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Two of 2018’s best films — the evocative “Roma” and the feisty “The Favourite” — hit Bay Area screens this week, and they couldn’t be more different.
Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuaron’s highly praised “Roma” hits theaters in limited release before it starts streaming on Netflix Dec. 14. But I urge you to see this gorgeous black-and-white masterwork on the big screen. Cuaron’s tale follows a young woman (Yalitza Aparicio) working for a well-to-do family in Mexico City. It’s an astonishing piece of art.
On the surface, hooking up upstart filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Lobster”) with a costume epic sounds like a cockamamie idea. But what a surprise “The Favourite” turns out to be — a weird, wicked and shocking period piece featuring two industrious connivers (Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz) manipulating the dickens out of an addled but acutely aware Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) in the 18th century. Its sumptuous production design is outrageously perfect and the film has chutzpah to spare, along with 24-carat diamond performances from its cast.
Other films out this week include:
“Mirai”: In the tradition of the exceptional Japanese animated film “Your Name” (whatever you do, rent that now!) comes this time-shifting story with a brother and sister peeking into the past and the future. It’s earning raves for Mamoru Hosoda.
“Becoming Astrid”: Don’t be fooled and assume this absorbing biopic on the early years of Astrid Lindgren, the Swedish creator of the inquisitive Pippi Longstocking, is a mild tale of rural sweetness. It’s anything but as Astrid falls for an older– and married — employer and then gives birth to a child she hands off to someone else. Pernille Fischer Christensen has made a fascinating and feminist film that doesn’t hit predictable notes.
“Searching for Ingmar Bergman”: Margarethe von Trotta explores the genius and craftsmanship of one of cinema’s most revolutionary, influential filmmakers. She does so through interviews, clips and insights from those who knew him best. After checking this out, venture over to the Berkeley’s Pacific Film Archive to see some of Bergman’s finest work up on the big screen.
“The Possession of Hannah Grace”: If your time spent with relatives over the holidays turned into an ordeal, chin up. It could be worse. Consider the demonic pickle Megan Reed (Shay Mitchell) is in. She’s saddled with morgue duty and that cadaver that just came in has issues in Diederik Van Rooijen’s horror flick.
“Shirkers”: Netflix realizes it might well have an Oscar contender (and it does!) for best documentary with Sandi Tan’s personal film and that’s probably why dropping it in theaters. Tan’s praised doc plumbs a crushing event from her past, one that left her and her friends with dashed cinematic hopes in Singapore. So what truly happened? I’m not saying. It’s one of the best documentaries of the year. Also streaming on Netflix.
“Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle”: On the heels of Disney’s “The Jungle Book” arrives Andy Serkis’s intense, darker take on Rudyard Kipling’s tale about a boy raised by wolves. The voice talent is filled with A-listers including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch. Netflix releases it in theaters and will make it available Dec. 7 for streaming.
Stream these
More Netflix releases become available for streaming on Nov. 30:
“A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding,” a sequel to the the streaming giant’s big hit finds the two lovebirds prepping for holiday nuptials, which get flummoxed by cold feet and royal troubles.
“Angela’s Christmas”: Frank McCourt’s yarn about a family keeping alive the spirit of helping others during the holidays is turned into an animated heartwarmer. “Loving’s” Ruth Negga and Brendan Gleeson provide their voices, amongst others.
“The World Is Yours”: This high-voltage crime thriller that’s set in Spain and France won enthusiastic praise for its violent and gonzo comic-book style. Can’t wait to see it.
“Rajma Chawal”: A father who is utterly clueless about the ins and outs of the internet steps clumsily into the social networking realm so he can reconnect with his son.
Randy Myers is a freelance correspondent covering film and is the president of the San Francisco Film Critics Circle.