Top 5 – Most Anticipated Movies of the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival

Another year, another festival.  This will be my ninth time attending the Chicago International Film Festival and, like every year, this is going to a unique, diverse year for movies.  I have a loaded schedule of 19 movies, with the possibility of almost 25.  The films are all over the place in terms of genre, from indie, to war, to musicals, to horror.  My brain will probably be fried after the festival, and I am more than okay with that.  Here are my five most anticipated movies of the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival.

5 – PARADISE (Andrei Konchalovsky)

This was a toss up between Paradise and Moonlight, but I ended up going with the former because I have no idea what to expect, where as Moonlight has played like gang-busters at festivals and will be a big Oscar player.  Paradise was a last second choice, as I realized I had some down time on my third day of the festival.  Paradise centers around three people whose paths cross during a terrible time of war: Olga, a Russian aristocratic emigrant and member of the French Resistance; Jules, a French collaborator; and Helmut, a high-ranking German SS officer.  The non-linear story reminds me of Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece Rashomon (1950), and it is set during World War II, which always intrigues me.  This is going to be a tough movie, but a movie that is going to show a different side of WWII we haven’t seen before.

4 – PATERSON (Jim Jarmusch)

Jim Jarmusch is one of the true modern auteurs.  His films are a direct vision of what he sees and what he writes.  Paterson looks no different.  The film follows the life of a New Jersey bus driver named Paterson (Adam Driver).  The film shows his daily activities and looks to capture the beauty of the ordinary.  Driver is climbing the ranks of young actors in Hollywood, and I’m excited to see him carry a film.  I imagine this to be a meditative, sweet, sweeping film and a new career high to Jarmusch.

3 – ARRIVAL (Denis Villeneuve)

Denis Villeneuve is one of the best and most exciting directors working today.  After his masterpiece, Prisoners (2013), and his cartel thriller, Sicario (2015), he has proven his skill at making thought provoking, intense, smart films.  Arrival will be Villeneuve’s first venture into a pure genre: sci-fi.  The film is about a linguist (the great Amy Adams) who is hired by the government to communicate with recently landed aliens.  Adams looks spectacular and I hope she can earn an Oscar for this film.  With stunning visuals, a fascinating story, and Villeneuve’s keen eye behind the camera, the closing night film at this year’s festival looks to be a new sci-fi classic.

2 – RAW (Julia Docournau)

Raw premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, but gained an insane amount of buzz at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.  At it’s first screening in Toronto, paramedics were called because patrons were passing out because of the realism of the cannibalism that takes place in the film.  This, along with reviews of it being an inventive and impressive debut film and winning the Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, has me really intrigued and excited to see this rambunctious, grisly horror flick.

1 – LA LA LAND (Damien Chazelle)

As soon as I found out that La La Land was the opening night movie at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival, it legitimately made me giddy.  This is my most anticipated movie of the rest of the year and was my #2 most anticipated movie at the beginning of the year.  Sure, the dynamic duo of Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone starring in a 1950’s style musical is reason enough for me to be excited for the film.  But the main reason is director Damien Chazelle.  Chazelle bursted on the cinematic scene in 2014 Whiplash, which is one of the best movies of the decade and slowly moving up the ranks of my all-time favorites.  Whiplash was an impressive debut, but La La Land will show just how great Chazelle really is.  I get to check out this Oscar frontrunner this Thursday and cannot be more excited.

Make sure to follow my coverage of the 52nd Chicago International Film Festival over the next few weeks, as I will be posting reviews and VLOGS through out.

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