This week’s picks include the big screen comeback of John Wick, a French drama starring Léa Seydoux, a story about a lifelong friendship, a New German Cinema film and a documentary about Nan Goldin.

John Wick: Chapter 4 (dir. Chad Stahelski)

Cinema’s favourite assassin, John Wick, continues to do what he does best: fight the mafia. Of course, apart from the already known The High Table, other new villains appear, stronger and more dangerous.

The action takes us from New York to Osaka, Paris and Berlin, in a whirlwind of violence, vivid colours, martial arts and references to Wick’s past. Keanu Reeves is just as captivating, fierce and at the same time empathetic as before, offering the audience exactly what they expected: almost 3 hours of adrenaline combined with a story that leaves enough room for (yet) another sequel.

The cast includes Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne and Ian McShane.

The film premieres on March 31. Tickets are now on sale.

One Fine Morning / Un beau matin (dir. Mia Hansen-Løve)

Sandra Kienzler (Léa Seydoux) divides her life between caring for a sick father and raising a child alone, between nursing homes and precious moments with her daughter. In all this frenzy when her life seems to be overwhelmed by other people’s problems, she reconnects with an old friend, Clément (Melvil Poupaud), who turns her world upside down.

Thus begins a passionate love story, but with an uncertain destiny; Clément is married and has a child. The director draws inspiration from her personal life and her own experience with her father’s illness to create an honest, painful yet tender film.

Un beau matin hits theatres on March 31.

The Eight Mountains / Le otto montagne (dir. Felix van Groeningen, Charlotte Vandermeersch)

Pietro and Bruno, childhood friends, reconnect and part ways throughout their lives, in a constant come-and-go that sees them grow, evolve and lose touch, only to end up again on the road that leads one to the other.

Bruno prefers life in the solitude of the mountain, while Pietro is attracted to the city buzz. Le otto montagne is a film that delicately and subtly explores the complexity of a friendship between two men. And if we look at the earlier efforts of directors Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch (The Broken Circle Breakdown, Beautiful Boy), it’s not wrong to assume that tissues might be needed for this one as well.

The film is playing in cinemas across the country.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (dir. Laura Poitras)

The documentary that opens the 16th edition of One World Romania examines the life and career of photographer and activist Nan Goldin.

The film coagulates around the protests led by the artist in recent years against the Sackler family and their pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma, which is partly responsible for the opioid epidemic in the US and the high number of deaths it has caused.

Goldin’s activist group P.A.I.N. targets museums and other arts institutions that collaborate with the Sackler family by accepting donations and promoting them. As a result of the protests, most of the museums severed all ties with Purdue Pharma.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed can be seen on Friday, March 31, at the Elvire Popesco Cinema.

The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum / Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum (dir. Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, 1975)

A young woman ends up being investigated by the police and harassed by the tabloids after a night spent with an alleged terrorist. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Heinrich Böll (1972 Nobel laureate in literature).

Margarethe von Trotta is one of the most important figures of the New German Cinema and the first woman to win the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum questions the brutal way women are treated and how unjust accusations can destroy an innocent person’s life.

The screening will take place on Thursday, March 29, at the Eforie Cinematheque, and will be followed by a talk moderated by Film Menu writer Ramona Aristide and film critic Irina Trocan.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.