New releases and coming soon to MUBI UK (24th December)
David Farnor | On 24, Dec 2016
Not getting your arthouse fix from Netflix? Wish there were more indie films on Amazon Prime Video? Every week, we round up the new releases on MUBI, the subscription VOD service that hand-picks new and old classics from around the world.
This week, MUBI builds up to its big Christmas Day release of The Son of Joseph, out now in cinemas. You can read our interview with the director, Eugene Green, here.
Here’s what’s new and coming soon to MUBI:
This week on MUBI
Son of Joseph – Christmas Day
Summer in Paris. 15-year-old Vincent refuses to join in with his schoolmates torturing rats or selling sperm on the Internet. He lives with his single mother Marie and finally wants to find out who his father is. His investigations lead him to a famous, obnoxious publisher. Read our review.
The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! – Christmas Eve
The late Leslie Nielsen at his finest.
The Big Easy – Boxing Day
Nothing says Christmas like a crime thriller. Enter Jim McBride’s 1986 film, which follows Remy McSwain, New Orleans homicide lieutenant, who finds himself investigating the city’s gangs while dealing with the beautiful attorney in the DA’s anti-corruption task force.
His Girl Friday – 27th December
Howard Hawks’ classic follows Walter Burns, an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.
Other new releases on MUBI
La Grande Bouffe
Four successful middle-aged men – Marcello, a pilot; Michel, a television executive; Ugo, a chef; and, Philippe, a judge – go to Philippe’s villa to eat themselves to death. After the first night, Marcello insists that women should join them.
Big Night
MUBI serves up a two-course Christmas Feast ready for 25th December. As an appetiser, Big Night follows a failing Italian restaurant run by two brothers gambles on one special night to try to save the business.
Barfly
At once miserable and romantic, Barbet Schroeder’s film pairs Faye Dunaway and Mickey Rourke for a semi-autobiography of poet Charles Bukowski. Henry Chinaski spends his life in Los Angeles bars. One day he meets and falls in love with Wanda, also an alcoholic.
A Simple Life
Ann Hui directs this 2011 Hong Kong film that reunites Any Lau with his godmother, Deanie Ip, on-screen for the first time in over two decades.
Hud
Martin Ritt’s Oscar-winning western stars a never-better Paul Newman as Hud Bannon, a young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches.
Three Wishes for Cinderella
Newly restored and available for the first time in the UK, this 1973 fantasy is a Czech retelling of the classic fairytale, starring a rebellious Cinderella, an owl and three magic acorns.
A Man Escaped
Based on the memoir of André Devigny, a French Resistance fighter suffering from malnutrition plots his escape from a stark Nazi prison after being captured.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
David Fincher’s adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is proof that American adaptations of Scandi tales can not only be brilliant, but can even be better than the original. Rooney Mara is fantastic as hacker Lisbeth Salander, who finds herself caught up in journalist Mikael Blomkvist’s (Daniel Craig) investigation into an old disappearance in a wealthy Swedish family. Dark, disturbing secrets are revealed, with Fincher keeping a crisp, chilled and classy atmosphere throughout. Read our full review.
King of Devil’s Island
Stellan Skarsgard is formidable in this bleak drama about the true story of a rebellion in a boys’ home on a Norwegian island in the early 20th century – a string of events that are kick-started by the arrival of new inmate Erling, who is not cowed by the firm discipline of housefather Brathen. Read our full review.
Films About Films: Room 237
Rodney Ascher’s documentary, Room 237, fuses fact and fiction to tell the story of ardent fans, scholars, and conspiracy theorists who are convinced they’ve decoded the secret messages of The Shining. Read our full review.
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Last chance to stream: Titles leaving MUBI soon
Single White Female
Available until end of: 24th December
Office Killer
Available until end of: 25th December
The Station Agent
Available until end of: 26th December
London to Brighton
Available until end of: 27th December
The Bishop’s Wife
Available until end of: 28th December
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
Available until end of: 29th December
Humpday
Available until end of: 30th December
I Am Cuba
Available until end of: 31st December
JLG/JLG – Self-Portrait in December
Available until end of: 1st January
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Available until end of: 2nd January