Friday Flicks: ‘Call Me by Your Name’, ‘The Hedy Lamarr Story’, ‘Porto’
Thank heavens it’s Friday! Thanksgiving has once again come and gone. Like us, did you binge on a little too much turkeyrific goodness? Not to fret, the pounds will almost certainly fall off as easily as tender meat slipped off a bone. At least in theory.
Arguably, the biggest story making the rounds this week is Justice League’s failure to meet expectations at the box office. The big-budget flick from Warner Bros. Pictures opened to a rather measly $96 million. Perhaps it had something to do with the awful production woes the film suffered after the departure of director Zack Snyder, having left Joss Whedon to cobble together a blockbuster from the ruins.
Outside of the superverse, Pixar’s Coco dominated in early previews, taking in more than $2.3 million. The family-friendly feature, Mexico’s top-grossing film, is set to battle it out against Warner Bros.’ ailing superhero flick this weekend. Could Coco top the $60 million it’s already on track to wrangle up? Never underestimate the power of music, folks.
Back on planet Earth, America’s most notorious criminal Charles Manson passed away. If we’re honest, we almost thought the guy was immortal. And, in a way, he will live on, for better or worse, in the countless films and television shows his macabre and twisted tale inspired.
Let’s take a break from the headlines and step into the enchanting world of indie flicks. Read on for FD’s picks of the best films to catch this weekend.
Experience a sun-drenched summer in the north of Italy as a 17-year-old young man discovers the heady beauty of awakening desire in Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name; delve into the fascinating story of Hedy Lamarr, a silver screen icon and trailblazer ahead of her time in Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story; and take a trip to a bygone era of European cinema in Porto, the directorial debut feature from Gabe Klinger.
Call Me by Your Name (Sony Pictures Classics)
on limited theatrical release now
In the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, precocious 17-year-old young man Elio spends his days in his family’s 17th-century villa, idly whiling the time away transcribing music and reading – until one day, 24 year-old American college graduate student Oliver arrives as the annual summer intern. Together, over the course of a sun-drenched summer that will forever alter their lives, the pair discovers the heady beauty of awakening desire. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love) and based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman, Call Me by Your Name stars Timothée Chalamet (Interstellar), Armie Hammer (Final Portrait), Michael Stuhlbarg (The Shape of Water), Esther Garrel (17 Girls), and Amira Casar (Anatomy of Hell).
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (Zeitgeist Films)
on limited theatrical release now
Icon. Immigrant. Inventor. What does the “most beautiful woman in films” from the 1930s and 40s have in common with the inventor whose concepts became the blueprint for cellular and bluetooth technology? They were both Hedy Lamarr, the silver screen beauty whose visage was the inspiration for Snow White. Weaving interviews with never-before-heard audio tapes, filmmaker Alexandra Dean delves into the fascinating life of this technological trailblazer, from her humble beginnings as an Austrian Jewish emigrée to her scandalous nude scene in the 1933 film Ecstasy. Bomshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story is the tale of an “unusual and accomplished woman”, spurned as too beautiful to be smart.
Porto (Kino Lorber)
on limited theatrical release now
Jake and Mati are two outsiders in the Portuguese city of Porto who once experienced a brief but deeply intimate connection. He’s an American loner exiled from his family; she’s a student from France embroiled in an affair with one of her professors. But a mystery remains about the moments they shared. Working backwards and forwards through time and alternating between narrow and wide visual canvas, they relive a surprising encounter in which time paused for them for just one night. The directorial debut feature from Gabe Klinger, Porto is a journey to a “bygone era of European cinema.” Stars Anton Yelchin (Star Trek), Lucie Lucas (Clem), Françoise Lebrun (Séraphine), and Paulo Calatré (Hay Road).
