ANIMALIA

Other movies
BLACK RABBIT, WHITE RABBIT
Director: Shahram Mokri
Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri develops multiple plot strands this engrossing, multilayered, playful and skilled drama centering around Sarah, the victim of a suspicious car crash who is swaddled in bandages and at odds with her controlling husband. What turns out to be a film-within-a-film-within-a-film zooms out to include the remake of a classic Iranian movie in Tajikistan, an armourer worried about a prop gun and an actress looking for her big break. Of course their fates collide through multiple fluid, bravura circular takes, often covering the same time frame, bold touches of magical realism — or are they sight gags? — and an eternal mystery. This spinning story is Tajikistan’s Oscar entry for this year.
IRKALLA: GILGAMESH'S DREAM
Director: Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji
Nine-year-old dreamer Chum-Chum and Moody, a tough 13-year-old, navigate the harsh streets of Baghdad. Moody is obsessed with escaping to the Netherlands with Chum-Chum and his sister, Sara. Things changes when they meet Maryam, a fiery woman who has converted an old double-decker bus into a mobile school for street kids. After Maryam shows Chum-Chum an animation about the mythical hero Gilgamesh’s journey to the underworld, a new obsession takes hold. But Chum-Chum’s dream collides with a dark secret: Moody’s alliance with a ruthless militia leader and his plot to bomb protestors. Chum-Chum must now confront a brutal reality. Can one child's mythical quest save his friend, or will Moody’s dark path consume them both?
THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN
Director: Olivier Assayas
Olivier Assayas plunges the viewer into the final years of the Soviet Union and the start of the Russian Federation with confidence and precision in this political thriller which premiered at this year's Venice Film Festival. Paul Dano leads a tightly-calibrated cast as the fictional Vadim Baranov, a theater director-turned-TV executive, spin doctor and Kremlin kingmaker to Vladimir Putin (played by Jude Law, continuing his recent career resurgence) as the Russian premier makes his unstoppable rise to power. Calibrated performances guide the viewer through a period of time which sets the scene for where Russia is today. Alicia Vikander, Tom Sturridge and Jeffrey Wright co-star in this ink-black comedy based on the 2022 novel of the same name. "This film contains scenes that may be considered sensitive for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised"