November on MUBI UK sees the premiere of Lars von Trier's belated
followup to his cult 1990s show The Kingdom, the latest from Claire Denis, a Jafar Panahi double bill
and more.
The Kingdom Exodus
The long-awaited third and final series of Lars von Trier’s
The Kingdom, The Kingdom Exodus, (2022), will be arriving exclusively on MUBI, debuting a weekly episode
from November 27. In the lead-up to the release of
The Kingdom Exodus, (2022), newly restored, never-seen-before versions of the 1990s cult
classic series can be found on MUBI with The Kingdom (1994)
releasing on November 13th, shortly followed by
The Kingdom II (1997) on November 20th.
The Kingdom Exodus (2022) returns to the 1990s ghost story
about a hospital built on top of the old bleaching ponds in Copenhagen,
where evil has taken root and medical science faces a daily struggle with
itself, where the Swedes curse the Danes, and the mysterious and
inexplicable blend together in a mixture of horror and humour.
The Kingdom Exodus (2022) sees von Trier’s real-life
documentary style intertwined with dark wit and black comedy, while
playing with the supernatural.
Both Sides of the Blade
Claire Denis has been making films since the 1980s, and her
fifteenth film
Both Sides of The Blade
(2022) saw her win the Silver Bear at Berlin for Best Director earlier
this year. Adapted from Christine Angot’s 2018 novel 'Un tournant
de la vie', Both Sides of The Blade (2022) is a complex and
passionate portrayal of an intense love triangle.
Juliette Binoche (Sara) and Vincent Lindon’s (Jean)
performances are nothing short of powerful in Denis’s latest film. Sara
and Jean have been happily together for 10 years until Sara has a chance
encounter with François, an old flame and Jean’s former best friend, which
forces her to face her feelings for both men. When François asks Jean to
work for him, all three are drawn into a web of deception and
desire. A portrayal of lust and lost love,
Both Sides of The Blade (2022) is a daring and intricately
directed drama and will be arriving exclusively on MUBI this November.
Il Buco
10 years since his last release, Le Quattro Volte, Michelangelo Frammartino brings us Il Buco (2021), a
breathtaking docudrama based on the true story of a group of speleologists
who explore Europe’s deepest cave in the Calabrian hinterland. Their venture
goes unnoticed by the inhabitants of a neighbouring village, but not by an
old shepherd whose solitary life interweaves with the group’s journey. Apart
from a little chat and murmur among the speleologists,
Il Buco (2021) is without dialogue or subtitles, the focus
solely on the journey as they reach the bottom of the cave, 700 meters below
Earth, for the first time. Il Buco (2021) is available to
stream exclusively on MUBI from November 2nd.
The Box
Winner of the Venice Film Festival’s Leoncino d’Oro Agiscuola Award –
Cinema for UNICEF, The Box (2021) concludes Venezuelan
writer-director Lorenzo Vigas’ trilogy, which includes his short
Elephants Never Forget (2004) and his feature debut,
From Afar (Festival 2016), winner of the Golden Lion at the
Venice Film Festival.
Hatzin (Hatzin Navarrete), a young teenager from Mexico City,
travels to collect the remains of his father, which have been found in a
communal grave in the northern part of Mexico. But a casual encounter with
a man, Mario (Hernán Mendoza), who shares a physical resemblance
with his father puts in doubt the certainty of his father’s death and
above all, opens the possibility of re-establishing a father-son
relationship the young man so deeply desires. The Box (2021)
is a multi-layered story that resonates powerfully and arrives exclusively
on MUBI this November.
Hold Me Tight
Actor-director Mathieu Amalric’s latest film
Hold Me Tight (2021) stars Vicky Krieps in one of her
most daring and jaw-dropping performances as a mother who unexpectedly
leaves her family behind. The unique exploration of grief and abandonment
unravels its puzzle-like mystery with its intertwining narratives blurring
the lines between reality and fantasy.
Camille (Krieps) walks through her house at dawn taking a last look at her
husband and two children – hesitates to leave a farewell note – and
finally hits the road. A desperate escape that gradually reveals its
layers as Camille, who seems to be linked by an extra-sensory string to
the children she has left behind, loses herself in the world.
Jafar Panahi: A Double Bill
This November, MUBI sees a very special double bill from the highly
acclaimed award-winning Iranian director, Jafar Panahi. Panahi was
arrested in Iran earlier this year and is currently serving a six-year
prison sentence after enquiring about the imprisonment of fellow
film-maker, Mohammad Rasoulof. Ahead of the world premiere of
Panahi’s new film No Bears (2022) at Venice Film Festival, a
protest was held on the red carpet, calling for his release. From his
cell, Panahi sent a letter to the festival thanking people for
‘making noise’ in support of Iranian filmmakers.
With the UK release of No Bears (2022) this month, MUBI
brings two of Panahi’s spectacular films to the platform. Winner of
Berlin’s top prize, the Golden Bear,
Tehran Taxi
(2015) arrives on MUBI on November 8th: Panahi drives a yellow cab through
the vibrant streets of Tehran interviewing a diverse range of passengers
who candidly express their views. On November 24,
3 Faces
(2018) - winner of the Best Screenplay at 2018 Cannes Film Festival -
comes to the platform. Panahi and actor Behnaz Jafari travel to a
tiny village after receiving a plea for help from a girl whose family has
forbidden her from studying acting.
Spotlight on Denis Côté
The works of the acclaimed, unclassifiable and prolific indie Quebecois
director Denis Côté will be showcased in MUBI's dedicated season
Spotlight on Denis Coté highlighting the unique liberty of tone and genre of
his films. From narrative fiction to experimental documentaries, the
award-winning filmmaker explores the margins and interactions between body
and space. The focus will culminate with the release of his latest film,
That Kind of Summer (2022), a frank, tender portrait of three
women’s stay at a retreat for sex addiction which premiered in competition
at the Berlinale this February.
Focus on Jacques Audiard
This November on MUBI, the focus spotlights the multi-award-winning French
director, producer and screenwriter Jacques Audiard. Audiard
started his directing career at a time marked by ‘post-French New Wave’
ideas, and disrupted those new conventions by placing prominence on the
use of a script when everyone was very much against them. As a result,
Audiard became a key figure in narrative cinema and is considered
one of the best filmmakers working today.
MUBI will show three of Audiard’s early films throughout November, with
See How They Fall (1994) on November 5th,
Read My Lips (2001) on November 15th and
The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) concluding the series
on November 26th.
Sympathy for the Devil: The Films of Park Chan-Wook
MUBI's series, Sympathy for the Devil: The Films of Park Chan-wook,
continues this November to celebrate the theatrical release of Chan-wook’s
newest feature
Decision to Leave
(2022), which arrives in cinemas in October and will be coming exclusively
to MUBI soon.
Chan-wook has developed a recognisable style, infused with dark humour and
violently-poetic narratives filled with uncertainty and suspense. The cult
classic Oldboy (2003), arrives first this month on
November 5th: Imprisoned for no apparent reason for 15 years, Oh Dae-su
(Choi Min-sik) survives only because of his will to get even with
the villain who has made his life a living hell. Suddenly given a phone,
money and expensive clothes he is released without explanation and embarks
on a quest for revenge.
Following this MUBI brings the last of The Vengeance Trilogy,
Lady Vengeance (2005) on November 17th: After being
wrongfully convicted, a woman is imprisoned for 13 years and forced to
give up her daughter. While in prison she gains the respect of her
cellmates and plots her revenge on the man responsible. On November 24th
MUBI brings you Thirst (2009), a highly original take on the
vampire genre and an artful blend of horror twisted with comedy, sees a
priest stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
David Cronenberg: Love and Other Parasites
One of Canada’s most celebrated directors, David Cronenberg has
carved out an indelible legacy with his string of “body horror” films that
marry skin-crawling bodily transformations with psychological and
philosophical concerns. Cronenberg’s interest in questioning human
instinct and debating morality is on full display in this dedicated season
culminating in acidic social satires featuring blood-thirsty zombies,
telepaths with a vendetta, broods of mutant children, sinister cabals,
giant talking bugs and more.
Concluding MUBI's Cronenberg series this November is
Naked Lunch (1991), which sees a part-time exterminator and
full-time drug addict plunge into a nightmarish interzone of sinister
cabals and giant talking bugs. Believing himself to be a government agent,
he flees to a secret organization after accidentally killing his wife.
Time to Love
MUBI’s first restoration project, Time to Love (1965), the
offbeat melodrama from Golden Bear-winning Turkish auteur
Metin Erksan, explores the impulses of the sensual self with misty
black-and-white cinematography. Halil, who is working as a house painter at
a mansion, falls in love with a photograph hanging on the wall. The portrait
of the woman comes to life, but he is only in love with her image, not with
her.
Starfuckers
“I’ll make you a star.” Starfuckers (2022), the formally
daring queer revenge thriller featuring actor-director
Antonio Marziale in an electrifying drag performance, takes direct
aim at the abusive power structures of Hollywood. In a lavish LA villa on a
sultry summer night, an intimate evening between a film director and an
escort is disrupted when a familiar face arrives.
Sexual Drive
Married designer Enatsu worries about his sexless life. Office worker Akane
is recovering from panic attacks. Elite advertising agent Ikeyama wants to
end the relationship with his lover. A shabby man named Kurita appears
before all three, presenting each with a secret. Kôta Yoshida’s
tryptic of interconnected stories about sex, aphrodisiac foods and secret
desires,
Sexual Drive
(2021), arrives on MUBI this month.
The Balcony Movie
Composed from conversations held with passers-by under director
Paweł Łoziński’s Warsaw apartment,
The Balcony Movie (2021) reveals a glimpse into the lives of
strangers through unique and intimate encounters. Łoziński focuses as much
on the colourful exchanges that take place as on the bond that develops
between himself and the people who return to his camera resulting in a
kaleidoscopic and heartfelt portrayal of humankind and the ways we cope with
life.
