The Streamer’s Guide To March 2020: What To Watch At Home To Prepare For This Month’s Theatrical Releases
By Marshall Shaffer/March 3, 2020 8:00 am EST
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. (Welcome to The Streamer’s Guide, a new monthly feature recommending at-home viewing options from filmmakers with new movies arriving in theaters this month.) March is when the movie year feels like it really kicks off in earnest. The studios start putting their best foot forward, not just taking out their trash. The indie labels put out some of prior year’s festival hits that weren’t quite built for an Oscar run – but are nonetheless incredibly impressive titles. Last year’s films finally start to surrender their screens at the multiplex and head to streaming, leaving audiences with many exciting new options.
This year, we’re getting two Cannes competition entries, a (potentially) bold reimagining of a Disney classic, a movie recently feared canceled, a sequel to one of 2018’s biggest original hits, a standout feature from an American indie legend and a movie about how a deerskin jacket turns a man on to crime. And that’s just what I covered here! Read on to find out not only what to see in March 2020 but also what you should be watching at home now to prepare for some of the month’s highest profile releases.
Sorry We Missed You (March 4, limited)
Struggling to understand the rise of Bernie Sanders and left-wing populism in America? Take a look at the filmmaking of Ken Loach, a socialist filmmaker from the United Kingdom who’s been making films on the tensions between capital and labor for over half a century. His latest, Sorry We Missed You, shows that the 83-year-old director still has vital commentary for our contemporary society. His look at how the gig economy dehumanizes workers and destroys families is an urgent look at how markets continue to stack the deck against the working class. Loach is no polemicist, mind you. The film makes its political case not through grandstanding but through deep, empathic connection with the characters who wither against a system that demands so much from them only to provide the bare minimum to survive in return.
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Sorry We Missed You has a nice companion piece in Loach’s last film, Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake. The target is less the economy as it is the British government itself. The film’s titular character struggles to navigate a bureaucratic maze designed to back citizens into corners where they have few options and little access to government resources in their hour of greatest need. It’s a film as full of equal parts urgency and humanity. Loach never polemicizes about the conditions he observes, instead letting the characters’ struggle drive home the film’s cruel irony: a system designed to help people get better is itself contributing to their continuing misery. (Available to stream on Netflix)
Bacurau (March 6, limited)
Does the triumph of Parasite at the Oscars have you hungry for more genre fare where you can clear the one-inch hurdle of subtitles? Your next obsession is here: Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Bacurau. This neo-Western from the not-too-distant future of Brazil is an absolutely wild tale of how a small village bands together to defend their land from invading imperialist mercenaries. It’s absolutely wild to watch this film unfurl and blossom into what it is, a balls-to-the-wall allegory that had my entire screening room raucously cheering.
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Want a taste of what to expect from Filho’s class commentary in a slightly more mannered drama? Take a look at his debut feature, Neighboring Sounds. Filho proves himself a tremendous observer of how minute interactions can speak volumes as people jockey for space and power in their cramped urban environments. All it takes is the arrival of a private security firm in the town of Recife to uncover many startling fissures in a community. (Available for free to Kanopy and Fandor subscribers)
Mulan (March 27, wide)
No Mushu, no Shang (at least not quite the same), no problem! Mulan looks like the first live-action remake of a Disney animated classic to break away from the prevailing trend of carbon copying a beloved original. Niki Caro’s film looks to operate in a completely different tonal register than the 1998 Mulan, moving the film away from comic sidekicks, cheerful musical numbers and light combat into a full-fledged action epic. The rating jumped from G to PG-13, even! But even with all these changes, the core of the story looks to stay intact – a girl disguising herself as a man to save her ailing father from being enlisted in the Chinese military. This promises to be one of the more interesting Disney films of late, no matter the result, given that it takes some actual risk.
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Disney has picked some interesting directors to helm their tentpoles recently, and they found quite the match of talent to content on Mulan with Niki Caro. She already has great experience making emotionally resonant films about young women who struggle for recognition and acceptance in a patriarchal society with her 2003 film Whale Rider. Beyond landing that shocking Best Actress nomination at the Oscars for its star, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Caro’s film immerses us in the indigenous Maori culture of New Zealand and makes us feel deeply for young protagonist Pai. She believes she lays the most obvious claim to be the leader of their tribe, but her grandfather sticks to tradition that the role belongs to a male – spurning his own spawn in the process. (Available to stream for free to subscribers of Hoopla and to watch with ads on IMDb TV)
The Streamer’s Guide To March 2020: What To Watch At Home To Prepare For This Month’s Theatrical Releases
By Marshall Shaffer/March 3, 2020 8:00 am EST
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. (Welcome to The Streamer’s Guide, a new monthly feature recommending at-home viewing options from filmmakers with new movies arriving in theaters this month.) March is when the movie year feels like it really kicks off in earnest. The studios start putting their best foot forward, not just taking out their trash. The indie labels put out some of prior year’s festival hits that weren’t quite built for an Oscar run – but are nonetheless incredibly impressive titles. Last year’s films finally start to surrender their screens at the multiplex and head to streaming, leaving audiences with many exciting new options.
This year, we’re getting two Cannes competition entries, a (potentially) bold reimagining of a Disney classic, a movie recently feared canceled, a sequel to one of 2018’s biggest original hits, a standout feature from an American indie legend and a movie about how a deerskin jacket turns a man on to crime. And that’s just what I covered here! Read on to find out not only what to see in March 2020 but also what you should be watching at home now to prepare for some of the month’s highest profile releases.
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
March is when the movie year feels like it really kicks off in earnest. The studios start putting their best foot forward, not just taking out their trash. The indie labels put out some of prior year’s festival hits that weren’t quite built for an Oscar run – but are nonetheless incredibly impressive titles. Last year’s films finally start to surrender their screens at the multiplex and head to streaming, leaving audiences with many exciting new options.
This year, we’re getting two Cannes competition entries, a (potentially) bold reimagining of a Disney classic, a movie recently feared canceled, a sequel to one of 2018’s biggest original hits, a standout feature from an American indie legend and a movie about how a deerskin jacket turns a man on to crime. And that’s just what I covered here! Read on to find out not only what to see in March 2020 but also what you should be watching at home now to prepare for some of the month’s highest profile releases.
Sorry We Missed You (March 4, limited)
Struggling to understand the rise of Bernie Sanders and left-wing populism in America? Take a look at the filmmaking of Ken Loach, a socialist filmmaker from the United Kingdom who’s been making films on the tensions between capital and labor for over half a century. His latest, Sorry We Missed You, shows that the 83-year-old director still has vital commentary for our contemporary society. His look at how the gig economy dehumanizes workers and destroys families is an urgent look at how markets continue to stack the deck against the working class. Loach is no polemicist, mind you. The film makes its political case not through grandstanding but through deep, empathic connection with the characters who wither against a system that demands so much from them only to provide the bare minimum to survive in return.
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Sorry We Missed You has a nice companion piece in Loach’s last film, Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake. The target is less the economy as it is the British government itself. The film’s titular character struggles to navigate a bureaucratic maze designed to back citizens into corners where they have few options and little access to government resources in their hour of greatest need. It’s a film as full of equal parts urgency and humanity. Loach never polemicizes about the conditions he observes, instead letting the characters’ struggle drive home the film’s cruel irony: a system designed to help people get better is itself contributing to their continuing misery. (Available to stream on Netflix)
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Sorry We Missed You has a nice companion piece in Loach’s last film, Palme d’Or winner I, Daniel Blake. The target is less the economy as it is the British government itself. The film’s titular character struggles to navigate a bureaucratic maze designed to back citizens into corners where they have few options and little access to government resources in their hour of greatest need. It’s a film as full of equal parts urgency and humanity. Loach never polemicizes about the conditions he observes, instead letting the characters’ struggle drive home the film’s cruel irony: a system designed to help people get better is itself contributing to their continuing misery. (Available to stream on Netflix)
Bacurau (March 6, limited)
Does the triumph of Parasite at the Oscars have you hungry for more genre fare where you can clear the one-inch hurdle of subtitles? Your next obsession is here: Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Bacurau. This neo-Western from the not-too-distant future of Brazil is an absolutely wild tale of how a small village bands together to defend their land from invading imperialist mercenaries. It’s absolutely wild to watch this film unfurl and blossom into what it is, a balls-to-the-wall allegory that had my entire screening room raucously cheering.
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Want a taste of what to expect from Filho’s class commentary in a slightly more mannered drama? Take a look at his debut feature, Neighboring Sounds. Filho proves himself a tremendous observer of how minute interactions can speak volumes as people jockey for space and power in their cramped urban environments. All it takes is the arrival of a private security firm in the town of Recife to uncover many startling fissures in a community. (Available for free to Kanopy and Fandor subscribers)
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Want a taste of what to expect from Filho’s class commentary in a slightly more mannered drama? Take a look at his debut feature, Neighboring Sounds. Filho proves himself a tremendous observer of how minute interactions can speak volumes as people jockey for space and power in their cramped urban environments. All it takes is the arrival of a private security firm in the town of Recife to uncover many startling fissures in a community. (Available for free to Kanopy and Fandor subscribers)
First Cow (March 6, limited)
One of American independent cinema’s most quietly ingenious artists is finally starting to get her due in the cultural conversation. (Numerous retrospectives of her work are touring the country – if you live in a major metropolitan area, it’s worth looking into.) First Cow is only Reichardt’s seventh film in 25 years of working, and it simultaneously feels like a summation of her formidable body of work and huge bummer that we don’t have more films of hers. I saw the film at last year’s New York Film Festival and raved in my review, “In her own intricate, earnest way, Reichardt gives us a version of There Will Be Blood for her chosen swath of the country.” If you want to know what I mean by that, see this movie.
The Hunt (March 13, wide)
Deerskin (March 20, limited)
A Quiet Place Part II (March 20, wide)
Mulan (March 27, wide)
No Mushu, no Shang (at least not quite the same), no problem! Mulan looks like the first live-action remake of a Disney animated classic to break away from the prevailing trend of carbon copying a beloved original. Niki Caro’s film looks to operate in a completely different tonal register than the 1998 Mulan, moving the film away from comic sidekicks, cheerful musical numbers and light combat into a full-fledged action epic. The rating jumped from G to PG-13, even! But even with all these changes, the core of the story looks to stay intact – a girl disguising herself as a man to save her ailing father from being enlisted in the Chinese military. This promises to be one of the more interesting Disney films of late, no matter the result, given that it takes some actual risk.
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Disney has picked some interesting directors to helm their tentpoles recently, and they found quite the match of talent to content on Mulan with Niki Caro. She already has great experience making emotionally resonant films about young women who struggle for recognition and acceptance in a patriarchal society with her 2003 film Whale Rider. Beyond landing that shocking Best Actress nomination at the Oscars for its star, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Caro’s film immerses us in the indigenous Maori culture of New Zealand and makes us feel deeply for young protagonist Pai. She believes she lays the most obvious claim to be the leader of their tribe, but her grandfather sticks to tradition that the role belongs to a male – spurning his own spawn in the process. (Available to stream for free to subscribers of Hoopla and to watch with ads on IMDb TV)
Want to prep for release? Watch this at home: Disney has picked some interesting directors to helm their tentpoles recently, and they found quite the match of talent to content on Mulan with Niki Caro. She already has great experience making emotionally resonant films about young women who struggle for recognition and acceptance in a patriarchal society with her 2003 film Whale Rider. Beyond landing that shocking Best Actress nomination at the Oscars for its star, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Caro’s film immerses us in the indigenous Maori culture of New Zealand and makes us feel deeply for young protagonist Pai. She believes she lays the most obvious claim to be the leader of their tribe, but her grandfather sticks to tradition that the role belongs to a male – spurning his own spawn in the process. (Available to stream for free to subscribers of Hoopla and to watch with ads on IMDb TV)
