Thursday, April 4, 2019
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Benedikt Erlingsson
Iceland/France/Ukraine 2018
Icelandic; 101 minutes
Rating: PG

Halla ((Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir), a choirmaster who loves her job, has just been approved to adopt a child from a war-torn area in Ukraine. But Halla is also an eco-terrorist, defending Iceland’s
rugged landscape from unscrupulous politicians and the aluminum industry. She’s committed to her cause, but can’t help wondering whether it’s more fulfilling to save many hypothetical future lives or the life of the daughter she may never meet. With a postmodernist sense of humour that suggests vintage Makavejev and Godard, Woman at War is a timely film that speaks to social issues with wit and warmth.

Is there anything rarer than an intelligent feel-good film that knows how to tackle urgent global issues with humor as well as a satisfying sense of justice? Look no further than Woman at War. Jay Weissberg, Variety

A wry, idiosyncratic comedy that communicates important topical
messages while never being less than a joy to watch.
Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail

Offbeat, poignant and visually exquisite.
Jordan Mintzer, Hollywood Reporter

Thursday, March 28, 2019
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Nadine Labaki
Lebanon/USA 2018
Arabic; 121 minutes
Rating: 14a for language and some drug material

Zain (Zain Al Rafeea) is only 12, but he’s seen enough of life to
resent his very existence. Life with his family is hard, but when his
parents sell his younger sister, he runs away. Although he meets
kindred spirits, living on the streets is equally difficult. Encouraged
by a current affairs program seeking to draw attention to child
poverty, Zain files a lawsuit against his parents for giving birth to
him. Capernaum reveals a world of constant desperation where the
innocent appear forsaken. But our hope lies in resourceful kids like
Zain, whose story Labaki relays with empathy and bold cinematic
vision.

Capernaum is an absolute heartbreaker about children in peril and
the plight of undocumented people. Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Labaki chose the title “Capernaum” because the word was often
used to mean “chaos” in French literature. That’s precisely what
she presents to us, with precious little relief in sight.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

While this is unquestionably an issue film, it tackles its subject with
intelligence and heart. Jay Weissberg, Variety

Thursday, March 21, 2019
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Olivier Assayas
France  2019
French; 108 minutes
Rating: R for some language and sexuality/nudity

Successful and self-assured book publisher Alain (Guillaume Canet) is busy coping with the ins and outs of both his private and
professional lives. His relationship with his wife (Juliette Binoche) has gone stale, he has to deal delicately with one of his long-time
authors (Vincent Macaigne), and in his enthusiastic embrace of
digital and social media Alain has hired an ambitious young woman as the “head of digital transition”. A delicious comedy of manners, Non-Fiction probes at what lies behind the actions of its ensemble
of characters and how they are affected by the hyperconnectivity
of today.

A new treasure from one of France’s most vital filmmakers.
Jon Frosch, The Hollywood Reporter

The frame holds steadier here; it’s the churning dialogue – funny,
seductive, always carving out fresh tributaries – that propels you
forward. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times

Canet and Macaigne are eminently watchable, but Juliette Binoche
quietly steals every scene. Norman Wilner, NOW Toronto

Presented in partnership with Shadows of the Mind Film Festival
Feb. 23 – Mar. 3, 2019
http://www.shadowsfilmfest.com/

Thursday, February 28, 2019
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Miranda de Pencier
Canada 2018
English; 102 minutes
Rating: PG

When first-time teacher Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer) moves north for a job in Kugluktuk, a town struggling with one of the
highest suicide rates in North America, he’s shocked and overwhelmed by the numerous social issues facing the youth. The
lacrosse program Russ introduces is met with skepticism and
resistance, but Russ’ commitment wins his students’ trust, and
together they form the Grizzlies lacrosse team. With stunning breakout performances by Nunavut-based actors Paul Nutarariaq and Emerald MacDonald, The Grizzlies is a testament to the spirit,
tenacity, and leadership of Inuit youth.

Bracingly unsentimental and transcendently moving at the same time. Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter

Working with Inuit producers and a cast studded with locals whose
confidence and spirit belie their lack of experience (…), first-time
feature director Miranda de Pencier delivers a crowd-pleasing
(if sometimes clunky) drama. Simon Houpt, Globe and Mail

Thursday, February 21, 2019
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Poland/UK/France 2018
Polish; 88minutes
Rating: 14a for some sexual content, nudity, and language

Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) is a jazz-loving pianist and musical director
auditioning folk musicians as part of a state-sponsored project to champion culture from rural Poland. Zula (Joanna Kulig), who turns out to be more torch singer than folk singer, captivates Wiktor at first sight with her beauty and insouciance. Their story spans
borders and decades in this portrait of the complex relationship
between the doomed lovers and their country. A visual poem that
resonates all the more thanks to its striking use of choral, classical, and jazz music, Cold War is an epic and arresting love story.

Passionate, tempestuous, haunting and assured, this latest from writer-director Pawel Pawlikowski explores, as did his Oscar-winning “Ida,”
Poland’s recent past, resulting in a potent emotional story with political overtones that plays impeccably today.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Its greatest strengths, though, are its two knockout leads, who give the story its heat, its flesh and its heartbreak.
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

The Polish filmmaker has conjured a dazzling, painful, universal odyssey through the human heart and all its strange compulsions. It could be the most achingly romantic film you’ll see this year, or just a really painful
reminder of the one that got away. Phil de Semlyen, Time Out

Thursday, February 7, 2019
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Barry Jenkins
USA 2018
English; 119 minutes
Rating: PG for some language and sexual content

Set in the early 1970s in the predominantly Latin American
community of East Harlem, the film follows Tish (Kiki Layne), a
19-year-old woman who falls in love with Fonny (Stephan James), a young sculptor. But their brief idyll is broken when Fonny is arrested and wrongly convicted of rape. Tish, who has just discovered she is pregnant, and her family must fight to prove Fonny’s innocence.
Preserving both the politics and romantic spirit of James Baldwin’s poignant novel, If Beale Street Could Talk is a lyrical celebration of the power of love and hope in times of despair.

This movie works as a timeless romance, a family drama, a legal thriller and a poignant social commentary. A great American novel has been turned into a great American film. Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

Like a great bluesman, Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins finds poetry in the lives of people struggling to surpass pain and cruel circumstances, often
choosing beautiful images over words. Peter Howell, Toronto Star

You’ve never seen romantic love depicted on screen with such lyrical and gorgeous intensity, or systemic injustice brought to such vivid and
enraging life. Film classes will be taught about Jenkins’ use of color.
Glen Weldon, NPR

Thursday, January 31, 2019 7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Japan 2018
Japanese; 121 minutes
Rating: 14a for some sexuality and nudity

Although they both work, Osamu (Lily Franky) and his wife, Nobuyo (Sakura Ando), struggle to support their family and turn to
shoplifting to supplement their income. When Osamu and his son
Shota (Jyo Kairi) meet Yuri (Miyu Sasaki), a young girl who appears to be homeless, they bring her home for dinner. Noticing signs of abuse, they take her in as one of their own. Despite being forced to break society’s rules in their quest for security, the family provides a loving, supportive, and nurturing environment. But will the
connections in this makeshift family hold up to public scrutiny?

Another charming, funny and very affecting example of Kore-eda’s
special brand of tough-but-tender humanism. Geoff Andrew, Time Out

A story whose ethical quandaries are presented with equal parts
compassion and toughness. Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

A moving meditation on what truly constitutes the meaning of family. Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Thursday, January 17, 2019
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Wash Westmoreland
United Kingdom 2018
English; 112 minutes
Rating: 14a for some sexuality and nudity

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Keira Knightley) marries a successful writer known commonly as Willy (Dominic West). Willy relies on ghostwriters to produce his work – spending his time instead on self-indulgent activities, including numerous affairs – and enlists his wife as one of his ghostwriters. Although he initially dismisses her writing, Willy eventually publishes Colette’s work under his name and it proves to be wildly successful. In her fight over creative
ownership, Colette defies gender roles and societal constraints,
blazing a trail for other women who chooseto live their lives
to the fullest.

Knightley… not only brings to life a woman discovering new desires and needs and finding the strength to act on them, but conveys the inner toil of the writer’s creative process. Peter Keough, Boston Globe

Westmoreland’s Paris is scrumptiously decadent – and seedy – as Colette navigates the city’s eclectic, gossipy social scene.
Johnny Oleksinski, New York Post

Colette ranks as one of the great roles for which Keira Knightley will be remembered. Peter Debruge, Variety

Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Christian Petzold
Germany/France; 2018
German/French/French Sign Language with English subtitles;
101 minutes
Rating: PG

As Georg (Franz Rogowski) flees Paris for Marseille on the eve of the Germans’ occupation of the city, he carries another man’s
personal effects in his bag, including papers guaranteeing a Mexican visa and two love letters. In the throng of refugees seeking visas and passage out of Marseille, Georg meets and falls in love with Marie (Paula Beer). As the story launches into a tangled matrix that
crosses parallel worlds and multiple timelines, Petzold challenges viewers to question the landscape of past and present. One of the most daring pieces of filmmaking to date, Transit is an arthouse gem that rewards the attention it demands.

With Transit, director Christian Petzold creates a Second World War
adventure that is not a sentimental costume drama, and a contemporary political parable that is not a didactic sermon – and produces a highly
entertaining film into the bargain. Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail

Christian Petzold’s progressive drift away from realism gathers pace in Transit, another melodrama of impossibility and despair that unfolds in a hyper-constructed amalgam of past and present as unstable as it is seamless. James Lattimer, Cinema Scope

Transit … ought to make a star of superb leading man Franz Rogowski, whose planed, haunted face lingers in the mind as long as the film’s
surfeit of discussion points. Guy Lodge, Variety

Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Björn Runge
UK/Sweden/USA; 2017
English; 100 minutes
Rating: 14A (for language and some sexual content)

Joe (Jonathan Pryce) and Joan (Glenn Close) Castleman appear to have a perfect marriage. They’re both delighted to hear that Joe is being given the Nobel Prize for Literature. But from the moment the couple arrives in Stockholm for the prize ceremony, tensions rise,
as the normally shy Joan is pushed uncomfortably into the spotlight where long-kept secrets are in danger of being illuminated. Focusing on unspoken agreements and long-simmering resentments, The Wife is an incisive study of celebrity, marriage, and the creative process.

[Close] is a marvel of twisty understatement here, delivering emotions that conceal as much as they reveal, and offering onion-like layers that invite repeat viewings in light of some of the film’s later revelations.
Andrew Barker, Variety

The sort of detailed, A-level film that earns a viewer’s respect for its
intelligence in a marketplace of mind-numbing hoopla.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Pryce and Close perform with and for each other, rather than the camers, in ways that go beyond mere chemistry between actors. It’s as if they are working together on a single, unified performance.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times