Films for the Weekend: Recommendations for February 14-16, 2020
Perfect timing for this ‘Films for the Weekend’ article, since it’s out right on the most “romantic” day of the year. Not that I would be very good at being romantic, but there are so many movies you could watch using this day as a pretext, that I couldn’t just let it slip away. So, this time we have a special edition for Valentine’s Day that also includes some great recommendations from our readers, besides the three movies to watch in cinemas and the three movies to watch at home, which we usually recommend. Scroll away, my friends:
TO BE WATCHED IN CINEMAS:
– Little Women (dir. Greta Gerwig; romance) – Signed by director and screenwriter Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Little Women is an adaptation after Louise May Alcott’s classic novel and several other writings, and presents the life journey with its ups and downs of Jo March, an alter ego of the writer. According to Gerwig, the beloved story of the four sisters, who had been determined to live their lives just as they wanted to, speaks for any period of time, including the present moment.
The movie can be watched throughout the weekend at Cinemax, Cineplexx Titan, Grand Cinema & More and Happy Cinema Liberty Mall.
– The Oak (dir. Lucian Pintilie; comedy / drama) – It’s the first Romanian film restoration in a 4K digital format. Bucharest, 1988. Nela, a young teacher, takes care of her dying father, a former colonel of the Securitate. He wants his body to be used for medical research, but the University refuses, since its refrigerators are broken. Nela leaves Bucharest and moves to a little town where she meets Mitică, a local surgeon, who just as her doesn’t take compromises and keeps his dreams and optimism alive.
You can find out what happens next on Friday, Saturday or Sunday at Grand Cinema & More and Movieplex Cinema.
– Matthias & Maxime (dir. Xavier Dolan; drama) – There was no way I would leave out one of my favorite films in the last months and Xavier Dolan’s latest feature. Two young men’s lifelong friendship is tested when they act in a movie whose script calls for them to kiss each other.
The film can be watched on Friday, February 14th, at Union Cinema and Elvire Popesco Cinema.
FEELING LAZY? HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN WATCH AT HOME:
– “I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians” (dir. Radu Jude; drama) – Instead of its synopsis, I leave you with a quote from Radu Jude: “The quote marks are part of the title. These words, spoken in the Council of Ministers of the summer of 1941, started the ethnic cleansing on the Eastern Front. The film attempts to comment on this statement.”
The movie airs on Friday, February 14th, on HBO, from 00:15.
– Of Snails and Men (dir. Tudor Giurgiu; comedy) – 1992, Câmpulung Muscel. In a small town, the state-owned car factory went bankrupt and is about to be privatized within a week. It will be bought by a French company that intends to convert it into a snail cannery. Of the 3000 workers, only 300 will keep their jobs. George Petrescu sees a commercial on TV about a sperm bank that pays $50 for each donation. Out of desperation, he comes with the most original solution for saving the factory and the jobs of his colleagues.
Find out what happens next on Saturday, February 15th, on FilmBox ArtHouse at 9:30 pm.
– Finding Neverland (dir. Marc Forster) – For my last recommendation I chose a movie starring Johnny Depp, which won the Oscar for best original score in 2005 (and 6 other nominations). Finding Neverland combines fantasy and everyday reality, looking upon the difficulties and sorrows of adult life with the same detachment as on the unique charm and childlike innocence of the boy who never grows old.
Finding Neverland can be watched on Friday, February 14th, from 10:00 pm on Filmbox Plus.
BONUS: RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR READERS:
Since romance and love movies aren’t my strength (or maybe I’m just in denial), I asked the Films in Frame readers to recommend some perfect movies for this day. Here are some suggestions we received from you:
– Little Women (bis)
– Matthias & Maxime (bis)
– Man Up – it’s not your usual romcom, while being a lot like one
– Sex Education (TV series)
– Call me by your name – because of the emotion and sensuality
– Mon roi
– Crazy stupid love – if you want something vanilla and cute
– Her
Photographer and editor; she co-founded Dissolved Magazine together with Melissa. For Films in Frame she gathers film and TV series recommendations for lazy weekends and she writes about interesting projects from the film industry. Other than that, she likes traveling, chilling with her cats and sleeping.