"Gold of Umalta"
The authors of the Russian adventure western "Gold of Umalta" were inspired by the largest robbery of the 20th century - the theft of 40 pounds of gold in 1917 in Khabarovsk. In the film, after the incident, a gold miner from St. Petersburg recruits thugs and sends them to the nomadic Tungus, whom he suspects of the crime. Naturally, he is not the only one hunting for gold.
The director was Andrei Bogatyrev, who worked on such films as “The Red Ghost” and “Baba Frost and the Secret of the New Year.” In an interview with TV Mag, he noted that “The Gold of Umalta” is his most personal film.
“Because this film is an attempt to understand human nature, to understand it. And the theme of the film is also important to me - whether a person builds his own destiny or everything is predetermined. Is man free in his own will or is human life fatal? I’ve been asking these questions all my life,” Bogatyrev explained.
The central roles were played by Artyom Tkachenko, Alexander Samoilenko, Pavel Derevyanko, Sofia Ernst, Alexey Shevchenkov. One of the minor characters was played by Bogatyrev himself.
"Brownie"
Orphans Varya and Arseny find a new family after the death of their grandmother. Moving to their adoptive parents' luxurious cottage, they take the coals from their grandmother's house and light them in a new place. Together with them they bring there a dangerous spirit that lived in the old house. From this moment on, ominous events begin to unfold around seven.
The film is a so-called folk horror inspired by Slavic folklore.
“Slavic folklore contains simple, but interesting and important meanings. For the first time, we will show Domovoy on the big screen as he appears in northern Russian legends. We are sure that the viewer will be interested in getting to know this sacred character from a completely different side than everything that came before,” says screenwriter and producer of the film Ivan Eliseev.
“Hitman. Last thing" (Knox Goes Away)
Painting “Hitman. The Last Thing” returned the famous actor Michael Keaton to the director’s chair. He previously directed the 2008 crime drama “The Jolly Mister.”
The new film features a star-studded cast: the roles were played by Al Pacino, James Marsden, Marcia Gay Harden and others. The main character, the aging killer Knox, was played by Keaton himself.
Knox suffers from rapidly progressing dementia and is trying to quickly get all his personal and work affairs in order. It is at this moment that his son gets into trouble. Struggling with the disease and sometimes no longer fully understanding who is in front of him, the hero tries to save his son.
“It (the picture. -
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) is exciting and contemplative, tragic and caustically funny at the same time. The film changes tone several times and makes several plot twists, which (from the creators. -
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) required careful preparation: it was necessary to maintain unpredictability and at the same time leave subtle hints that provide pleasure upon repeated viewing,” Jim Hemphill writes about the film in his review for IndieWire.
"Premonition" (La Bête)
The fantastic thriller by Bertrand Bonello was presented in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival in September 2023, after which it was shown at screenings in Toronto, New York, London, Stockholm, Mumbai and many other cities around the world.
The action takes place in 2044. People got the opportunity to “erase” unnecessary emotions. The main character Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) in her different incarnations constantly fell in love with Louis (George MacKay). This happened in Paris during La Belle Époque, and in Los Angeles in the 21st century. However, every time something bad happened. In her next life, Gabrielle decides to cleanse her DNA from the traumas and attachments of the past. In the present, she meets Louis again. The heroes fall in love, but Gabrielle cannot shake off a frightening premonition.
As The Daily Beast writer Nick Schager writes, Bonello's new work, inspired by Henry James's 1903 short story "The Beast in the Jungle," is "an entirely distinctive science-fiction saga, and although the series of repeated images, conversations and scenes, as well as the dynamics (of the plot) . -
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) periodically have an almost tiring effect, from all this a curious reflection is built on the topic of attraction, aspirations and that which makes up our essence - that without which we feel lost.
© Still from the film “Premonition”
"White Plastic Sky" (Müanyag égbolt)
Another fantastic project is presented by filmmakers from Hungary and Slovakia. This time viewers will be transported to 2123. There are no more animals or plants on Earth, and people are forced to stay under the dome. They can only live up to 50 years, after which they become donors for a special type of tree. The still young Nora decides to become a volunteer, but her husband Stefan is against the woman’s wishes. He intends to do his best to save his beloved from premature death.
According to one of the directors and screenwriters of the film, Tibor Banocki, the authors of the film were primarily interested in its philosophical side.
“We (in the film. -
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) do not have terrifying killing machines - the very transformation (of a person. -
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) into a tree raises more sublime and philosophical questions than just the struggle for survival or saving the world," the filmmaker said in an interview with the portal The Geek.
“White Plastic Sky” is a full-length animated film intended for audiences over 18 years of age. The script was developed with the participation of geologists, botanists and meteorologists - this gave the fantastic story a solid scientific basis.