David Prendeville
As we slowly trudge our way, hopefully, to the other side of the pandemic, cinemas are slowly starting to fill with new films once more. While it’s still mostly holdovers of smaller films that are making up the programmes at the multiplexes, the Autumn and Winter should hopefully see a raft of hotly anticipated new titles that have recently made their bow at Cannes and other festivals, as well as both brand new and much-delayed blockbusters.
August sees the release of Prano Bailey Bond’s hotly anticipated, hugely admired Censor. The film, which made its premiere at Sundance in January, has garnered super reviews and raves for its lead actress, Ireland’s Niamh Algar. The film is set during the Video Nasties hysteria of the 1980s and follows a UK film censor as she gets drawn to a particular video nasty that she thinks can shed some light on her sister’s mysterious disappearance. The art-horror is said to be a loving homage to the sleazy, gleefully gory aesthetics of the video nasties themselves. The film will be released in cinemas on August 20th. Also being released this month is Mexican film-maker Michel Franco’s acclaimed, controversial dystopian thriller New Order, which is in cinemas and on Mubi from August 13th. Janciza Bravo’s Zola has also earned positive notices on the festival circuit and is released on August 6th.
In terms of more mainstream fare, currently on release in cinemas is the new film by M. Night Shyamalan, Old. The film stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Vicki Krieps and appears to have a high-concept premise in keeping with Shyamalan’s oeuvre. It follows a family on a tropical holiday who discover the secluded beach in which they are relaxing is making them age rapidly. Also currently filling the muliplexes is James Gunn’s DC Comics superhero behemoth The Suicide Squad, starring Margot Robbie.
As we move further into the Autumn months we can expect to see some of the films that made headlines at the recent Cannes Film Festival. Leos Carax’s Annette, a musical starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard got somewhat divisive but largely positive reviews on the croisette and is released here on September 3rd. Also the much delayed new Bond film No Time to Die, which was delayed from April 2020 to October 2020 to April 2021 to now September 30th, will also finally get released.
Domestic viewers will be very interested to see Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, which a large chunk of was shot in Ireland during lockdown, and which stars Matt Damon (who famously got stranded in Dalkey as a result), Ben Affleck and Adam Driver. That opens on October 15th. Also released on the 15th is the latest installment in the Halloween franchise, Halloween Kills. The following week, October 22nd, is a busy week. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, Denis Villenueve’s Dune and Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark all open that weekend. Then, on October 29th, viewers will be able to catch Edgar Wright’s new film, the much-delayed Last Night in Soho starring Anya Taylor Joy.
On top of all that, there’s a host of exciting titles that recently premiered at Cannes that are yet to confirm their release date. Gaspar Noe’s Vortex, Julia Ducournau’s Palme D’or winning Titane, Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part Two and Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta are just some of the exciting titles that hopefully may grace cinemas in the latter part of the year also.
