Must See Movies: February

At Reel Steel we want to make sure you’re getting the most of your cinematic enthusiasm, so each month we put together our short list of some of the best new releases, from popcorn munching explosion fests to the often weird and wonderful.
Take a look at the trailers below and see this month’s recommendations…

 

Parasite
released Friday February 7th, 2020

Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean film director who has garnered international acclaim with films such as Okja, Snowpiercer, The Host and Memories of Murder.
Now, he brings his singular mastery to his latest feature, Parasite, a pitch-black social satire.

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth.
And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else.
Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together, and the Kims sense a golden opportunity.

A symbiotic relationship forms between the two households; as each member of the Kim family individually provides “indispensable” luxury services to the wealthy Parks – as they cook, clean, tutor and chauffeur – while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household.
Soon the whole family has infiltrated the Park family home, but as their deception unravels, events begin to spiral out of control in ways that you simply cannot imagine.

Parasite is a phenomenal, suspense-filled social satire exploring the class-divide while delivering pitch-black humour.
This genre-bending film has become one of the most talked about films of recent years.

 

First Love
released Friday February 14th, 2020

From renowned Japanese director Takashi Miike (Blade of the Immortal, Audition, 13 Assassins), comes First Love – a story of a young boxer who falls in love with a woman caught in the crossfire between yakuza and triad gangs in a fight over stolen drugs.

Set over one night in Tokyo – we follow Leo, a young boxer down on his luck as he meets his ‘first love’ Monica, a young woman forced into prostitution.
However, when Leo learns that Monica has been unwittingly caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, the two take off and are pursued through the night by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin sent by the Chinese triads.

All of their fates intertwine in a spectacular and anarchic style that could only be from director Takashi Miike.

 

Portrait of a Lady on Fire
released Friday February 28th, 2020

Writer-director Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, is a moving story; with a genuine, recognisable sense of human desire, embroiled with obsession, fear and doubt.

Set in Brittany in 1760, Portrait of a Lady on Fire recounts a tale of forbidden love, as painter Marianne is commissioned to create a portrait of reluctant bride-to-be Heloise.
Meeting under the guise of companionship, the slow-burning infatuation between the two displays no immediate attraction or lust, but rather lies in the stolen glances, discovering something new, all while each know of their place in society and what is expected of them.

From the chemistry between the all-female cast to the masterful direction, every element works in harmony – this is about seeing and being seen, the emotional as much as the physical, and this story goes beyond the romance.

A beautiful and moving film, see our feature review from the 2019 Leeds International Film Festival >here<.

 

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