York film preview: Red Rocket, Great Freedom and Master Cheng

Given its reputation as a breeding ground for preening egotists, it’s perhaps surprising that Hollywood doesn’t churn out more films where the lead character is a card-carrying twazzock.

Of course, for the right actor in the right role, it can be a shortcut to critical acclaim and even awards glory – Jack Nicholson bagged an Oscar for his cantankerous performance in As Good as It Gets, while more recently Adam Sandler reaped plenty of plaudits for his turn as a prize prat in Uncut Gems.

There’s a new addition to that rogue’s gallery this week, as a has-been porn star plots to scheme his way back to the big time in Red Rocket – the fact that it’s set during the run-up to Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory is, I’m sure, entirely coincidental…

New releases

Red Rocket

This new comedy-drama from US indie director Sean Baker sees him once again shine a light on life on the margins, as he did in his previous highly acclaimed films Tangerine and The Florida Project.

The story sees washed-up porn star Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) returning to his home town of Texas City, Texas to a less than warm welcome – not least from his estranged wife and former co-star Lexi (Bree Elrod) – but when he meets a young doughnut shop worker named Strawberry (Suzanna Son), he spies a chance to jump-start his career.

Rex’s performance as the obnoxious, scheming and selfish Mikey has come in for plenty of praise from critics, with Empire hailing Red Rocket as ‘a beguiling and beautiful film about a total toerag…Mikey Saber will charm your socks off, and you’ll hate him for it’.

Great Freedom

Set in post-war Germany, this acclaimed Austrian drama follows the unlikely bond which develops between a gay man and a convicted murderer.

It’s a story that plays out over several decades as Hans (Franz Rogowski, Transit) is repeatedly imprisoned for his homosexuality, and finds himself sharing a cell with long-term inmate Viktor (George Friedrich).

The initial animosity between the two gradually metamorphoses into something deeper and more complex in what Variety calls a ‘gripping, tender-hearted prison drama’.

Master Cheng

A professional chef makes an impression on the residents of a small Finnish fishing village in this gentle drama.

When widower Cheng (Pak Hong Chu) and his young son arrive in the area searching for an old friend, they’re offered accommodation by roadside cafe owner Sirkka (Anna-Maija Tuokko) – in exchange for Cheng helping out in the kitchen.

Expect food porn aplenty as Cheng’s culinary concoctions win over the hearts and minds (and stomachs) of the initially wary locals.

Other screenings

While The Godfather Part II is regarded as one of the finest sequels ever made, the concluding part of the Mafia trilogy was rather less well-received on its release in 1990.

It’s not surprising, then, that Francis Ford Coppola took the opportunity of the film’s thirtieth anniversary in 2020 to issue a recut version, with a new title to boot – and this week fans can catch the new edition on the big screen at Vue.

As with many such latter-day directorial rejigs, reviews suggest that the actual changes from the original are pretty slight, though the new title – The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone – underlines Coppola’s desire to reframe the film as an epilogue to the story of Parts I and II, as he had originally intended.

You can judge his success at Vue on Fri 11th, Sat 12th and Thurs 17th – meanwhile, The Godfather Part II is showing at Everyman (Sun 13th, Weds 16th) and Cineworld (Weds 16th) for those still playing catch-up.

It would take more than a title change to make many viewers sit through the later Die Hard sequels again, but the 1995 threequel is relatively fondly remembered, not least for the pairing of Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson – and there’s a chance to relive their frantic dash round New York at Cineworld this week, as Die Hard With a Vengeance screens on Mon 14th.

Over at City Screen, Sun 13th sees a preview of upcoming British sporting underdog comedy The Phantom of the Open, while on Weds 16th River offers a cinematic tribute to the winding waterways of the world, set to the soothing tones of Willem Dafoe’s narration (unless he’s decided to go full Green Goblin on it, of course – and hey, maybe there’s a gap in the market there).

Title of the week goes to Japanese drama Eternally Younger Than Those Idiots, showing at City Screen on Mon 14th, which sees an aimless twentysomething’s life changed by a new friendship.

Staying in Japan, there’s also another chance to see last year’s hugely acclaimed Drive My Car at Everyman on Mon 14th – at nearly three hours long, you have to be in the right mood for it, but this absorbing and beautifully acted film is well worth your time if you can spare it.

City Screen’s Studio Ghibli season continues with the awe-inspiring fantasy adventure Princess Mononoke on Sat 12th, while charming coming-of-age tale From Up on Poppy Hill screens on Sun 13th – and anime fans can also catch fantasy manga adaptation Jujutsu Kaisen 0 at Cineworld on Weds 16th and Thurs 17th.

And finally, your budget family-friendly options this week: Clifford the Big Red Dog continues to cause chaos at Cineworld (showing in both standard and subtitled versions on Sat 12th and Sun 13th, tickets £2.50), while Vue have another Julia Donaldson double-bill with Superworm and Zog (Sat 12th and Sun 13th, £2.49) and City Screen’s Kids’ Club is showing Encanto on Sat 12th (tickets £3.00) – talking about Bruno is, of course, expressly prohibited.