David Farnor | On 04, Mar 2023

MUBI marks International Women’s Day this month by kicking off an overview of feminist filmmaking in Germany from the 1960s up to the 1990s, as well as a Reframing: Women Directors season, which features a diverse array of themes, styles, and genres, showcasing the exceptional work of female auteurs. There’s also the latest from Ali Abbasi and Alice Diop, plus an ongoing Lars von Trier retrospective.

In the meantime, it’s your last chance to stream Sweat, Short Term 12, Undine and The Great Beauty.

What’s new, coming soon and leaving soon? Read on for your monthly MUBI Digest.

 

This month on MUBI

Holy Spider – 10th March

Ali Abbasi’s latest feature Holy Spider is set in the holy city of Mashhad and follows journalist Rahimi (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), as she investigates the murders of several sex workers by the ‘Spider Killer’, who believes he is on a divine mission to cleanse the city of sinners. Based on the real-life case from 2002 of serial killer Saeed Hanaei, whose crimes were dubbed the “spider killings” by the Iranian media, Holy Spider is both a terrifying crime procedural drama and a disturbing expose of hypocrisy and misogyny which shows that there can be very different interpretations of what justice actually means.

Glass Lief – 1st March

From her studio, Sara Cwynar uses her computer and various studio setups to make sense of her visual archive – luscious pictures of food, political figures, Instagram models, grand artworks, among many other images, content for our attention. Glass Life (2021) explores themes of consumer culture, capitalism and identity materialised in sharp, colourful form.

Mr Bachmann and His Class – 7th March

Maria Speth’s compelling German documentary chronicles a year in the life of a primary school class in Stadtallendorf, Germany with a focus on teacher Mr Bachmann, and his unconventional yet effective teaching methods. Many of the students come from diverse backgrounds and have faced significant challenges in their lives, such as poverty, discrimination, and familial issues. Bachmann, who is deeply committed to his students, encourages them to work together, to learn from one another, and to support each other.

The Cat Has Nine Lives – 8th March

In the clamour of ’68, Ula Stöckl directed the first feminist film in West Germany, a cult piece that disappeared for years, was then rediscovered and is now restored. With a dreamy air mixed with fragments of life in the swinging sixties, five women search for themselves.

Flatland – 9th March

When Natalie’s disastrous wedding night leads to an accidental killing, she flees her rural town in South Africa’s desolate Karoo region. Reuniting with her rebellious best friend Poppie, who is heavily pregnant, the two young women escape together on horseback across the endless winter landscape.

Slalom – 11th March

15-year-old student Lyz is the rising star of the French skiing scene. She will likely make the national Olympics team, and her passion to win is matched by the dedication of her coach, Fred. Under his influence, Lyz will have to endure more than the physical and emotional pressure of the training.

Mustang – 12th March

Turkish-French director Deniz Gamze Erguven makes a stunning debut with this emotional coming-of-age drama.

Mandara – 13th March

The second film in MUBI’s Akio Jissôji: The Buddhist Trilogy, Mandala explores the complex relationships between two monks in a Japanese temple, touching on themes of desire, ego, and spiritual growth.

One Way or Another – 15th March

Middle-class teacher Yolanda meets factory worker Mario. They fall in love and are forced to confront their values, prejudices and contradictions. Mario’s machismo is confronted by Yolanda’s instinct for emancipation, while Yolanda’s prejudices surface when teaching underprivileged children. The first Cuban feature film directed by a woman, Sara Gómez’s One Way or Another (1977) crafts a complex critique of patriarchal society and class violence in post-revolutionary Cuba.

The Duke of Burgundy – 18th March

Peter Strickland’s melancholic masochism makes for seductively good cinema.

Saint Omer – 22nd March

Alice Diop’s first fiction feature Saint Omer is named after the French town in which it is set. It takes inspiration from Diop’s experience of the 2016 trial of Fabienne Kabou, which saw a young woman charged with the murder of her baby after leaving her on a beach. Rama, Diop’s alter ego, is a novelist who attends the trial of Laurence Coly at the Saint-Omer Criminal Court, and uses her story to write a modern-day adaptation of the ancient myth of Medea, but things don’t go the way they’re expected.

Ava – 23rd March

This vibrant French coming-of-age drama is a spirited ode to seizing the day while the sun sets.

Poem – 27th March

The third film in MUBI’s Akio Jissôji: The Buddhist Trilogy, This Transient Life tells the story of a young man’s journey towards enlightenment through his encounters with various people and experiences.

 

Other titles also coming to MUBI UK in March 2023:

2 March
Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle

3 March
Girl

4 March
Nymphomaniac: Volume I

5 March
Nymphomaniac: Volume II

14 March
The Place Without Limits

16 March
I’m Going to Santiago

19 March
Bellissima

21 March
Wobble Palace

24 March
Melancholia

25 March
Only the Animals

26 March
How to Get Ahead in Advertising

28 March
The Capsule

29 March
That Sinking Feeling

30 March
Lost and Beautiful

 

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Last chance to stream: Titles leaving MUBI soon

5th March
The Consequences of Love

7th March
Sweat

11th March
Short Term 12

11th March
Il divo

14th March
9 Lives of a Wet Pussy

14th March
Harlot

14th March
If You Dare Desire…

14th March
And the Unclaimed

14th March
The Night I Swam

14th March
Red Roses of Passion

14th March
Hansa

14th March
Tathagat

15th March
Undine

17th March
The Braves

17th March
Softie

17th March
A Tale of Love and Desire

17th March
À nos amours

18th March
The Great Beauty

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