padraic McKinley, The Weight is a throwback wilderness trek adventure, conjuring ‘70s thrillers such as Deliverance or William Friedkin’s overlooked classic Sorcerer. Ethan Hawke is always a reliable movie star, and the online trailers suggest a lean-forward kind of movie, with rickety old suspension bridges and lethal double-crosses. “People get funny around gold,” says one of the reluctant porters. “They’ll kill ya for it.” Ain’t that the truth. The Weight looks like a film that doesn’t belong in 2026 multiplexes, and that’s a good sign.
For a scarier, goofier time in the wayback machine, look for the admirably titled indie horror comedy Victorian Psycho, which features just what it says on the tin. Ascendant scream queen Maika Monroe (It Follows, Longlegs) stars as the mysterious new governess Winifred Notty, recently hired to mind the wee ones at a gothic English manor, circa 1858. Winifred seems a little intense, and things get weird when people start disappearing.
You can guess where it goes from there. Victorian Psycho had its world premiere at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival in May, and reviews from there seem to agree that it’s good, gory, disposable fun. Jason Isaacs and Ruth Wilson play Winifred’s unfortunate new employers, clueless landed gentry with a real problem on their hands concerning class rage and robust anti-patriarchal gestures. The film also raises the intriguing prospect of a series: Georgian Psycho! Renaissance Psycho! Byzantine Psycho!
Quick Picks
Beyond: The Cary Film Festival is set to unspool September 10-13 at the Cary Theater in, well, in Cary. Featuring a curated program of short films from around the world—with a focus on North Carolina—the festival also includes workshops and presentations from local industry professionals. The opening night film, Free Joan Little, tells an incredible North Carolina story—that of Joan Little, the first woman in U.S. history to be acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault. The Thursday night screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Yoruba Richen.
The South Korean action sci-fi thriller Hope is getting a lot of good buzz after its Cannes premiere. The story concerns desperate small-town locals fighting off a vicious forest monster amid the chaos of a wildfire crisis. Then things get really interesting. Bring your ecological anxieties and think sideways. Bonus trivia: International power couple Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender make an appearance.
On Saturday, September 26, the Alamo Drafthouse in Raleigh will host an evening with cult movie hero Bruce Campbell (the Evil Dead franchise) as he tours around his new comedy-drama Ernie & Emma. Campbell wrote and directed the micro-indie film, which tells the story of a widowed pear salesman on a quest to scatter his late wife’s ashes. Look for a scheduled Q&A afterward, and additional screenings late in September.
For the kids: The animated adventure comedy Forgotten Island tells the story of two friends in 1990s Philippines who travel to a mystical land drawn from Filipino mythology. The voice cast includes H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Dave Franco, Jenny Slate, Lea Salonga, Manny Jacinto, and Ronny Chieng.
As part of its ongoing Classics series, the Chelsea Theater in Chapel Hill is screening director Frederick Wiseman’s 2017 documentary Ex Libris: The New York Public Library. One of my personal favorite films, Wiseman’s documentary profiles the astounding work done every single day by this great institution of learning and community service. It plays like a utopian vision, in a way. Imagine the world if librarians were put in charge. It will cheer you up.
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