If you believe the poet NP Willis, June is the month of leaves and roses “when pleasant sights greet the eyes and pleasant scents the nose”. How nice the views might be in cinemas in June, however, is a tough question: there’s a lot of chaos.
We have velociraptors in cities and a yak in a classroom; Elvis came back from the dead and George Michael Isn’t, in a film he worked on before he left the building. There’s horror and war, fashion and gore, and Buzz Lightyear’s origin story.
If you are in the port city, there is also the Sydney Film Festival (June 8-19), an all-you-can-eat buffet from the medium with the most. There’s nothing more enveloping than five films in a single day! by Baz Luhrmann Elvis will make a grand appearance at Sydney’s historic State Theater before opening on June 23. Critics from Cannes have been all over the place. Hopefully it stands up to the hype.
In other news: Two of the world’s greatest directors – Asghar Farhadi and Terence Davies – have new movies this month.
Discover the next TV series, streaming and movies to add to your must-haves. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
A hero
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (A separation, The past, Seller) possesses a rare set of gifts: humility, compassion, lucid honesty, and the ability to fascinate with one’s story. These traits make him one of the great humanists of our time. Amir Jadidi plays a man in trouble: he gets out of prison to pay off a debt, during which he finds a purse that contains gold. Farhadi’s films always occupy a complex moral universe. Opening June 9.
Blessing
The great poet of British cinema, Terence Davies (The long day is over, The big Blue, Distant voices Still lifes) discusses the story of the First World War poet Siegfried Sassoon. Jack Lowden plays the young officer sent to a mental institution because of his anti-war views. He has a gay love story without ever really coming out and converts to Catholicism. If there was ever a story tailor-made for Davies, this is it. Opening June 9.
Jurassic World Dominion
The whole gang is there: Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, Sam Neill and some very angry velociraptors. Dinosaurs and humans are meant to live together until hunters steal a baby raptor. Chris Pratt promises the mom that he will get her baby back. That’s how silly the plot seems, but no one expects Tolstoy. We expect maximum action and tension. Opening June 9.
Lunana: a yak in the classroom
High in the Himalayas, a trainee teacher accepts a job at one of the most remote schools in the world. There is indeed a live yak in the classroom, as well as a group of gloriously innocent-faced children who want to know more about the world. Seems to be part comedy, part heartstrings picker, and with jaw-dropping backgrounds. A co-production between China and Bhutan. Opening June 2.
Light year
An origin story for one of Pixar’s most beloved characters. Buzz hurtles through space through a time warp and arrives 62 years in the future, more distraught than ever. The animation is magnificent, the humor abundant and the cast a multicultural rainbow. Director Angus MacLane has had a long apprenticeship in animation and was most recently co-director of Finding Dory. Opening June 16.
Men
A new psychological horror from Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Annihilation) is still worthy of our attention. Jessie Buckley shows up in a grand old house in the British countryside after the loss of her husband. All the men in the neighborhood seem to look alike. That’s because they’re all played by Rory Kinnear. If that doesn’t scare you… Opening June 16.
lost illusions
It’s an exuberant and lavish adaptation of Balzac’s tale about a boy from the boonies who comes to Paris to become a writer and loses his soul along the way. Benjamin Voisin is superb as Lucien Chardon, with Cécile de France as the aristocrat who loves him. It’s a rich cake from a movie; excessive, impressive and licentious. Gérard Depardieu completes an excellent cast. Opening June 23.
George Michael Liberty Uncut
There is not much information about it, although George Michael worked on it before he died in 2016. His official fan site says he will dive into the turbulent period after Faith, when he fell in love with Anselmo Feleppa and later lost him to AIDS, as well as his sadness at the death of his mother. It will also cover the Wham years and his solo career, in addition to the promise of “never seen” footage. Opening June 22.
Haute couture
The timeless Nathalie Baye plays the role of head dressmaker at Dior in Paris. A young street girl (Lyna Khoudri) steals her bag on the subway, but returns it when she sees the fashion designs inside. She becomes the rambunctious apprentice. Sylvia Ohayon’s second feature asks an unexpected question: can fashion save a life? Opening June 30.
nine bullets
Lena Headey plays a stripper who goes on the run with a child and a dog in tow, even though she hates children. Sam Worthington dons a big western hat to play his former lover – he also happens to be the guy who chases the kid, on behalf of some mobsters. It’s a fairly routine plot, but the cast is interesting – and who doesn’t love a (wo)man on the run movie? Opening June 23.
Discover the next TV series, streaming and movies to add to your must-haves. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
#movies #June