The 46th Mill Valley Film Festival will take place Oct 5 – Oct 15, 2023, with screenings at theaters all around the North and East Bay (and a few in SF).
For a full view of special awards, spotlights, and centerpiece films, check out the complete festival guide. Tickets can be purchased here.
Below is a preview of the festival, featuring brief looks at four films:
1.) THE PROMISED LAND (BASTARDEN)
(Denmark, Sweden, Norway, 2023. 128 min. In Danish with English subtitles)
The Promised Land is an old school epic from Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair), featuring sweeping vistas, classical heroes and villains, and superb performances. Mads Mikkelsen (Another Round) adds another layered performance to his filmography, here as a disregarded former Danish captain aiming to cultivate the barren wilderness of Danish Jutland in the name of the King. A greedy lord, Frederik de Schinkel, played with memorable deplorability by Simon Bennebjerg, will do anything to keep the land for himself and retain control over the region. Brutal, beautiful, and moving, The Promised Land is a cinematic triumph.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Thurs., Oct. 12th, 3:30pm at the CinéArts Sequoia
– Sat., Oct. 14th, 12:00pm at The Lark Theater
2.) FANCY DANCE
(USA, 2023. 90 min)
Having proven her remarkable grasp of character-driven stories as a writer on Reservation Dogs, Erica Tremblay makes her feature directorial debut with Fancy Dance. Set primarily on the Seneca Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma, Fancy Dance follows Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olsen, Three Pines) and her Aunt Jax (Lily Gladstone, The Unknown Country and the upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon) as they try to locate Roki’s missing mother and attend the annual Pow Wow. Tremblay handles maternal bonds with delicate care and emotions, and pits them up against the frequent horrors of missing indigenous women and reluctant municipal aid, which are the unfortunate realities of reservation life.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– [Director’s Night] Fri., Oct. 13th, 7:30pm at CinéArts Sequoia
– Sat., Oct. 14th, 7:00PM at BAMPFA
3.) RADICAL
(USA, 2022. 125 min. In Spanish with English subtitles)
In the vein of Stand & Deliver and Dangerous Minds, Radical tells the true story of a sixth-grade teacher, Sergio (Eugenio Derbez, CODA), who joins a destitute Mexican school in an impoverished town and introduces an innovative, engaging student-focused teaching methodology to inspire and teach his class. Derbez gives an award-worthy performance, and his young co-stars handle the nuanced complexity of their characters’ challenging lives with moving naturalism. Radical is inspiring, funny, and heartbreaking. It challenges the schemes of standard public education while giving us characters to love and cheer for.
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Sun., Oct. 8th, 11:15am at the Smith Rafael Film Center
– Mon., Oct. 9th, 6:20pm at the Roxie Theater
4.) THE CRIME IS MINE (MON CRIME)
(France, 2023. 102 min. In French with English subtitles)
The Crime is Mine (Mon Crime) is a French screwball comedy based on a 1930’s stage play. Two Parisian flatmates, Madeleine (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) and Pauline (Rebecca Harder), an aspiring actress and lawyer, respectively, get caught up in a murder trial that unexpectedly showers them with good luck. Will the good luck disappear as the truth gets revealed? The film is filled with colorful costumes and rapid-fire, witty dialogue. It’s dark but playful, like a French vaudeville version of Chicago, juggling morals and feminist sensibilities, and doesn’t let up for a moment’s breath from start to finish. It’s a riotous good time!
Screenings (click here for tickets):
– Mon., Oct. 9th, 3:30pm at Smith Rafael Film Center
– Sat., Oct. 14th, 7:15pm at CinéArts Sequoia
