A recent trip down the west coast of the United States took me through several cities celebrated for their arts culture. Each inevitably included a trip to the movies to see a variety of classics and new releases. In every case I’ll not only the movie watched but also the theatre itself; from Portland’s charming Living Room Cinema (90s indie throwback Janet Planet) to Las Vegas’ awe-inspiring Sphere (Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth) to Hollywood’s stunningly restored Egyptian Theatre (Edward Scissorhands in 70mm).
While each venue was distinct, I couldn’t help observing that the movies being screened city-wide were nowhere near as diverse as what can be seen in Melbourne any day of the week. Cinema Nova’s weekly selection of releases now sures 50 films without fail, often climbing to 60 and beyond when we play host to festivals such as the current Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, or the imminent Monster Fest, Italian Film Festival and Irish Film Festival.
"I couldn’t help observing that the movies being screened city-wide were nowhere near as diverse as what can be seen in Melbourne any day of the week."
It’s exciting seeing our community of movie-lovers embrace the esoterica of La Chimera, local intimacy of Sunflower, outré weirdness of Kinds of Kindness, and suspense of Longlegs alongside classic noir The Third Man, the sensual audacity of Body Double and the fully restored The Day of the Locust. We truly enjoy the patronage of the world’s most adventurous moviegoers.
This weekend marks the arrival of three movies from across the globe. The Teacher Who Promised the Sea is a drama of an idealist expanding young minds in 1930s Spain, Latin American feature Tótem from director Lila Avilés is a heartfelt coming-of-age, and Thai sensation How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies is a beguiling comic drama that is among the best films of the year.
The coming months offer no relief from distinct and unmissable cinema, so start marking your calendars and settle in for a winter (and spring) of complete contentedness.
Based on Colleen Hoover’s bestseller, It Ends with Us (August 8) sees Blake Lively give the performance of her career as a florist whose budding romance with a charming doctor (Justin Baldoni, who also directs) becomes increasingly volatile. Scandinavian hit Touch (August 22) spans a lifetime with the tender tale of a chef who hopes to reconnect with his first love despite losing with her fifty years prior.
A startling suspense that’s best enjoyed knowing as little about it as possible, Strange Darling (August 22, Nova exclusive) explodes onto the screen with rare dynamism. Visually striking and packed with high-tension moments, director JT Mollner’s thriller makes him a filmmaker to watch. Making an equally impressive impact, true-story Kneecap (August 29) unmasks the Irish musicians behind the band of the same name. Brimming with a ferocity that recalls Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting, two rappers and a schoolteacher become unlikely civil rights activists when they perform in their mother tongue, Gaeilge, in defiance of the British bureaucracy.
Utterly opposite but no less entertaining, June Squibb (Nebraska) stars as Thelma (September 5), an industrious 94-year-old woman determined to track down the fraudsters who scammed her out of $10,000. With her family (Parker Posey, Clark Gregg) in hot pursuit, nothing stands in Thelma’s way. Hilariously lampooning the high-wire antics of Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible franchise, director Josh Margolin’s comedy is a delight.
Earning the mantle of ‘future classic’ upon its debut at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Megan Park’s My Old Ass (September 26) poses the question of what you would tell your younger self if ever you had the chance to meet. Free spirit Elliott (newcomer Maisy Stella) celebrates her 18th birthday by taking magic mushrooms, only to be visited by her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza). Warned to totally avoid anyone with the name ‘Chad’, Elliott writes the experience off as a bad trip until she’s introduced to her father’s newest employee, named Chad.
Causing a sensation at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Demi Moore stars in incendiary Hollywood parody The Substance (September 19). Unceremoniously fired from her long-running television show, actress Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore) makes a Faustian pact to be reborn as the younger, sexier Sue (Margaret Qualley). Incomparable and outrageous in all the best body-horror ways, The Substance promises to be one of the year’s most debated films.
Similarly controversial on La Croisette, but for completely different reasons, Sebastian Stan continues his pivot away from the MCU in The Apprentice (October 10). Aspiring property magnate Donald Trump (Stan) is trying to escape from under his overbearing father’s shadow when a chance meeting with prominent lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) opens doors to a previously untouchable world of money, power, and influence.
The above merely scratches the surface of must-see movies, which screen alongside anticipated flicks including Francis Ford Coppola’s ambitious all-star fable Megalopolis (September 26), visually distinctive nostalgia fantasy I Saw the TV Glow (August 29) from director Jane Schoenbrun and A24, and French provocateur Catherine Breillat’s predatory May December romance Last Summer (September 5).
Last, but most certainly not least, Oscar winner Adam Elliot’s meticulously crafted stop-motion animation Memoir of a Snail (October 17) opens at Nova fifteen years after the filmmaker’s award winning 2009 dramedy Mary and Max. Made right here in Melbourne and celebrating our city in ways only one of our favourite filmmakers can, Memoir of a Snail is the capstone on a banner twelve months for feature animation.
"...it brings me great joy to help shape future memories for Nova’s audience."
Melbourne’s cinema community continues to thrive in ways that regularly contradict sensationalist op-eds and reports of theatrical extinction. As a lifelong movie lover who can still recall their earliest visits to the cinema, it brings me great joy to help shape future memories for Nova’s audience through a diverse slate of new releases, past masterpieces, and interactive events, all while chronicling it in our in-house magazine NovaDose (issue 33 now available for free in our foyer!).
Melbourne’s love for movies has been a part of our city since the medium’s inception, so let’s sit back, lower the lights and luxuriate in it.
See you at the movies!
KC - CEO, Cinema Nova
