The best you can watch this weekend
Cousins, a Danish thriller, and my favorite movie from 2020 is now streaming
Dear friends,
My favorite movie of 2020 (I make a list of 10 every year), was the Iranian drama There is No Evil, which has just been made available for rental services. It’s in the “top picks outside of Netflix and Amazon” section.
If you’re in the mood for a thought-provoking drama, I really recommend setting aside some time for this.
Have a great weekend.
OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Cousins
On Netflix 🍅 rating: 100%
This excellent new drama is about three indigenous Māori women and their upbringing in colonial New Zealand.
The story is split into two timelines: the present, where two of them are trying to protect their ancestral land from a government project, while the third, Makareta, is wandering aimlessly through a big city. And the past, the story of how they got separated and how Makareta got taken away by a residential-school-like orphanage.
It's a heartbreaking tale, one of how a people can be ravaged by colonialism and decades of discrimination. But being focused on the personal lives of the three women, it’s also heartwarming and deeply humane.
📰 Devika Girish of The New York Times: “Widespread racism, discriminatory laws and the Maori people’s centuries-long struggle for autonomy bracket the characters’ lives in “Cousins.” The film trembles with sound, color and feeling, deriving much of its power from an excellent ensemble cast”
OUR TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Follow the Money (Bedrag)
New on Amazon Prime. 🍅 rating: - not yet available
This enjoyable Danish crime thriller is about an investigation into a corrupt wind energy company.
Like the German hit Bad Banks, the series is inspired by the financial crisis and makes the point that financial crimes are just that: crimes. Things do escalate quite a bit when a body is found in relation to the case and a couple of petty criminals steal a car full of cash that was supposed to be a bribe.
Not yet reviewed.
TOP PICKS OUTSIDE OF NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME
There is No Evil
On rental services 🍅 rating: 98%
This Iranian drama was filmed in sercret and went on to win the highest award at the Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Bear. It’s a series of stories that at first seem to not be connected, but which tie back to each other. I wish I could tell you what it’s about, but that would be a spoiler. And it might take a little bit of patience to understand the plot, but it’ll all make sense - I promise.
TOP PICKS OUTSIDE OF NETFLIX AND AMAZON PRIME
Gunda
On rental services 🍅 rating: 95%
This stunning new documentary from Viktor Kossakovsky is a meditative look at farm life, focusing on the daily life of a one-legged chicken, two cows, and a sow and her piglets. Director Paul Thomas Anderson called it “pure cinema."
That’s it for this week, I hope there’s something in there for you.
The next edition of this weekly letter will be in your inbox Friday, July 30th.
Until then,
Bilal
Whoa, there goes my weekend ; )
Thank you!