Best new films – quick links
Best new films
Amores Perros – 10 July
Film (2000). Alejandro González Iñárritu’s first film is a powerful story that weaves together three lives connected by a violent car crash in Mexico City. One story follows a teenager who risks everything to run away with his brother’s wife. Another centres on a model who loses everything after moving in with her lover. The third follows a homeless man who confronts memories from his past. As these stories develop, we see chaos, cruelty, and tenderness, showing that the characters are more connected than they first appear.
The film uses a fractured timeline, fast-paced editing, and overlapping stories shaped by desire, betrayal, and survival. It also marks Gael García Bernal’s striking first appearance in a feature film. Rodrigo Prieto’s raw cinematography and Gustavo Santaolalla’s intense, rhythmic score give the movie a strong sense of chaos and emotion that stands out in Latin American cinema today.
The History of Sound – 11 July
Film (2025). Directed by Oliver Hermanus and starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor. From ScreenHub’s review:
‘Mescal plays Lionel, a shy and sweet young man who grew up on a dirt-poor farm. It’s here, as a kid (played by Leo Cocovinis) that Lionel discovers his ability to keenly perceive the sound of music – not just as shimmering colour (interestingly never visualised by Hermanus) but also a taste on his tongue – is a gift most unusual.
‘Lionel’s breadth of knowledge about these ditties and his ability to hold each tune carefully leads him to Boston’s New England Conservatory on a scholarship.’ Read more …
Magnolia – 11 July
Film (1999). Director Paul Thomas Anderson leads an all-star cast, including Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore and John C Reilly, through a story of characters whose lives interview in the San Fernando Valley.
Recent best new films
Jimpa – 1 July (Binge)
Film (2025). Drama starring Aud Mason-Hyde, Olivia Colman and John Lithgow. (MA15+). From ScreenHub’s review:
‘Is conflict integral to cinema? Not according to Hannah, an Adelaide filmmaker, who is not quite Jimpa director Sophie Hyde, but is certainly a misty mirror-universe reflection. Depicted by the magnificent Olivia Colman – an actor so agile she can carry us forward through thought alone – she embraces love and understanding over miscommunication.
‘Hannah is auditioning actors to play a version of her father Jim (John Lithgow), a firebrand gay activist based in Amsterdam, along with her salt-of-the-earth, sassy mother, Katherine (Deborah Kennedy). The two separated when Hannah and her sister Emily (Kate Box) were kids but in Hannah’s recollection, it was an amicable arrangement that honoured Jim’s queerness and need for freedom.’ Read more …
Phantoms Of July – 3 July (MUBI)
Film (2025). Julian Radlmaier’s fourth film is a bittersweet and whimsical story that spans centuries in the German town of Sangerhausen. Ursula, a heartbroken waitress from East Germany, and Neda, a lonely Iranian YouTuber recovering from a broken arm, meet by chance and mistaken identity. Their encounter leads to an unexpected ghost hunt in the mountains, where the ghosts of history have a playful conversation with the dissatisfied people of modern Germany.
Radlmaier mixes absurd comedy with political commentary and a poetic, melancholic mood. He explores class struggle and ideological conflict using anachronism and irony, blending history and fantasy. The film weaves together four stories that move through time, with surreal moments like a herd of camels or a pair of naked hikers, all captured in the glowing Super 16mm cinematography of Feraz Fesharaki (What Do We See When We Look at the Sky?).
