It’s hard for me to believe that the Cannes Film Festival ended over a month ago already, with us now in the midst of the summer movie season. While the next two months will be jam-packed with blockbusters, the fall release window, particularly Q4, is when studios tend to unleash their biggest awards bait in the hopes of scoring potential Oscar nominations. Now, two of the biggest Cannes titles, Fjord and Paper Tiger, both of which are being released domestically by Neon, have their release dates.
First up is Fjord, a movie many think is a shoo-in for a Best International Feature Film nomination (although I’d wager about 40–50% of the dialogue is in English). Directed by Cristian Mungiu, this one stars Sebastian Stan and Renata Reinsve and will no doubt be a major conversation starter. The movie centres on a devoutly religious Romanian family whose children are taken by the state after they relocate to Norway, where authorities discover they may use corporal punishment. The film is a cautionary tale about government overreach, as it becomes clear the family’s religious beliefs and values are being put on trial—a notion that will no doubt make the movie controversial, as it warns against extremism of any kind, not only from the right wing but also from the left (read my review). It opens on October 9th.
Less overtly political is James Gray’s crime drama Paper Tiger, which centres on two brothers (Adam Driver and Miles Teller) living in 1988 New York City whose families become targets after they run afoul of Russian mobsters. A crime drama in the vein of Sidney Lumet, Driver, in particular, is a powerhouse, delivering a performance many say recalls vintage Pacino or De Niro (read my rave review here). It opens in limited release on November 13th before expanding nationwide on November 20th.
Which of these two movies are you most interested in seeing? Let us know in the comments.
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