Best new films – quick links
Best films: new this week
The Assistant – 14 August (MUBI)
Film (2019). The film follows Jane, a recent college graduate and the youngest assistant at a major New York film production company, through a single workday. She arrives before dawn and leaves long after dark. During her day, she files papers, cleans the office, books flights and manages the schedule of a boss who is never seen but whose presence is felt in every room and every conversation.
Australian director Kitty Green crafts a film that works through subtle details and suggestion. Julia Garner’s performance shows the strain of working in an environment built on complicity and pretending not to know.
Plainclothes – 15 August (HBO Max)
Film (2025). A police officer works undercover to lure and arrest men who display lewd behaviour in public restrooms. However, he soon finds himself torn between duty and desire when he develops a secret connection with one of his targets. Written and directed by Carmen Emmi.
Starring Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey and Maria Dizzia.
Don’t Say Good Luck – 14 August (Netflix)
Film (2026). Sophie Birenbaum is ready for the spotlight as the lead in her high school musical – until she’s suddenly facing more drama at home than on the stage.
Starring Sunny Sandler, Melanie Lynskey and Max Greenfield.
Ancestral Visions of the Future – 14 August (MUBI)
Film (2025). Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese returns with his most ambitious work so far. The Lesotho filmmaker, known for the extraordinary This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection, one of the most important African films of the last decade, has created a style that blends spiritual urgency with formal innovation. His films draw on oral tradition, shared memory, and the landscapes of southern Africa.
A Global Exclusive on MUBI.
Best films: recently added
The Last House – 7 August (Netflix)
Film (2026). A family mysteriously sealed inside their home must work together to survive dwindling resources and the ominous force keeping them trapped.
Starring Greta Lee, Wagner Moura, Gabriel Barbosa and Emma Ho.
Beast Race – 7 August (Prime Video)
Film (2026). In a dystopian future, Rio de Janeiro lies in ruins and has become the setting for a deadly race. What was once the ‘jogo do bicho’ (animal game) has now turned into a violent competition among runners, each representing an animal, risking their lives to compete for a cash prize that can change their lives.
However, to compete, each runner must offer another person as collateral. Only the winners recover their loved ones. The game has become a symbol of oppression for many and entertainment for the majority, who bet on their favorite runners, further widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
Beast Race stars Matheus Abreu, Rodrigo Santoro and Isis Valverde.
Army of Shadows – 7 August (MUBI)
Film (1969). Jean-Pierre Melville’s film tells the story of a group of French Resistance fighters during the Occupation. Based on Joseph Kessel’s novel and filmed with Melville’s signature style, the movie is more about what it takes to survive and the price people pay than about war itself. Lino Ventura and Simone Signoret deliver powerful performances.
Song Sung Blue – 8 August (Binge)
Film (2025). Follows the true story of a husband-and-wife Neil Diamond tribute act, starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson.
