As you plan your weekend activities, consider this curated list of movies, featuring a mix of Rwandan, American, and French films. Here’s the selection:
ALSO READ: Seven must-watch films in your weekend movie guide
Love in a Minor
This is a short film directed by Ada Cotton, a French-Rwandan filmmaker based in London. It follows the story of a young jazz pianist and a double bass player whose serene relationship is upended when a flautist friend moves into their cozy Parisian apartment. The film has garnered attention, earning a spot as a semi-finalist at the BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) Kino Fest 2024.
Anatomy of a Fall
This is a 2023 French thriller directed by Justine Triet. The film centres on a novelist Sandra Voyter who lives in a remote mountain chalet, she deals with personal and legal turmoil after her husband, Samuel Maleski, is found dead. Sandra is accused of homicide, leading to a tense trial where conflicting accounts and personal issues are examined. It delves into the complexities of the case, showing the emotional and legal challenges faced by those involved.
The film is rated 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and has five nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and others.
It Ends with Us
Starring Blake Lively as Lily Bloom and Justin Baldoni as Ryle Kincaid, the film is a romantic drama based on the novel ‘It Ends with Us’ by Colleen Hoover. It was recently released on August 9. It follows Bloom who returns to her hometown for her father’s funeral and then moves to Boston to open a flower shop.
There, she meets and starts a relationship with Ryle Kincaid, a neurosurgeon. As their relationship develops, Lily discovers troubling aspects of Ryle’s behaviour and past. Despite initial hope, Ryle’s actions lead Lily to seek help and ultimately decide to end their marriage. She aims to break the cycle of abuse in her family, focusing on a hopeful future for her daughter.
Cacophony
This Rwandan short fiction drama, directed by Carine Umutoni, follows Tina as her day spirals from bad to worse. It begins with Tina receiving a reminder about a high school reunion she is dreading attending. Her day takes a turn for the worse when she is visited by an unwelcome friend whom she struggles to shake off.
Fences
Rated 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, this 2016 film, directed and co-produced by Denzel Washington, stars both Viola Davis and Washington himself. Their performances earned them awards for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role and Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, respectively.
The film is about Troy, an African American man who couldn’t become a baseball player because of racism. As time goes on, he takes out his anger on his family and ends up ruining his son’s future.
Meet the Blacks
This 2016 comedy features well-known American comedians Mike Epps, Lil Duval, and Charlie Murphy. The film follows Carl Black as Epps and his family as they leave Chicago after stealing a large sum of money from a notorious drug kingpin, Key Flo as Murphy. Thinking he will be in prison for the next five to six years, Carl decides to leave his criminal life behind for a fresh start.
He moves with his family and cousin Cronut as Lil Duval to Beverly Hills. However, they soon discover they have arrived just in time for the annual purge, twelve hours when all crime is legal.
A Few Good Men
Finishing off with the classic starring Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise, and Demi Moore. This is a 1992 courtroom film that follows Lt. Daniel Kaffee (Cruise) who is a military lawyer defending two U.S. Marines charged with killing a fellow Marine at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.
Although Kaffee is known for seeking plea bargains, a fellow lawyer, Lt. JoAnne Galloway (Moore), convinces him that the accused marines were most likely carrying out an order from a commanding officer. Kaffee takes a risk by calling Col. Nathan R. Jessep (Nicholson) to the stand in an effort to uncover the conspiracy.