Dear friends,
Today’s top pick is mix of intimate home footage and brilliant documentary work, in black and white, about one woman’s fight against the American justice system.
And if that’s too heavy for right now, the TV show is a fun and original comedy from Mexico.
Stay safe and talk soon.
THE TOP MOVIE OF THE WEEK
Time
📺 New on Amazon Prime everywhere today; 🍅 rating: 98%
This intimate and personal film is about Sibil Fox Rich, an entrepreneur and mother of six. Fox is driven by an unparalleled, contagious determination to succeed — so present in the mix of video diaries and present-day footage of her in Time.
For the past 20 years, Rich has channeled that tenacity towards the release of her husband, who is serving a 60-year sentence.
Through the video diaries and family footage, Time feels almost too personal. It’s like stepping into a person’s most intimate moments for 81 minutes, with all their ups and downs.
It could be seen as a commentary on the deeply flawed American justice system, but at its core Time is an uplifting portrayal of resilience, true, long-lasting love (she and her husband were high-school sweethearts), and boundless hope.
THE TOP TV SHOW OF THE WEEK
The House of Flowers
📺 Three seasons are on Netflix everywhere; 🍅 rating: 83%; in Spanish and English
The House of Flowers is … wait for it … a dark telenovela. Genius, right? And it works, too. It’s such a fun and weird reimagination of a genre that is not used to change.
De la Mora are an influential (and dysfunctional) family that runs a prestigious flower shop. The show starts with the husband’s mistress hanging herself.
The House of Flowers is also a breath of fresh air in the telenovela genre in the topics it covers: race, sexuality, homophobia, and transphobia. A daughter brings home her Black American fiancee, to the shock of everyone; and one of the main characters is transgender (also to the shock of everyone); another character is bisexual, etc.
Readers’ top picks
A Kid, a French and Canadian drama about a man going to his absent father’s funeral, is our readers’ top movie pick. On Amazon Prime.
Doctor Foster, the BBC drama, is our readers’ favorite TV show for the second week in a row. On Netflix.
New titles worth your time
The Trials of the Chicago 7 is a great new drama about the famous trial of seven anti-war activists in 1969. With Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Eddie Redmayne.
A Most Beautiful Thing is a new documentary on Amazon Prime about the first Black high school rowing team, made up of former rival gang members. Narrated by rapper Common.
Great titles that will soon expire
The wonderful comedy-drama from 2015 I’ll See You in My Dreams leaves Netflix tomorrow, Saturday, October 17th. It stars double Emmy winner Blythe Danner as a woman who, not having had a relationship since her husband’s passing 20 years prior, starts dating two men.
The Hong-Kong action film Exiled (from 2007) leaves Amazon Prime the next day, Sunday, October 18th. It’s about two ex-gangsters who live in 1998 Macau.
The Newsflash: No more free trials on Netflix U.S.
This week, ahead of their earnings call, Netflix halted their one-month trial plans for U.S. subscribers. The company website now reads “Free trials are not available.”
There is some speculation that this move is to offset low earnings due to the Cuties controversy. The Hollywood Reporter:
"Antenna data stated that Netflix lost 5x more subscribers during the first five days after Cuties was released versus the prior 30 days […] Netflix's churn hit multi-year highs."
This would make sense since the free trial removal only concerns the U.S., the region with the most #cancelNetflix (Trump) subscribers.
Netflix also raised its prices in Canada, suggesting a similar increase will soon happen in the U.S.
To compensate for the lack of free trial, Netflix is making many of its Originals free elsewhere. First, in a “watch free” section, where movies like Bird Box and The Two Popes are available. And second, through other services like Pluto TV, where they’re supposed to soon add the five seasons of Narcos.
Netflix is supposed to post its quarterly numbers this Wednesday, which should offer more clarity as to the impact of Cuties and their future plans.
That’s it for today, I hope there is something in there for you.
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The next edition will be in your inbox on Friday, October 23rd.
Until then,
Bilal
Carried with the support of the Creative Europe Program – MEDIA.