Reprise (2006) by Joachim Trier. Image Courtesy of MUBI.
Reprise (2006)
The masterpiece that is Joachim Trier’s Oslo Trilogy is a must watch. Before Oslo, 31st August and The Worst Person in the World, Trier introduced the series with Reprise, a wistful and nostalgic drama-romance.
An intellectual and bittersweet dual portrait of two writer friends Erik and Phillip, Reprise is a truthful – and often painful – portrayal of life’s complexities. The two protagonists are childhood best friends with the shared dream of becoming acclaimed writers. While Erik’s manuscript is refused by the publishers as lacking in talent, Philip is eagerly welcomed and overnight becomes a young star in Norway’s literary scene. Soon, their childhood dreams become entangled with the brutalities of reality.
Dealing with the intricacies of life with a careful rawness, Joachim Trier has created a masterpiece of a film that feels agonising and comforting all at once.
Petite Maman (2021) by Céline Sciamma. Image Courtesy of MUBI.
Petite Maman (2021)
Following the international triumph of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Céline Sciamma returns to film in an exploration of the mysteries of childhood with Petite Maman.
After the death of her beloved grandmother, eight-year-old Nelly meets a strangely familiar girl her own age in the woods. Instantly forming a connection with this mysterious new friend, Nelly embarks on a fantastical journey of discovery which helps her come to terms with her newfound loss.
Delicately playful, with a touch of melancholy, Petite Maman is a tale of love and loss from the perspective of a child.
Time to Love (1965) by Metin Erksan. Image Courtesy of MUBI.
Time to Love (1965)
A black-and-white classic, Time to Love (1965) is MUBI’s first-ever restoration project. Set against the backdrop of the Princes’ Islands to the south of Istanbul, Halil – a working-class painter – is working on one of the Island’s villas where he encounters a photograph of a woman whom he quickly falls in love with.
Directed by Metin Erksan, Time to Love is an achingly beautiful love story that embarks on a journey of longing and loneliness, desire and idealism between two cross-class lovers.
Berlin Chamissoplatz (1980) by Rudolf Thome. Image Courtesy of MUBI.
Berlin Chamissoplatz (1980)
In Rudolf Thome’s Berlin Chamissoplatz, two unlikely lovers come together despite the professional and moral conflicts of interest.
Anna meets Martin in Berlin’s Chamisso Square. He is an architect, commissioned to carry out a restructuring program for this neighbourhood. Anna, on the other hand, is a member of a grassroots initiative trying to preserve the quarter. Unexpectedly, he falls in love with her, putting them both in conflict with their jobs and ideals; a tale of forbidden love.
Vortex (2021) by Gasper Noé. Image Courtesy of MUBI.
Vortex (2021)
Directed by Gasper Noé, Vortex is a split-screen tour de france that follows the lives of an elderly couple in Paris. The unnamed man (Dario Argento) is a writer working on a book about cinema and dreams, while the unnamed woman (Françoise Lebrun) is a retired physiatrist who has dementia. Set in their apartment, filled with a lifetime of books, letters and memories, things begin to spiral.
With two handheld cameras following the two protagonists throughout, the film paints an image of a couple who are together and yet alone, in their own individual battles of loss, love and grief.
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