Warner Bros. may have decided to go ahead with releasing Christopher Nolan's Tenet in cinemas (for now, at least), but elsewhere there isn't too much to get excited about on the big screen in August. Thankfully there are some treats heading to your living room. Whether you're returning to cinemas or staying at home for now, here's our guide to the 10 most promising movies coming to UK/ROI screens in August.
La Llorona
Not to be confused with last year's creaky Waniverse thriller The Curse of La Llorona, director Jayro Bustamente's film takes the Latin American legend of the weeping woman and applies it to a political backdrop of turmoil in Guatemala. In the film a General escapes a charge of genocide against the country's native population, only to find himself seemingly haunted by the titular spirit.
On Shudder August 6th.
Papicha
First time director Mounia Meddour draws on her experiences of growing up during Algeria's civil war of the 1990s in her country's official submission to the recent Academy Awards. Cesar winning actress Lyna Khoudri plays a young fashion student who negotiates the dangers of her country while enjoying a lifestyle of parties.
On Digital and in select cinemas August 7th.
Sputnik
An expansion of his earlier short film, director Egor Abramenko's '80s set debut feature Sputnik stars Oksana Akinshina (Lilya 4-Ever, The Bourne Supremacy) as a psychologist assigned to a Russian cosmonaut who crash-lands following a botched space mission. In the tradition of Quatermass, it seems he may have brought something back from space with him. Sputnik has been the top streaming title in Russia over the past two years.
On Digital August 14th.
Yes, God, Yes
Stranger Things' Natalia Dyer makes a bid for movie stardom in this coming of age comedy from Obvious Child director Karen Maine. Set in the late '90s, Yes, God, Yes sees Dyer play a Catholic teen who attends a religious retreat following her struggles to resist the temptations of masturbation.
On Digital August 17th.
Random Acts of Violence
Actor Jay Baruchel made his feature directorial debut a couple of years back with sports sequel Goon: Last of the Enforcers. For his second turn behind the megaphone he's opting for the horror genre with Random Acts of Violence, which he also wrote with Jesse Chabot. The film stars Jesse Williams as a comic book creator who discovers a serial killer has been inspired by one of his comics.
On Shudder August 20th.
Babyteeth
Following her breakout as one of the March sisters in Greta Gerwig's Little Women, Eliza Scanlen takes the lead role in Shannon Murphy's directorial debut Babyteeth. Scanlen plays Milla, a teenager with a life-threatening condition determined to live life on her own terms. But when she begins to date a local drug dealer (Toby Wallace), her parents (Essie Davis and Ben Mendelsohn) are none too pleased.
In cinemas August 21st.
Socrates
In this Brazilian social realism drama from director Alexandre Moratto, newcomer Christian Malheiros plays the titular Socrates, a teenage boy from a poor São Paulo slum who struggles with his homosexuality against an unsupportive backdrop. Supported by Unicef, the film was made using a crew of 16-20-year-olds from low-income households in the deprived Santista region of São Paulo.
On Digital August 21st.
Tenet
Well, here we go again. After postponing indefinitely, Warner Bros. have now made the decision to release Christopher Nolan's potential cinema saving thriller in territories around the world that have gotten a hold on COVID-19 infections in late August. Will they stick to that date? Who knows. We know about as much regarding Tenet's chances of playing in cinemas this month as we do about its plot, which roughly concerns a special agent (John David Washington) tasked with saving the world from a fate worse than a nuclear holocaust. Oh, and at some point Nolan blows up an actual jumbo jet on screen.
In cinemas August 26th (stop laughing).
Away
Winner of the prestigious Contrechamp Award at last year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Gints Zilbalodis's animated feature Away follows a young boy attempting to escape a dark spirit while trapped on a mysterious island. Like the acclaimed 2017 animation The Red Turtle, Away eschews dialogue to tell its story solely through images.
In cinemas August 28th.
She Dies Tomorrow
It's hard to think of two women more synonymous with American indie cinema than Amy Siemetz and Kate Lynn Sheil. After collaborating to much acclaim on the former's directorial debut Sun Don't Shine, Sheil now stars in Siemetz's second feature as director, She Dies Tomorrow. Sheil plays a young woman who becomes convinced of her impending death, a notion that spreads itself through her social group like a nightmarish contagion.
On Digital/VOD August 28th.
Drugged and Disorderly: ARKANSAS and the Screen’s Most Volatile Narcotics Gangshttps://t.co/q4bg68KbQr pic.twitter.com/aRfi48bXks— The Movie Waffler (@themoviewaffler) July 28, 2020