What better way to spend a dreary weekend than taking in a few good movies at your local independent theater? If you have a hard time making up your mind, let Up To Date's indie, foreign and documentary film critics help out with their latest recommendations. They'll ensure your hair stays dry, but maybe not your eyes.
Steve Walker
Graduation, R
- A doctor in an economically dying Romanian town is intent on ensuring his daughter aces her pre-college exams and, to that end, makes a series of morally bankrupt trade-offs.
The Transfiguration, Not rated
- An orphaned, friendless African-American teenage boy living in a housing project in Queens is obsessed with vampires — perhaps because he desperately wants to be one.
Their Finest, R
- A lovely movie about movies. Director Lone Scherfig (An Education) focuses on the crew making a 1940 British war movie about Dunkirk, including a female co-writer (Gemma Arterton), an egomaniacal actor (Bill Nighy) and a bleached blonde American soldier who can’t act.
Bob Butler
After the Storm, Not rated
- A summer typhoon gives a formerly-successful author, now languishing private investigator, an unexpected opportunity to re-examine his life, and reconnect with his ex-wife and son.
Cézanne et Moi, R
- Painter Paul Cézanne and writer Emile Zola have been friends for years but, as their friendship progresses, the tension between them mounts as Cézanne strives to attain the level of fame Zola achieves.
Get Out, R
- Jordan Peele writes and directs an incredibly witty and troubling film centered on a black man meeting his white girlfriend's family. It's sure to make viewers question the idea of a post-racial society.
Cynthia Haines
Graduation, R
- When an scrupulous Romanian doctor's daughter is assaulted on the eve of her college entrance exam, her entire future is jeopardized. The father is left with only morally reprehensible options to ensure her success.
Cézanne et Moi, R
- A historical drama focused on the evolving friendship between two French artist. Director and writer Danièle Thompson captures their respect for each other as well as their adult rivalry.
Frantz, PG-13
- A black and white depiction of a romance that is anything but black and white. Following World War I, a German woman and French man become romantically involved as the couple navigates survivor's guilt, death and a resentful community.
