Chris & Jonny’s Filmhouse Watch List 06/11/2020

Chris & Jonny’s Filmhouse Watch List 06/11/2020

Whilst the world is on pause and your Filmhouse Sunderland visits aren’t possible, we’re keeping the independent cinema flag flying with our new weekly watch lists from Chris & Jonny, the people behind the project. 

Each Friday, we’ll post a list of four films that are currently available across BBC iPlayer, All4, Netflix and Amazon Prime that we think you should seek out. 

This week’s selection is…

Suspicion (PG) (1941) (BBC iPlayer)

Alfred Hitchcock’s terrific mystery still thrills almost 80 years on. 

Charming scoundrel Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) woos wealthy Lina McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine) and the pair elope together. Following their marriage, Lina discovers that Johnnie is involved in shady business dealings and when his business partner mysteriously dies she realises that he could benefit from an inheritance from her.  Suddenly she begins to fear for her own safety…

A Fantastic Woman (15) (2018) (All 4)

Propelled along by a subtle, dignified performance; A Fantastic Woman is urgent, mesmerising cinema.  Marina is a transgender singer who has just moved into a new home with her older boyfriend Orlando. But when disaster strikes and Orlando suddenly dies, Marina faces scorn and discrimination – both from Orlando’s family, who reject her, and from the police who suspect she was involved in his death. With comparisons to the films of Pedro Almodóvar, the Oscar-nominated Chilean drama captivated cinema audiences on its release, and the bravura performance from 28-year-old trans actor Daniela Vega is passionate and star-making in its execution. Do not miss.

Life, Animated (PG) (2016) (Netflix)

Roger Ross Williams’ inspirational documentary is an adorable tale about the power of cinema. Locked into his own world at a young age, autistic Owen Suskind loved the animated films of Disney. Enraptured by The Little Mermaid, The Lion King and many more, through his love of the films Owen started to develop reading, writing and communication skills, once more able to connect with his family. Via archive footage and beautifully animated segments we follow the remarkable Owen through his life and to the modern day, where he is still in love with Disney, living by himself in assisted accommodation and a professional speaker who travels worldwide. Fantastic!

Parasite (15) (2019) (Amazon Prime)
Bong Joon-Ho’s world-conquering Oscar-winner was a shot in the arm for foreign language film, making a fortune at the worldwide box office and winning stacks of awards earlier this year. The plot will astonish, the direction and delivery will amaze, and the film will take you into places you did NOT expect to go. When the impoverished Kim family find themselves suddenly connected to the very wealthy Park family an unhealthy relationship develops. Greed and classism are the order of the day as Bong takes us on an assured, playful and meticulously crafted journey into chaos as the differences between the two families become dangerously and disgustingly apparent…

We’d love to hear what you think of the films we recommend – let us know!

See you next week,

Chris & Jonny

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