30 DAYS OF CINEMA

Three lovers spin in a vortex of pent-up desire and resentment in Ira Sachs’ fresh, honest and acerbically funny take on messy, modern relationships. Just like its dynamic leads—Franz Rogowski, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Ben Whishaw—this refreshingly fluid relationship drama simply oozes sex appeal.

Moviegoing dreamers, there is hope for us still in this timeless, tender romance from living legend Aki Kaurismäki. Imbued with the filmmaker’s idiosyncratic playfulness and deadpan humor, this bittersweet comedy charmed even the most dour of critics and, delightfully, won the Jury Prize at Cannes.

Riding the wave of the 1960s Batman craze, René Cardona’s seaside adventure introduces the thrill of Mexico’s lucha libre wrestling to the superhero canon. With outrageous outfits that rival the grooviness of Adam West’s cape crusader, fighting crime is no gloomy business, but pure sun-drenched fun!

Notable as one of the first woman filmmakers in Mexican cinema, Matilde Landeta crafted a strikingly nuanced portrayal of sex work that was truly ahead of its time. In a world financially dominated by men, there are no “good” or “bad girls,” only women whose bodies are commodified by the patriarchy.

With hints of Rebecca and Eyes Without a Face, Chano Urueta’s revenge chiller casts a terrifying spell with its mix of gothic aesthetics and eerie visual effects. Beware of strange footsteps in the night, ghostly apparitions, and sinister operation rooms: no one holds a grudge like a vengeful witch!

Satirizing the paradoxes that exist in Mexican society, Rogelio A. González’s macabre cult classic twists the knife into the hypocrisies of middle-class respectability with outrageous glee. Unafraid to be uproariously villainous, Arturo de Córdova turns taxidermy—and murder—into a carnivalesque act.

The battle between desire and repression erupts into increasingly shocking bursts of carnal passion in Tulio Demicheli’s fiery cross-class romance. Felt in every kiss and every shard of broken glass, the volatile flavors of melodrama are rich in social critique, which lays bare the prison of wealth.

Reimagining the road movie with the next generation of misfits, celebrated directorial duo the Ross Brothers make a coming-of-age film that runs on free-flowing feeling. Alive with friendship and the promise of the moment, Gasoline Rainbow is a beautiful reminder of what matters and what’s real.

Winner of the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay at Cannes, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s intricately structured drama delves into the fragility of boyhood. Bookended by fires and storms, delicate feelings of anger, confusion, and love swell through an exquisite final score from the late maestro Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Fatalistic daydreams uncannily invade the monotony of office life in Rachel Lambert’s darkly comic drama, starring a revelatory Daisy Ridley. Tempering surreal reveries with down-to-earth feelings, this idiosyncratic character portrait finds love—and the will to live—in the most unlikely of places.

Abbas Kiarostami’s first feature made outside his native Iran is this sumptuous, brain-teasing romance, in which a deceptively simple relationship morphs into something more complex—and keeps the audience guessing. Cannes winner Juliette Binoche is enigmatic, vulnerable and perfect in the lead role.

Thirteen years before he won an Oscar® for Drive My Car, Ryūsuke Hamaguchi delivered this shattering Rohmerian drama as his university thesis film. An intricately knitted tale of love, friendship, and recrimination, Passion sees one of the great contemporary writer-directors emerge fully formed.

Ultra-contemporary and entirely unique, Radu Jude’s anarchic film takes aim at late capitalism and internet culture with a mischievous swipe. As a dogged gig worker with an outrageous alter-ego, actor and content creator Ilinca Manolache gives a powerhouse performance in this award-winning satire.

Reliving triumphs and controversies, fashion designer John Galliano takes center stage in this grippingly nuanced portrait from Oscar®-winner Kevin Macdonald. Star-studded interviews and rare archival footage reveal the toxicity behind exquisite glamor and spectacle, both on and off the runway.

Vibrant with the ecstasies of being young and fleetingly free, this Cannes prizewinner from British filmmaker Molly Manning Walker is an honest take on female friendship and first sexual experiences. Buzzing with the excitement of new horizons, Mia McKenna-Bruce shines in a star-making performance.