Our guide to the most exciting movies coming to UK/ROI cinemas in March.
March sees new releases from some of the heavy hitters of world cinema, including Japan's Hirokazu Koreeda, Portugal's Pedro Costa and Brazil's Kleber Mendonça Filho. We also have sophomore efforts from Nora Fingscheidt and Lorcan Finnegan, along with Haifaa Al-Mansour's triumphant return to her native Saudi Arabia.
Here are the 10 UK/ROI cinema releases we're most excited to see in March.
Vitalina Varela
Portuguese auteur Pedro Costa is a darling of critics, yet many viewers find his rigid filmmaking impenetrable. If you're a fan, Vitalina Varela will no doubt please you, as it sees Costa continue to explore the experiences of Portugal's African immigrant community. Costa's latest follows a Cape Verdean woman (played by Varela herself) who travels to Lisbon following the death of her migrant worker husband.
In cinemas March 6th.
Bacurau
Brazil's Kleber Mendonça Filho continues to examine the social issues of his country with Bacurau, co-directed with Juliano Dornelles. Combining western tropes with surreal touches, Bacurau tells the story of a small rural commune forced to fight for survival when a group of well armed American invaders shows up.
In cinemas March 13th.
Dogs Don't Wear Pants
A contender for the best movie title of 2020, Dogs Don't Wear Pants is a Finnish black comedy set in the world of S&M enthusiasts. Director Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää's film follows Juha (Pekka Strang), a widower who has spent several years grieving for his late wife, until he meets Mona (Krista Kosonen), a dominatrix who opens his eyes to new sensual possibilities.
In cinemas March 20th.
Fire Will Come
Winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival, this Galician-language drama from director Oliver Laxe (Mimosas) follows a freed convict (Amador Arias) who struggles to reintegrate upon returning to his village after serving a stretch for arson.
In cinemas March 20th.
The Truth
Arguably Asia's greatest living filmmaker, Hirokazu Koreeda (Like Father, Like Son; Shoplifters; Our Little Sister) enters the world of European cinema with this French set drama. The film stars two of France's biggest stars, Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche, the former playing a veteran movie star, the latter her daughter, who arrives from the US to celebrate the publishing of her mother's memoirs with her husband (Ethan Hawke) in tow. The publishing of the book dredges up long-simmering hostilities between mother and daughter, whose views of the past differ greatly.
In cinemas March 20th.
Koko-Di, Koko-Da
Writer/director Johannes Nyholm's nightmarish fantasy stars Leif Edlund Johansson and Ylva Gallon as a couple who go on a camping trip in hopes of repairing their relationship. Instead they find themselves terrorised by a sideshow artist (Peter Belli) and unable to escape the woods.
In cinemas March 27th.
System Crasher
This German drama from writer/director Nora Fingscheidt focusses on a troubled nine-year-old girl (Helena Zengel) who finds herself trapped in a child welfare system that struggles to understand her wild nature. System Crasher was selected to represent Germany at this year's Oscars.
In cinemas March 27th.
The Painted Bird
Czech director Vaclav Marhoul’s The Painted Bird, adapted from the novel by Jerzy Kosinski, provoked mass walkouts at its Venice Film Festival premiere, with many audience members unable to endure its confrontational imagery. Much like Volker Schlöndorff's The Tin Drum and Elem Klimov's Come and See, The Painted Bird is focussed on the horrors of war as seen by a child, in this case a young Jewish boy (Petr Kotlár) left to fend for himself in a hostile and hellish environment. The international cast features Udo Kier, Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands and Barry Pepper.
In cinemas March 27th.
The Perfect Candidate
Saudi filmmaker Haifaa al-Mansour famously defied her country's misogynistic laws by filming her 2012 debut Wadjda, often having to direct her actors while hiding in the back of a van. After making her English language debut with the Elle Fanning vehicle Mary Shelley, al-Mansour has returned to Saudi Arabia to stir the feminist pot once more with The Perfect Candidate, the story of a female doctor who controversially runs as a candidate in a local election.
In cinemas March 27th.
Vivarium
Director Lorcan Finnegan's Vivarium is a sci-fi satire of modern suburban domesticity and gender roles. Imogen Poots and Jesse Eisenberg play a young couple who find themselves trapped in an eerily empty suburban estate, where they are forced to raise a child together.
In cinemas March 27th.