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“The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”

Director: Terry Gilliam

Cast: Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgård

Synopsis: A disillusioned advertising executive is pulled into a time-jumping fantasy when he is mistaken for Sancho Panza.

Verdict: Make no mistake about it, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” is a love letter to art, to those that dare dream and how it can also lead us to madness, but the best most joyous kind. The overt symbolism is delivered here with a wink from Terry Gilliam, who returns to his roots of satirical comedy. Logic takes a backseat for the moment-to-moment chaos happening before our very eyes. This results in some of the most personal filmmaking Gilliam has done in more than two decades, with more than a few references to his own art. In other words, this is a rejuvenation. Gilliam, the auteur, is back because taking chances and the possibility of failing clearly excites him again.

Our Review: B- review from Cannes

Release Date: Spring 2019 via ScreenMedia. – JR

“The Wild Pear Tree”

Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Cast: Dogu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Bennu Yildirimlar

Synopsis: Episodic story of aspiring writer Sinan returning to his native village in rural Turkey after having completed his studies abroad, which, in turn, has him becoming involved and overwhelmed by his father, Idris, a gambling addict up to his knees in debt.

Verdict: Ceylan is trying to give us a film driven by political landscapes, and astonishingly complex dialogue that is driven by philosophy, and religious traditions. The film does feel very “novelistic,”think of it as a rambling plunge into the more philosophical and epic works of Russian literature, those that revolved around a single character and involved a lot of intense conversation.

Our Review: B- review from Cannes.

Release Date: January 30 via The Cinema Guild. – JR

“Long Day’s Journey Into Night”

Director: Bi Gan

Cast: Sylvia Chang, Yongzhong Chen, Jue Huang

Synopsis: A man went back to Guizhou to find the tracks of a mysterious woman. He recalls the summer he spent with her twenty years ago.

Verdict: What you really need to know about Bi Gan’s latest epic effort, something we described as “mysterious and masterful” out of Cannes, at least the selling point of what sounds like a dreamily surreal experience, is that at the at the 73 minute mark, a character enters a movie theater, puts on his 3D glasses, and this is a meta cue for the audience to do the same. From there, there is a glorious one-take that goes on for FIFTY MINUTES. It might be a gimmick if Bi Gan weren’t already breathtakingly good at creating an absorbing, immersive experience with long takes. “Coming off the heels of the equally otherworldly 2014 film ‘Kaili Blues,’ this sophomore effort is a game-changer of the highest order.” Sold.

Our Review: A review from Cannes.

Release Date: Kino Lorber is releasing the film in April. – RP

“Shadow”

Director: Zhang Yimou

Cast: Wei Li, Yimou Zhang

Synopsis: Set during China’s Three Kingdom’s era (AD 220-280), the story is of a great king and his people, who will be expelled from their homeland and will aspire to reclaim it.

Verdict: Following the jaw-droppingly gorgeous and visually astonishing “Hero,” “House of Flying Daggers,” and “Curse of the Golden Flower,” Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou became one of the most sought-after filmmakers in the world. Nevertheless, the career became rocky, “The Flowers of War” with Christian Bale was a non-starter and “The Great Wall” with Matt Damon was painful, but Yimou reclaims whatever mojo he lost in his Hollywood years with “Shadow.” Our BFI London review described it as a “beautiful, thrilling return to form” and, “the action, when it comes, absolutely bangs.” Sign us up.

Our Review: A- review from BFI London.

Release Date: Well Go USA has U.S. rights and will distribute it sometime in 2019. – RP

“Ray & Liz”

Director: Richard Billingham

Cast: Richard Ashton, Michelle Bonnard, James Eeles

Synopsis: Photographer Richard Billingham returns to the squalid council flat outside of Birmingham where he and his brother were raised, in a confrontation and reconciliation with parents Ray and Liz.

Verdict: The kitchen sink realism of Mike Leigh and Alan Clarke is employed to great effect by photographer and artist Richard Billingham when conceptualizing his debut feature film, “Ray & Liz,” an autobiographical account of his childhood. And it sounds like a winner, our NYFF review says, “an unexpectedly funny and memorably warm debut effort that displays some real filmmaking chops.”

Our Review: B+ NYFF review.

Release Date: TBD. No U.S. distribution yet, but New Wave has it in the U.K. – RP