What's on

Five years after the astonishing Wildland (61st TIFF), a unique drama that secured distribution in our country during the pandemic, Jeanette Nordahl returns, one more time, to the Scandinavian tradition of the chamber drama, only to revamp it and take it to new heights. Her beacon is the ultimate star of Danish cinema, Trine Dyrholm, known to the festival audience for the Oscar-nominated The Girl with the Needle, in yet another once-in-a-lifetime role. A dissolving marriage seems to let loose Aeolus’s winds for Ane and Thomas, who are about to get divorced, even though their children are unaware. Thomas is ready to move in with his new partner, when Ane suddenly suffers a stroke. Until she recovers, the soon-to-be-divorced couple decide to live together again under the same roof. As they face this new reality, they discover hope in the most unexpected of ways. Direct, daring, tender and relentless, the filmmaker’s mature gaze traces the inexhaustible.

Set against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Japan, Sang-il Lee’s latest epic begins in Nagasaki, 1964, when 14-year-old Kikuo, son of a slain yakuza boss, is taken in by a celebrated Kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, Kikuo commits himself to the discipline of this centuries-old art. From the rigors of training school to the splendor of the grand stage, the two grow into adulthood together, bound by brotherhood yet divided by rivalry. Across decades marked by scandal, triumph, loyalty, and betrayal, one of them will ascend to become the foremost master of Kabuki. Visually sumptuous and emotionally charged, Kokuho intertwines personal destiny with cultural heritage. Premiering in 2025, it has already become a box-office phenomenon in Japan, and was chosen as Japan’s submission for the 98th Academy Awards, cementing Sang-il Lee’s reputation as one of Japan’s leading storytellers.

A soulful, bittersweet fable that drifts through the foggy landscapes of Veneto soaked in retro warmth, quiet melancholy, wry humor, and nostalgic charm. The Last One for the Road follows two middle-aged men, Carlobianchi and Doriano, bound by the ritual of a final drink. Their days unfold bar to bar, glass to glass, story to story until they pick up Giulio, a shy architecture student, and take him along on their wandering, woozy pilgrimage. Daringly shot on film stock with a “back seat” state of mind, this homage to the golden years of Commedia all’italiana introduces us to a larger-than-life holy trinity. As it lingers on small and fleeting moments, the film offers a tender reflection on life’s ephemeral joys and the comforting repetition of familiar routines amid subtle disenchantment. Enjoy it responsibly, sip by sip, and with an eye for what wrongly seems still half-empty.