NYFF Preview: What We’re Looking Forward To

New York Film Festival (NYFF) released the lineup for their 57th year today. They’d previously announced Netflix’s The Irishman from legendary director Martin Scorsese, the much-hyped Marriage Story from director Noah Baumbach as well as Motherless Brooklyn from director Edward Norton.

Going down the list of what was announced as part of the NYFF main slate, here’s what we’re most excited to see this year beyond the previously three announced films.

Bacurau

A vibrant, richly diverse backcountry Brazilian town finds its sun-dappled day-to-day disturbed when its inhabitants become the targets of a group of marauding, wealthy tourists. The perpetrators of this Most Dangerous Game–esque class warfare, however, may have met their match in the fed-up, resourceful denizens of little Bacurau.

If you’re going to tell me I get to watch a marginalized group of Brazilians stand up for themselves in the face of wealthy tourists, I’m going to watch that movie 10 times out of 10. The film from directors Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles won the Jury Prize at Cannes.

First Cow

A taciturn loner and skilled cook (John Magaro) has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon Territory, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) also seeking his fortune; soon the two collaborate on a successful business, although its longevity is reliant upon the clandestine participation of a nearby wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow.

One of our most talented working female directors, Kelly Reichardt, returns looking at 19th century Pacific Northwest. That alone sounds interesting. Add in that it’s an A24 release and sounds like it’s an extremely suspenseful story, and it’s a must-see.

A Girl Missing

 Middle-aged Ichiko works as a private nurse in a small town for a family, functioning as caregiver for the entirely female clan’s elderly matriarch, and befriending the two teenage daughters; when one of the girls disappears, Ichiko gets caught up in the resulting media sensation in increasingly surprising and devastating ways. 

Yeah, this is going to be great. I’ve really become more into Asian storytelling the past few years. The way they explore human nature, reactions and relations is so distinct and captivating (See: Shoplifters, Burning and Secret Sunshine among others). This story sounds as timely as any out there and I can’t wait to see what Japanese director Koji Fukada has cooked up for us.

Parasite

A threadbare family of four struggling to make ends meet gradually hatches a scheme to work for, and as a result infiltrate, the wealthy household of an entrepreneur, his seemingly frivolous wife, and their troubled kids.

How they go about doing this—and how their best-laid plans spiral out to destruction and madness—constitutes one of the wildest, scariest, and most unexpectedly affecting movies in years.

I’ve been on the #BongHive ever since I first saw Bong Joon Ho‘s Memory of A Murder. With The Host, Okja and Snowpiercer also under his belt, anything he puts out is must-see material. This won Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or to nearly universal acclaim. As with he previous films, it explores the lengths to which humans can push themselves. This is also playing at TIFF, so I’m not sure where exactly I’ll see it, but I can’t wait.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

On the cusp of the 19th century, young painter Marianne travels to a rugged, rocky island off the coast of Brittany. Here, she has been commissioned to create a wedding portrait of the wealthy yet free-spirited Héloise, whose hand in marriage has been promised to a man she’s never met.

Resentful of the forced union, Héloise at first refuses to be painted, yet a growing bond—at first emotional and then erotic—develops between the women, exquisitely etched by Noémie Merlant as the artist and Adèle Haenel as her initially reluctant muse.

Okay, so this is The Handmaiden, but French? Enough said. Another one that’s playing at TIFF. Hopefully I’ll catch it at one of the two.

Saturday Fiction

Acclaimed actress Jean Yu (Gong Li) has returned to Shanghai from China after a long absence. Jean Yu is in rehearsals for a play to be directed by a former lover (Mark Chao), but she seems to have ulterior motives, functioning as a double agent and gathering intelligence for the Allies, including the fateful realization of Japan’s imminent attack on Pearl Harbor.

Another duplicate from TIFF. This is a black and white spy thriller from director Lou Ye set just before Pearl Harbor. That sounds riveting to me. Imagining a double agent realizing what’s about to happen is intriguing to say the least.

Are you going to NYFF? What are you most excited to see? Sound off in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter (@_ReelBigFilms)

Did you miss our review of Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood? Check it out here.