The Movie Waffler Dhont, Ceylan, Soderbergh and More in MUBI UK’s April Line-up | The Movie Waffler

Dhont, Ceylan, Soderbergh and More in MUBI UK’s April Line-up

Dhont, Ceylan, Soderbergh and More in MUBI UK’s April Line-up
The arthouse streaming site has announced its April roster.

April on MUBI UK sees the UK streaming premiere of the latest drama from Lukas Dhont, a double bill from Turkey's most acclaimed auteur, a Soderbergh season and more.




Close

Close
Following its theatrical release in March, writer-director Lukas Dhont's critically acclaimed and award-winning Close (2022) will be available to stream exclusively on MUBI from April 21st. Winner of the Grand Prix award at Cannes 2022 and nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2023 Academy Awards, Close is an elegant, poetic and empathetic study of youth.

Thirteen-year-olds Léo (Eden Dambrine) and Rémi (Gustav De Waele) are inseparable; they spend every waking moment together, racing each other on their bikes, playing in the fields that surround their homes, and sleeping at each other's houses. They are best friends, as close as brothers. However as they start a new school year, the pressures of burgeoning adolescence challenge their bond with unexpected and far-reaching consequences. 

With incredibly authentic and emotional performances from newcomers Dambrine and De Waele, Dhont's latest film is as evocative as it is visually stunning, set against the rich landscape of the Belgian countryside. A powerful coming-of-age story, this profoundly moving portrait of male friendship offers a depiction of intimacy and masculinity that is sure to have an enduring impact.


Christophe Honoré Triple Bill

Christophe Honoré Triple Bill
With French writer-director Christophe Honoré's latest film Winter Boy (2022) - which tells the story of Lucas, a 17-year-old student, who escapes to Paris in search of himself following the sudden death of his father -   soon arriving exclusively to the platform, MUBI's Triple Bill pays homage to Honoré's films. Known for his work in contemporary French cinema, his films often explore themes of love, desire, and loss, and feature complex characters and emotional relationships. 

Arriving first to the platform this season is Sorry Angel (2018): Jacques is a writer living in Paris. He hasn't turned 40 but already mistrusts that the best in life is yet to come. Arthur is a student living in Brittany. He reads and smiles a lot and refuses to think that everything in life might not be possible. Following this, MUBI brings On a Magical Night (2019), which follows Maria, a middle-aged professor who leaves her husband after he discovers her infidelity with a younger man. Seeking refuge in a hotel across the street from their apartment, Maria reflects on her past relationships and sexual experiences through a series of magical and surreal encounters with her younger self and former lover.


Once Upon a Time: A Nuri Bilge Ceylan Double Bill

Once Upon a Time: A Nuri Bilge Ceylan Double Bill
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan has established himself as a masterful filmmaker, celebrated both for his intimate, poetic cinema of human frailty and stylistic hallmarks, like stunningly composed, contemplative long takes and hypnotic pacing. Drawing as much from the cinema—his early work is indebted to Italian neorealism—as from literature (particularly the Russian masters), Ceylan's sublime visuals and stunning landscapes combine a realist worldview with a lyrical, literary soul. The two films in MUBI's Nuri Bilge Ceylan double bill this month: the epic story of a retired actor, Winter Sleep (2014), and the evocative and bittersweet drama The Wild Pear Tree (2018),  both declare their literary spirits, featuring multi-layered characters that grapple with existential angst and intense self-scrutiny.


The Films of Steven Soderbergh

The Films of Steven Soderbergh
Renowned American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, and actor Steven Soderbergh first gained recognition in the film industry with his directorial debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape in 1989 which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Since then, Soderbergh has amassed a remarkable body of work that has earned him numerous awards and nominations, including three Academy Award nominations for Best Director. This April, MUBI brings four of his titles to MUBI including The Limey (1999), Magic Mike (2012), Traffic (2000) and Unsane (2018).  

Known for his experimentation with form and style, Soderbergh's films span an impressive range of genres, from crime thrillers to romantic dramas, to comedies. His films have been widely celebrated for their artistic vision and technical excellence and he has long been considered one of the most versatile and innovative filmmakers of his generation.


The Bill Douglas Trilogy

The Bill Douglas Trilogy
Renowned for his poignant and deeply personal depictions of working-class existence in Scotland, MUBI presents The Bill Douglas Trilogy to the platform this month. This compelling series of three semi-autobiographical films, comprising My Childhood (1972), My Ain Folk (1973), and My Way Home (1978), draws from Douglas's own experiences of growing up in a poverty-stricken Scottish mining village during the mid-twentieth century. The trilogy presents an unfiltered and authentic portrayal of the unforgiving realities of life for the working-class, and has earned widespread acclaim as a trio of masterpieces in British cinema. Featuring a distinct aesthetic characterized by stark black-and-white cinematography, a haunting musical score, and powerful performances, the three short films from Douglas make for a compelling watch.


Director Focus: Joan Micklin Silver

Director Focus: Joan Micklin Silver
The pioneering American director Joan Micklin Silver was one of the few women to sustain a career as a director in Hollywood in the 1970s and '80s. Replete with her signature wit and loving lensing, these charming, idiosyncratic films are fascinated by cultural shifts in American society. These trailblazing films are hailed today as bona fide classics and feature new faces that later became stars. 

MUBI's dedicated season spotlights three exceptionally entertaining works including: Hester Street (1975), her debut described among the great cinematic portraits of Jewish-American life with an Oscar-nominated performance by Carol Kane, Between the Lines (1977) – an ensemble dramedy about an alternative newspaper in Boston starring Jeff Goldblum, John Heard and Lindsay Crouse – and A Fish in the Bathtub (1999) starring legendary comedy duo Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, and a young Mark Ruffalo.



Jamie
Jaime Saldaña is schizophrenic, and has lived for almost half his life in a psychiatric facility. Surrounded by his collection of figurines, this gentle Chilean man talks about his youth, God, his mother, his superpowers and whatever else he has on his mind.

Equally riveting and tender, Jamie (2022) is an unexpectedly powerful character portrait that pulls you into its spell fast and deep. Blurring the boundaries between truth and fiction, director Francisco Javier Rodríguez interrogates what reality really means.


The Plains

The Plains
Humane and surprisingly compelling, David Easteal's minimalist debut The Plains (2022) is an existential road film reflecting on the passage of time shot entirely from the backseat of a car. 

Every day at 5pm Andrew, a middle-aged man working in a community legal centre, drives home through Melbourne's suburbs in peak-hour traffic occasionally offering a lift home to his younger colleague David.  Over a year, their tentative small talk gives way to a friendship and open conversation within the confines of the vehicle.