At The Movies

The Seed of the Sacred Fig – the story of an Iranian judge at odds with his daughters over their campaign for women’s rights – made its own headlines when the Iranian government forbade the director from going to the Cannes Film Festival. But when he defied them, the film picked up four awards there.

Simon Morris looks at films about rebellion – from Iranian Oscar nominee The Seed of the Sacred Fig, to the biopic of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German cleric who tried to stand up to Hitler. And The Return is a new take on one of the oldest stories ever written, Homer’s Odyssey.

The return sees Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche (The English Patient) reunite to tell the classic tale of Odysseus’s return home after masterminding the fall of Troy. Written and directed by Uberto Pasolini (producer of The Full Monty) it’s a fascinating look at one of the first ever works of fiction, by Greek poet Homer.

Simon Morris joins the rest of the world in being unimpressed by the new Snow White, though he wonders how much worse it is from a string of Disney cover-versions over the years. He also checks out The Last Showgirl, featuring the return of Pamela Anderson, and New Zealand horror film The Rule of Jenny Pen, with an A-List cast.

The Rule of Jenny Pen is the latest by New Zealand director James Ashcroft (Coming Home in the Dark), about a rest home terrorised by a patient and his sinister doll. Starring Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow, it became a favourite of horror legend Stephen King (“one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.”)

Snow White is the controversial remake of the Disney animated classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. StarringRachel Zegler (West Side Story) and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman), it’s currently scoring a record low 1.9 on IMDb. Can it be as bad as they say? Directed by Marc Webb (500 Days Of Summer).

The Last Showgirl tells the story of a 50-plus Las Vegas dancer suddenly forced to confront her life and her future when her show Le Razzle Dazzle finishes after 30 years. Featuring a Golden Globes-nominated performance by Pamela Anderson (Baywatch) with Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once) and Dave Bautista (Dune).

Simon Morris accepts that, for all the hard work of everyone on a movie, most people are just looking at the actors. Three character studies this week, including Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, based on weeks of actors’ improvisations… Black Bag, in which a spy investigates six possible traitors, including his own wife... and the last – and some say the best – of the Six Wives of Henry the Eighth, Catherine Parr in Firebrand.

Black Bag sees American director Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike) get into John Le Carre territory – a spy drama where two married agents suspect each other of leaking valuable information. What’s more important, their marriage or their country? Stars Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds), Cate Blanchett (Borderlands) and Pierce Brosnan (Mamma Mia).

Firebrand tells the story of Catherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of the brutal Henry the Eighth. Can she keep her head while staying true to her faith? Stars Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina) as Catherine, Jude Law (The Talented Mr Ripley) as Henry, with Erin Doherty (TV’s Adolescence) as the “firebrand heretic”, Anne Askew.

Hard Truths is Mike Leigh’s Bafta nominated study of a woman consumed by anger at the world, despite the best efforts of her family. Featuring a multi-award-winning performance by the brilliant Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Secrets & Lies).

Mickey 17 is Bong Joon Ho’s (Parasite) unique take on science fiction, in which a lowly worker is regularly killed doing dangerous jobs, only to be revived to die another day. Stars Robert Pattinson (Twilight), Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things), Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice) and Steven Yeun (Minari).

White Bird is a spin-off from the movie Wonder, in which young Auggie’s tormentor learns a lesson from his grandmother, a survivor from the Nazi occupation of France. Stars Dame Helen Mirren and directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland).