There are some great titles coming to Mubi in this hot month of August. We’re mostly talking about new releases, but there are a few classics you won’t want to miss.
Let’s take a look now.
In eastern Georgia, the morals and professionalism of Nina, an obstetrician-gynecologist, come under scrutiny after a newborn dies during delivery. As an investigation takes place, rumors emerge that Nina performs illegal abortions for desperate women outside of work.
April is the latest feature from acclaimed Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili. The film had its World Premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where it was awarded the Special Jury Prize.
Over seven hallucinatory days, a village with no name, in an undefined time and place, disappears. Townsman-turned-farmer Walter Thirsk and befuddled lord of the manor Charles Kent are childhood friends about to face an invasion from the outside world: the trauma of modernity.
Harvest is based on a novel of the same name by Jim Crace. The film premiered in competition at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, then screened at TIFF in the same year.
When tragedy strikes, an unexpected bond forms between two migrants in the Chinese community of Queens. Far from home, their labor-filled lives intertwine as they grieve and search for familial connections.
Blue Sun Palace is Constance Tsang’s directorial debut, and stars Lee Kang-sheng (Help Me, Eros) and Wu Ke-xi (Nina Wu). The film had its World Premiere at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The meteoric rise and spectacular fall of Vice magazine—from scrappy Montreal alt-punk ’zine that made fringe culture mainstream, to media empire of the indie sleaze era valued at $5.7bn, up to its recent bankruptcy—directed by author, producer, host and chef Eddie Huang. A disaster capitalism exposé that’s emblematic of an era, from the irresistible insider’s point of view of a man on a mission to tell it like it is.
Vice is Broke is directed by Eddie Huang (Boogie, Fresh Off The Boat).
Jane, a college graduate and aspiring film producer, has landed her dream job as an assistant to an entertainment mogul. As she follows her daily routine, she grows aware of the abuse that colors every aspect of her workday, an accumulation of degradations against which she decides to take a stand.
The Assistant was written, directed, produced and edited by Kitty Green (Casting Jon Benét, Ukraine Is Not a Brothel) and stars Julia Garner (Ozark, The Royal Hotel) and Matthew Mcfadyen (Succession, Pride & Prejudice). The film premiered at the 2019 Telluride Film Festival and later screened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
17-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community. But everything changes when her magnetic youth pastor Owen returns to their church.
The Starling Girl is writer-director Laurel Parmet’s feature directorial debut and stars Eliza Scanlen (Little Women, Sharp Objects) and Lewis Pullman (Thunderbolts, Top Gun: Maverick). The film premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize.
David Cho, a timid 18-year-old living with his financially-struggling immigrant parents, chances upon a secret cruising spot when he takes a job at an all-male spa. There he begins to realize hidden desires that threaten his life as a dutiful son and student.
Spa Night had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where lead actor Joe Seo (Cobra Kai) earned the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance. The film was also nominated for the Grand Jury Prize Dramatic.
Romanian television commercials broadcasted to consumers in the country’s post-Communist era are revisited in a satirical montage. Viewers were sold on visions of Romania’s glorious past and gilded future—including get-rich-quick schemes, shiny new toys, and economic shock therapy.
Eight Postcards from Utopia is co-directed by Radu Jude and philosopher Christian Ferencz-Flatz.
Signe and Thomas are young, attractive and extraordinarily infuriating. Their relationship as a couple degenerates when contemporary artist Thomas achieves celebrity. Jealous, Signe decides to go to any lengths to get herself noticed. Any lengths at all.
Sick of Myself premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.
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