The nominations for the 97th Academy Awards are only weeks away! 2024 proved to be an unpredictable year for which films connected with audiences and broke through the stratosphere of pop culture. Gigantic juggernauts like Joker Folie a Deux and Furiosa bombed at the box office, while smaller “independent” genre films like The Substance, Babygirl, and Anora surprisingly captured the attention of the general public, leading to some truly unexpected levels of appreciation from voting bodies across guilds and awards shows. This is only likely to increase, as smaller movies that have been Oscar hopefuls since early 2024 festivals gain wider release, while simultaneously appearing on both official and unofficial shortlists as they move into the final stretch of the awards season for the year.
Whether you’re interested in checking out these smaller, exciting flicks, or just want to ring in the New Year with an old favorite, you’re in luck! Here are six movie events to keep an eye out for in January at Hudson Valley indie theaters.
All We Imagine as Light
Writer/director Payal Kapadia’s 2021 feature debut, A Night of Knowing Nothing, was an indie darling in 2021, the type of movie you could suggest to just about anyone who appreciates good storytelling and phenomenal craftsmanship in cinematography. Her follow-up film, All We Imagine as Light, is one of the most anticipated late season releases of the year, and luckily for us, it’s finally coming to the Hudson Valley this month at more than one location. The film follows a nurse in Mumbai who faces the resurgence of a figure from her past while her roommate simultaneously confronts expectations and curiosities about her present and future. It gained immediate notoriety for being the first Indian film to screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in thirty years, also walking away with the coveted Grand Prix award at the same festival. Rumors abound that the film might be strong enough with audiences and critics alike to garner not just a nomination in the Best International Film category at the Oscars, but also in Screenwriting, Director and Picture. It is a mesmerizing movie that sticks with you long after you left the theater.
All We Imagine as Light starts January 3 at Upstate Films Orpheum Theater and January 24 at The Moviehouse.
Pain and Glory
It’s always fun to catch a movie at a theater that you’ve never experienced on the big screen before, whether it was before your time or a classic you grew up with. And sometimes, repertory theaters give the gift of screening a movie that is only a few years old, one that maybe wasn’t on your radar or that you missed during its initial run upon release. One of the best films of 2019, Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria), is just the type of movie that deserves this honor. A story about the beauty of having an intimate relationship with film, and the sacrifices we inflict on our lives (both physically and emotionally) to keep as close to that passion as we can. Antonio Banderas gives an astounding performance, possibly the very best of his career, and Almodóvar’s knack for being simultaneously pessimistic and compassionate has never been better utilized. This special screening will be followed by a conversation with Film Critic Keith Uhlich of Slant Magazine.
Pain & Glory screens January 9 at Jacob Burns Film Center.
Labyrinth
To celebrate the birth month of one of the greatest artists to ever grace our wretched little planet, The Rosendale Theatre is screening one of David Bowie’s most iconic and beloved works: Labyrinth! A glorious rewatch for all, and an amazing experience for first timers, this gem of originality from 1986 showcases many of the elements that made Bowie such a transfixing presence on stage, screen, and everywhere in between. The classic fable tells the story of Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) a frustrated teenager whose ambitious imagination leads to her accidentally giving her baby brother to a Goblin King (David Bowie) in a land far away, leading her on a dangerous adventur, with new friends and a killer song or two. The film is heralded to this day as one of the greatest achievements in the Jim Henson Company’s legacy, with some truly unique character designs that feel just as real to the audience as they do to Sarah.
Labyrinth screens January 8 and January 10 at The Rosendale Theatre.
The Last Showgirl
One of the more surprising releases over the past few months is Gia Coppola’s stunning film, The Last Showgirl. It’s a movie containing so many talented actors that you’d think it would be impossible to contain all of them, but that’s part of the movie’s magic trick. While the movie prominently features the likes of Kiernan Shipka, Dave Bautista, Billie Lourd, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jason Schwartzman, it’s of course the film’s lead, Pamela Anderson, who truly steals the show as Shelly, a showgirl who must come to terms with her reality and the unknown future as her decades-running show comes to an abrupt end. The film deals with the idea of resilience and the indomitable human spirit. Anderson garnered herself a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Drama for her performance, and as the film begins to release wider this month, some are hopeful she will land a spot at the Academy Awards as well.
The Last Showgirl starts January 10 at Tinker Street Cinema.
Donnie Darko
Richard Kelly’s 2001 cult flick, Donnie Darko, is everything a hidden gem should be. Released to an almost universal bewilderment to audiences and critics alike, the film mixes so many attributes of different genres that it was unmistakably ahead of its time. In the decades following, it has found a fandom that is as loyal as any cinematic universe major studios have put together at the same time. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the titular Donnie Darko, the story revolves around a young teenager who experiences visions of the end of the world while dealing with his small suburban life in 1988. The film has been praised for its originality and deep lore that can take countless views to even start to scratch the surface of its themes and messages. A joint effort of the curated series run by Witching Hour and Revival House brings this early 21st century masterpiece to the big screen for all to enjoy, whether it’s for the first time or the seventieth.
Donnie Darko screens January 22 at Upstate Films Orpheum Theater.
The Brutalist
The film that was hailed as “monumental” by several critical outlets very much lives up to the hype. Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold’s staggering American epic pulls no punches, from its instantly immersive opening, to many jaw dropping moments, all the way to its heartswirling and headspinning conclusion. The film runs at a massive three hours and thirty-five minutes, with a built in fifteen-minute intermission that is just as much a part of the story as it is a breather for your bladder and, more importantly, your mind. These attributes, combined by being filmed on 35mm film in stunning VistaVision (which has not been used in an American film since 1963), all fuse together to form an experience that is wholly unique as the individuals it follows. An immigration story first and foremost, The Brutalist tells the story of László Toth (Adrien Brody) who escapes wartorn Europe to America in 1947, where he struggles to continue his work as an architect and reunite with his wife (Felicity Jones) and niece (Raffey Cassidy) who were left behind. This venture leads him into the circle of a wealthy client, Harrison Lee Van Buren Sr. (Guy Pierce), who has just as much to offer the artist as he has the ability to take it all away. It just might be one of the greatest movies ever made, and I truly cannot wait to watch it again and again (with the intermission).
The Brutalist starts January 24 at Upstate Films Starr Cinema and Story Screen Cinema.
