January 05, 2024

WIFF’S WEEKEND WATCH LIST — 1/5

Check out our recommendations of what to watch this weekend.

if you want a captivating true story

society of the snow

Vincent Georgie: There is no doubt about it, J.A. Bayona is the master of disaster films that are firmly rooted in incredible human stories of personal triumph. You will be very impressed. A dark-horse Oscar contender, as it well deserves to be.

Synopsis: In 1972, a Uruguayan flight crashes in the remote heart of the Andes, forcing survivors to become each other’s best hope.

Available on Netflix.

if you love great music

dreamin’ wild

Vincent Georgie: This hidden gem from WIFF 2023 was beloved by its audience. A sensitive, entertaining story of both love and a love of music.

Synopsis: Brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson find newfound musical success after their 1979 debut album “Dreamin’ Wild” is rediscovered three decades later.

Available on iTunes, Amazon Prime and YouTube.

if you want a quality drama

afire

Vincent Georgie: Christian Petzold is one of the most interesting talents to emerge out of the German filmmaking community in the past two decades. His films are not strangers to WIFF audiences, and his latest film was well-appreciated at WIFF 2023.

Synopsis: Emotions run high for a group of friends in a holiday home by the Baltic Sea as the parched forest around them catches fire.

Available on iTunes and The Criterion Channel.

DOUBLE FEATURE

big stars in science fiction films

The first Sci-Fi film has many moral questions on its mind, and is greatly enriched by the trio of performances by then-up-and-comers Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan. The second film was a recent popular head-scratcher of a Sci-Fi film at WIFF 2023, with tremendous lead performances by Saoirse Ronan and especially Paul Mescal.

never let me go

Friends Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield) and Ruth (Keira Knightley) grow up together at a seemingly idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. When they leave the school and the horrible truth of their true purpose is revealed to them, they must simultaneously confront deep-seated feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to tear their friendship asunder.