While much of the industry is hob-nobbing in the Cannes sunshine, the rest of us are left to mull over this summer’s slim picking at the box office. Fortunate then, that as slim as those pickings are, they contain an unexpected gem or two.
This week’s powerhouse release is Tomorrowland, featuring George Clooney as a jaded inventor haunted by his past as a child-genius. Things come to a head when he crosses paths with an enthusiastic teen with whom he shares a collective memory of a place called Tomorrowland. They embark on a journey through time and space to locate it. Directed by ex-Pixar stalwart, Brad Bird (Mission Impossible 4), the advance word is good.
At the other end of the spectrum is The Duke of Burgundy, a small British film on limited release about a couple of women with an erotic penchant for psychological degradation and physical discomfort. Read our six-star review this week to find out why it shouldn’t be missed.
READ MORE: Film review: The Duke of Burgundy
Slim pickings
Meanwhile, Reese Witherspoon makes a career misstep with Hot Pursuit, a buddy cop comedy concerning the unlikely pairing of a hardline officer and the wife of a drug baron.
Finally there’s The Salt Of The Earth, a documentary directed by Wim Wenders and Juliano Salgado, the latter being the son of the film’s subject: celebrated photographer Sebastião Salgado, who for four decades travelled the planet witnessing some of the most important events in human history.
Over at Cinemateket (full program at dfi.dk/Filmhuset), there’s various series including a collection of new Polish cinema and a batch of Chinese smash hits making their Danish premieres.
At 14:15 on Sunday the 24th, Danish On a Sunday (Danish films with English subs) presents Billie August’s recent awards magnet, Silent Heart (Stille Hjerte). Three generations of a family gather for the weekend, with sisters Sanne and Heidi having accepted their terminally-ill mother’s desire to die before the disease worsens. However, it slowly becomes clear that they harbour some resentment at their mother’s decision and old conflicts resurface. Tickets are 45-70kr with an extra 40kr for coffee and a pastry.
