My Next Guest Needs No Introduction
David Letterman interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in October on an underground subway platform in Kyiv, a safe place from bombs and missiles. You can hear trains whiz past and a siren goes off at one point as the late-night show host asks the president questions on war, Putin, his everyday routine. The interview is interspersed with shots of the city, a visit to a comedy club and an interview with the CEO of Ukraine Railways. Asked what he would like to do when all this is over, Zelenskyy says, he would like to go to the seaside, and... he would like some beer. (Netflix)—Nipa Charagi
Also read: IFFK 2022 diary: Stories of collapse and renewal
Decision to Leave
An insomniac detective falls for the wife of a man found dead from a fall off a cliff; the woman, Soo-rae, is the prime suspect. Park Chan-wook’s film is mesmeric, the directing channeling his perverse sense of humour and gift for precise framing into a highly romantic story of two lonely souls drawn to each other. (MUBI)
Cirkus
Rohit Shetty closes out the year with this comedy starring Ranveer Singh in multiple roles. Expect a ton of silly jokes and references to other Shetty films. On the bright side, Singh was at his barnstorming best in Shetty’s Simmba. (In theatres)
The Avatar sequel suffers from the same flaws as its predecessor, but it looks like a dream. We wrote in our review: “Instead of scale, (Cameron) opts for richness. There is an extraordinary tactility to the film. Everything feels supple and life-like, from a shimmery polyp to a fish struggling on a hook. The images breathe...” (In theatres)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back in Rian Johnson’s sequel to Knives Out. The private investigator is hired to look into the death of a CEO; like last time, the suspects are a colourful, despicable bunch. The cast includes Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Jessica Henwick, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista. (Netflix)
Also read: Ehsaan Noorani shines the spotlight on music from the north-east
