“Private Life”
Cast: Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti, Siobhan Fallon Hogan
Synopsis: An author (Hahn) is undergoing multiple fertility therapies to get pregnant, putting her relationship with her husband (Giamatti) on edge.
What You Need To Know: Alongside “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” Tamara Jenkins’ film “Private Life” is the second Netflix main slate entry into the New York Film Festival this year. As Jenkins’ first film in a decade, “Private Life” is her entry back into filmmaking and her latest film will likely be a warm and touching reflection on family, life, and love [our review from Sundance].
Release Date: October 5 on Netflix.
“Wildlife”
Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan, Ed Oxenbould, Bill Camp
Synopsis: A boy witnesses his parents’ marriage falling apart after his mother finds another man.
What You Need To Know: Paul Dano is stunning audiences with his first filmmaking effort, quite an undertaking considering the talent headlining the film. A considerable acting talent himself (“There Will Be Blood” serves as a stellar example), Dano stepped aside taking a role behind the camera as director, setting the stage for brilliant actors Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal to shine. As expected, the two seized the opportunity with enthralling performances likely to astound and delight in this gripping family drama [our review from Sundance].
Release Date: September 30.
“Transit”
Cast: Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese, Lilien Batman, Maryam Zaree
Synopsis: When a man flees France after the Nazi invasion, he assumes the identity of a dead author whose papers he possesses. Stuck in Marseilles, he meets a young woman desperate to find her missing husband – the very man he’s impersonating.
What You Need To Know: This film is an adaptation of German novelist Anna Seghers’s 1942 book “Transit Visa” and is directed
by notable director Christian Petzold, who won the highly coveted Grimme-Preis Award for excellence in German television. The film stars up and comer Franz Rogowski who was most recently seen in “Happy End” and profiled by The New York Times is definitely one to watch, quietly making waves in the European film industry. Rogowski appears to be on the cusp of international stardom with this film as well as his other 2018 film “In the Aisles” which have solidified his irrefutable presence in German cinema [our review from Berlin].
Release Date: TBD.
“At Eternity’s Gate”
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaac, Rupert Friend, Mads Mikkelsen
Synopsis: A look at Vincent van Gogh’s time in Arles.
What You Need To Know: A tour-de-force performance by Willem Dafoe in which he expertly captures the final days of famed painter Vincent van Gogh. Dafoe transforms in what might be considered to be some of the best work of his career and Academy Award nominated director Julian Schnabel said that the film is simply “impossible to describe.” The project is somewhat shrouded in mystery which makes for a tantalizing sense of curiosity for the audience which is not often felt with films today. Schnabel previously directed the critically acclaimed film “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” so that, combined with Dafoe’s superlative talent assures us that it’s no surprise this film is garnering quite a bit of attention.
Release Date: November 16.
“Long Day’s Journey Into Night”
Cast: Sylvia Chang, Yongzhong Chen, Jue Huang, Hong-Chi Lee, Meng Li, Wei Tang
Synopsis: A man went back to Guizhou, found the tracks of a mysterious woman. He recalls the summer he spent with her twenty years ago.
What You Need To Know: Emerging Chinese filmmaker Bi Gan embarks on his second film following the critically praised film “Kaili Blues” which garnered worldwide attention. In his follow-up, Bi’s filmmaking seems to be steadily evolving as this film lies between both fantasy and reality, interweaving the bounds of time – creating an immersive and unique cinematic experience [our review from Cannes].
Release Date: Spring 2019 via Kino Lorber.