Some things are just so nice that you have to do them twice, and that’s the reasoning behind the new format for IFFBoston’s Fall Focus program. It used to be that all of the season’s biggest films would be shown over the course of a single weekend at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge — if you had apple-picking plans or Oktoberfest business to do, tough luck — but now you’ll get two weekends of incredible cinema a few weeks or months before the rest of the country does. The first installment runs from October 9 to 12, and the second will start on October 30 and go through November 4.
Our focus this time around is on the former, which is absolutely stacked with new films from the likes of Richard Linklater, Jahar Panahi, Luca Guadagnino, Joachim Trier, Kelly Reichardt, Christian Petzold, and more. We know you’ve got a limited amount of time to spend, otherwise we’d tell you to grab a big-ass blanket and plant your ass like a sapling in one of the Brattle’s balcony seats and never leave (if you’re totally free, you should do so!). So, here are five features to check out at the first weekend of Fall Focus.
As always, tickets for all titles on the program can be purchased on their website. And we’ll see you on October 30 for our preview of the second weekend’s titles.
After the Hunt
You know us: We’re always going to go to bat for a new Luca Guadagnino picture. After straight-up wrecking 2024 for other filmmakers with the one-two punch of Challengers and Queer, the maestro has returned with a feature about a scandal on the Yale campus and the philosophy professor (Julia Roberts) caught between loyalty to one of her students (Ayo Edibiri) and a colleague (Andrew Garfield). Don’t be put off by the provocative marketing MGM has put out: This is a smart, well-considered examination of a cultural moment featuring career-best work from Roberts, who is always best when she gets to play a more morally ambiguous character than in her more mainstream work. Plus, it’s got the best usage of The Smiths on a soundtrack since The Killer, so that’s always worth checking out for the Moz-inclined.
‘AFTER THE HUNT’ :: Thursday, October 9 at 6:30 p.m. :: Advance tickets
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
The reason we didn’t mention anything about the Oscar race when talking about Julia Roberts in After the Hunt is that we’re rooting for Rose Byrne. Her work in this bizarro, high-anxiety drama from director Mary Bronstein absolutely captivated us at Sundance this year, and it’s worth every single superlative it’s been lauded with since then. Byrne plays a Mother on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, as her daughter’s mystery illness, bad plumbing, an absent husband, a shitty motel, cheap wine, a vicious hamster, and her therapist’s disdain all converge into a panicked, feverish week. Co-starring Conan O’Brien and A$AP Rocky, this is one of the year’s most unexpected delights, and absolutely should not be missed (if you don’t have Destroyer tickets, that is.)
‘IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU’ :: Friday, October 10 at 7 p.m. :: Advance tickets
Sentimental Value
Joachim Trier’s follow-up to The Worst Person in the World cements him as the heir apparent to James L. Brooks, harmonizing tones of well-earned laughs and hard-wrung sobs into resonance, much like the latter did in films like Terms of Endearment. Starring Stellan Skarsgard and Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value is a moving tale of a father wanting to reconnect with his daughter following the death of his ex-wife and her mother. It doesn’t help that they’re both artists — he, a famous director, she, a talented actress — and his latest project, intended for her to star in, winds up taking a very different direction when an American actress (Elle Fanning) takes the part after his daughter refuses. It’s brilliantly written, being both funny and devastating in equal measure, and is a delightful showcase for Skarsgard, who gets the chance to show off a side of his talents rarely glimpsed in his Hollywood work.
‘SENTIMENTAL VALUE’ :: Saturday, October 11 at 8:15 p.m. :: Advance tickets
The Mastermind
Kelly Reichardt turns her steely gaze to our fair state in this ’70s-set heist picture, in which a family man (Josh O’Connor) decides to knock over an art museum. Of course, everything goes terribly wrong, and we get to watch one of the best parts of Challengers worm his way out of some equivalent of the Gardener heist. If that isn’t enough to sell you on this one, we’re not quite sure what will — maybe saying that Alaina Haim is also in this will get some of that PTA runoff? Maybe? Either way, we can’t wait to lay eyes on this one, given that it skipped Toronto after premiering to raves at Cannes.
‘THE MASTERMIND’ :: Sunday, October 12 at 6:00 PM :: Advance Tickets
Blue Moon
While Richard Linklater’s bigger-budgeted and more-controversial-to-movie-dorks Netflix release, Nouvelle Vague, will likely suck up all the attention from the press this fall, we’re far more interested in this brilliant period picture with an all-star cast about lyricist Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke). Set on the night that his former composing partner Richard Rodgers’ debuted Oklahoma! to an adoring public, Hart drowns his ennui at the musical’s after party, longing over a Yale student (Margaret Qualley), fighting with Rodgers (Andrew Scott), and influencing more lives than he’ll ever know in the process. Hawke’s performance has drawn raves from all quarters, and we’re genuinely excited to check out what Linklater’s bringing to the table with this one. If nothing else, it’ll sound fucking incredible.
‘BLUE MOON’ :: Sunday, October 12 at 8:30 p.m. :: Advance Tickets