MUN Cinema Series

Stephen King is having a moment in a career of moments. This adaptation of his work is a deviation from his reliance on the horror genre. Instead, it offers an experimental narrative structure, beginning with Act 3. The world is coming to an end and a practical-minded high school teacher links up with his ex-wife to see it all through together. While the world literally crumbles, they keep noticing billboards thanking a guy named Chuck. The film then works back through the first two acts to tell us about Chuck and explain what’s happening. In a world of chaos, THE LIFE OF CHUCK offers some earnest optimism, or certainly a way to face the end of things while showcasing an astonishing dance routine. Consider this film an antidote for darkening times.

Based on the real-life story of a guy named Tom Michell, PENGUIN LESSONS showcases Steve Coogan as that guy, a shy teacher of English trying to teach entitled rich kids at a boarding school in Argentina. During a break, Michell travels to Uruguay where he ends up rescuing a penguin from an oil spill. Not able to shake the animal, he ends up bringing it back home with him. It’s 1976 and a dictatorship is taking over the country, and so hiding anything, let alone a penguin, is definitely a liability. As you might tell, the film sets a comic plot against a dark and deadly period of history, not an easy task for the filmmakers. Coogan is, as always, a delight, supported by a strong cast who serve the movie well as characters caught in a brutal historical moment. The penguin is, of course, irresistible.

This film could have been commissioned by this Cinema Series. It features Rutherford as a struggling writer, an admirer of Austen’s works, and a conflicted romantic. Agathe, who works in a bookstore in Paris (yes, that one), wins a spot at a writing retreat run by Austen’s descendants. There she encounters a potential suitor, but Oliver, an English Prof (ahem), loathes Austen. Is love even possible with such conflict? Fortunately, emotional complexity ensues as Agathe must also confront her feelings with old pal F. This is a delightful romcom for literary types, smart readers, and 21^st century romantics. Go for it.

Variety says this film feels like a revelation. Indeed, it’s a coming-of-age story featuring one of the most charming 15-year-olds you’ll ever meet. Full of love and music, the film tracks Ahmet’s harsh world in a village in northern Macedonia as he herds sheep and mourns his mother. His grieving father doesn’t really understand him but tries to draw him out of his shell. Such a world is set in its ways, removed from technology, informed by traditional belief and patriarchal restraints. How does a young, sensitive boy with a rich, developing inner world find a path to joy and fulfilment? The title points the way, taking us on a sometimes-hilarious journey of self-discovery and liberation. Hugely enjoyable.

A superb cast headlines this charming story based on a popular 50s novel. Muriel is married to Korean war vet Lee. When brother-in-law Julius returns from the war, things start to shake up. Julius is shiftless, learns to love the high stakes of gambling, and seeks risk, unlike the rather conventional married couple seeking predictability. But not for long, not when illicit sex and gambling dominate the field. There is something old-fashioned and beautiful about this type of film, the one not usually made anymore. And there is definitely something modern and exhilarating about the cast who command the screen in one scene after another. You’ll remember Edgar-Jones from Normal People and you’ll soon see Elordi in Frankenstein, two of the hottest performers working today. This is a big-screen must-see, lush and sweeping and made for movie lovers.

Many know the name but not very much about the life of Sarah Bernhardt, arguably the world’s first celebrity actress. Because of the rich and unconventional life she lived, the director chose to focus on two key moments in order to flesh out a compelling character study—when Bernhardt had a leg removed at the age of 70 and when she was feted by friends in a grand jubilee in 1896. Surrounded by menageries of people, animals, and things, Bernhardt lived as she acted—dramatically, passionately, lavishly. The film lovingly displays the elaborate lifestyle in which she positioned herself. Kiberlain is superb in the role of a determined diva. At her death, some 600,000 turned out to watch the cortège in Paris. She set the bar for famous women, living as large and openly as she could.

We loved June Squibb in Thelma and Nebraska. Here she plays a variation on those characters, Eleanor Morgenstein, a senior living her best life in Florida. But when a best pal dies, Eleanor takes herself up to New York to hang with her family who pretty much ignore her. Fate finds her wandering into a group of Holocaust survivors. Before you can say imposter, Eleanor starts presenting her late pal’s story as her own. Posing as a victim is a delicate plot point, and the film takes on the heavy challenge by placing total control in June Squibb’s competent hands. Managing a white lie with serious consequences is not for the tame. Here is a moral dilemma played by a superb actor, not to be missed.