The COVID-19 pandemic that stopped the film industry cold in 2020 may end up coming with an unexpected silver lining. With so many big films being delayed from their 2020 release dates, 2021 could shape up to be a banner year for cinema. Not only will we get a lot of brand new 2021 releases, we will also be finally getting the majority of the 2020 slate too. This year should be packed to the brim with great cinematic delights almost on a weekly basis. Out of my eight most anticipated films of 2020, sadly only three of them saw a release, and I am still waiting on two films from my 2019 list to finally see the light of day too (Joe Wright's “The Woman in the Window” and Paul Verhoeven's “Benedetta”). As such, all of those films must be considered an extension of this year's anticipated list. With so many films due for release, I cannot highlight them all, but there are some brilliant directors releasing new films in 2021, such as: Jane Campion (“The Power of the Dog”), Terrence Malick (“The Way of the Wind”), Andrew Dominik (“Blonde”), Justin Kurzel (“Nitram”), Lucile Hadzihailovic (“Earwig”), Melanie Laurent (“The Nightingale”), Leos Carax (“Annette”), Claire Denis (“Fire”), Celine Sciamma (“Petite maman”), Paul Schrader (“The Card Counter”), Robert Eggers (“The Northman”), Pablo Larrain (“Spencer”), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (“Wife of a Spy”), Steven Soderbergh (“No Sudden Move”), Adrian Lyne (“Deep Water”) and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”) to name but a few. All of the above I am looking forward to, but the below eight films are my most anticipated for 2021:
BIGBUG
It has been eight years since director Jean-Pierre Jeunet has made a new feature, but 2021 sees him finally return. His previous film, “The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet”, was not one of my favourites from him, but he will always be a special director to me thanks to his 1995 masterpiece “The City of Lost Children (which he co-directed with Marc Caro). It is a film that I adored and it meant so much to me that I named my first daughter Miette, after the nine year old protagonist of the film. “BigBug” appears to be a comedy with sci-fi elements as it is about “A group of bickering suburbanites (who) find themselves stuck together when an android uprising causes their well intentioned household robots to lock them in for their own safety”. It certainly sounds ripe for Jeunet's boundless imagination, and I cannot wait to see it. Thankfully, being a Netflix film, even if the pandemic continues further into 2021 than expected, “BigBug” is still almost guaranteed that it will be released.
A HERO
This is the brand new film from Iranian master director Asghar Farhadi. Ever since I saw and was totally bowled over by “A Separation” back in 2011, I have anticipated whatever comes next from Farhadi, and he rarely disappoints. Plot details for “A Hero” have remained secret although it has been mentioned that the film will be a suspense thriller, which pleases me no end. Many times I have stated that Farhadi's dramas often build like a thriller, so to see him actually tackle the genre head on will be something very special, as his writing and direction seem perfect for it. While the film was shot in Iran, it appears that “A Hero” is actually a French production. Whatever the film turns out to be, I am super excited for it.
NIGHTMARE ALLEY
Against all odds, Guillermo del Toro's previous film consisting of a love story between a human woman and a fish monster, came away with the Best Picture Oscar. Not only that, “The Shape of Water” also succeeded in being my favourite film of 2018. The huge critical success of the film has now shined a light on just how great director del Toro is (for those that didn't yet know), and has also heightened expectations on what he does next. For his follow-up to “The Shape of Water”, del Toro has chosen to film an adaptation of the circus based film noir novel, “Nightmare Alley” (written by William Lindsay Gresham), which was previously filmed by Edmund Goulding back in 1947. Despite ticking a whole lot of boxes in regards to things that I love in movies, I am yet to see the original film, but hear it is pretty great. How that works in my favour though is that I can now enter Guillermo del Toro's version totally cold and with no preconceived notions about it, which is a great way to see a film, so this makes me very happy indeed. Whilst I am not sure about the casting of Bradley Cooper in a key role, “Nightmare Alley” does re-unite Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett (who were excellent together in “Carol”) which gets me excited, and I learned long ago never to doubt del Toro. Another thing about “Nightmare Alley” that I am looking forward to is the period setting, which from the behind the scenes photos looks amazing.
UNTITLED PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON FILM (working title: SOGGY BOTTOM)
I have mentioned this before, but whenever Paul Thomas Anderson makes a new film, it is an event. No matter what the subject matter is, or what the film is about, I will always be looking forward to it, thanks to Anderson's immense skills as a filmmaker. Little is known about this film, but apparently it is set in the San Fernando Valley during the 1970s and the lead role is played by young Cooper Hoffman, who is the son of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Anderson's long time collaborator and great mate. Bradley Cooper shows up in this movie, once again too. It also appears that Anderson may be working as his own cinematographer (like he did for his previous film, “Phantom Thread”) due to the lack of credit for the position on imdb. This is certainly not a problem as anyone who has seen “Phantom Thread” can attest to, but I would still love to see Anderson collaborate with Robert Elswit again some time in the future. Whatever this film turns out to be, it is safe to say that I will be there on opening day to see it.
IMPASSE / UNDER THE LIGHT
Unbelievably, director Zhang Yimou has three brand new films coming out in 2021. The first is his Revolution drama “One Second” which recently fell afoul of the Chinese government who blocked it's 2019 release, and stopped its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival of that same year. Thankfully, “One Second” finally saw release in China this past November, which means the rest of the world should start seeing it soon. Whilst I am eager to see the film, it is Yimou's other two films that I am really looking forward to. Even though both films already have trailers for them, not much is really known about either film. “Impasse” is a spy thriller and looks exactly what you would expect a Zhang Yimou spy thriller to look like. The images in the trailer look absolutely spectacular with Yimou working with his regular cinematographer Xiaoding Zhao on the project. With the story being set during a snow covered winter, we are guaranteed a film filled with visual opulence; “Impasse” looks like a can't-miss home run.
Meanwhile, “Under the Light” is a crime drama and it looks like a new and very different Zhang Yimou. His style with this film appears to be much looser than his norm, and the visuals look fresh and vibrant, but no less impressive. Working with cinematographer Pan Luo on this film, there appears to be a reliance on the use of colourful neon lights to create a very modern and immediate crime epic. While Yimou is no stranger to colour in his films, the use of colour here is something else. He has always impressed with the way he designs his films around colour, and while this looks to be no exception, the execution does feel different. It feels like Yimou is entering the unknown with “Under the Light”, and because of this I am not as sure this will be as successful as I believe “Impasse” will be. However to see Yimou embracing a new challenge at this point in his career, really excites me, and because of this I cannot wait to see both “Under the Light” and “Impasse”.
THE HUMAN VOICE
I do not usually include short films on my most anticipated list, but I make an exception here as “The Human Voice” has been made by a big international director, and one of my own personal favourites: Pedro Almodovar. An adaptation of a one person play written by Jean Cocteau, the film is about a woman (and her dog) watching the passing of time as she comes to realise that her lover has left her, for good. As time progresses the woman slowly begins to crack. Tilda Swinton is the star of the short who, going by the plot synopsis, is playing a woman on the verge of (ahem) a nervous breakdown (I'm sorry). It appears that Almodovar has treated this short as seriously as if it was one of his features as he has enlisted his regular collaborators to help in this new creation. Jose Luis Alcaine is doing the cinematography with Alberto Iglesias providing the score. From the stills and short trailer that have been released, “The Human Voice” looks like pure Almodovar. The images burst full of colour in both the décor and costume design. One thing that is new in this short though is the language, as “The Human Voice” is Pedro Almodovar's English language debut. While it may not be as exciting as getting a new feature film from Almodovar, it is the perfect appetiser whilst we wait for “Parallel Mothers” to be released in 2022.
DECISION TO LEAVE
My most anticipated film of 2021 is the new film from South Korean director Park Chan-wook, “Decision to Leave”. Imdb has a plot synopsis for the film which is “A detective investigating a man's death in the mountains meets the dead man's mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing”. Other websites have described the film as a murder mystery / romance, but I am definitely getting an erotic thriller vibe to the whole thing. This type of story should suit Park Chan-wook's directorial sensibilities to a T and I am expecting a seriously suspenseful and exciting thriller here. Interestingly, for the first time since 2002's “Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance”, Park is not using his regular cinematographer, Chung Chung-hoon, on “Decision to Leave”. Fear not though as Park has chosen Kim Ji-yong as his cinematographer who is an excellent choice as he has worked on numerous films with director Kim Jee-woon including “The Age of Shadows” and “A Bittersweet Life”, which both look stunning. I am also very excited by Park's casting of the fearless Chinese actress Tang Wei in the main female role. Other than that, there is not too much known about about “Decision to Leave, but I am always impressed by Park Chan-wook's films; he is one of the greatest directors working today, and I am sure that this new film will be no different. With the limited details available so far, it just seems like a perfect pairing between material and director, which is why “Decision to Leave” is my most anticipated film of 2021.
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