Long Time Running, the new documentary by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier that charts the 2016 goodbye tour of The Tragically Hip, is “deeply sad and positively triumphant” and “everything we need it to be,” says Norm Wilner. It’s exclusively at Cineplex Park Lane.

David Gordon Green has had a strange, zig-zagging directorial career but his latest, Stronger, a Boston Marathon bombing aftermath story, with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany, seems like it might be worth a look.

Sunday the Cineplex Studio Ghibli retrospective continues with the English dub of director Hayao Miyazaki’s classic debut, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, playing at Park Lane and Dartmouth Crossing.

• In theatres, notable:
  • Stronger, David Gordon Green, USA, 2017, 119 minutes [76] — Halifax showtimes
  • Long Time Running, Jennifer Baichwal & Nicholas de Pencier, Canada, 2017, 97 minutes — Halifax showtimes
• Halifax screenings this week:
  • Sunday (Sep 24) — Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Cineplex Park Lane & Dartmouth Crossing, 12:55pm, $12.95. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1984, 124 minutes.

The Atlantic International Film Festival runs September 14-21. Here are the ten films that I am most interested in (*asterisks indicate that I’ve already seen and I’m recommending personally):

• Friday (Sep 15) — The Other Side of Hope, 8:30pm [info/tickets] The latest from Aki Kaurismäki has been voted film of the year by the International Federation of Film Critics. “More than ever, it feels like we’re watching Kaurismäki’s version of a ’90s Jim Jarmusch movie, with stray touches of Lynch and Todd Solondz.” Yeah I’m down with that.
• Saturday (Sep 16) — Ava, 5:45pm [info/tickets] This drama from Iranian-Canadian filmmaker Sadaf Foroughi played the Discovery section of this year’s TIFF to strong notices… this is a director on the way up.
• Sunday (Sep 17) — Faces Places*, 7:00pm [info/tickets] The latest from the irreplaceable Agnès Varda is widely acclaimed and was considered one of the highlights of Cannes—and for me, it was one of the major highlights of TIFF.
  — A Fantastic Woman, 9:00pm [info/tickets] This drama from Chilean director Sebastián Lelio features a much-appreciated performance from Daniela Vega, who is now considered to have a good chance to be the first trans person nominated for an acting Oscar.
• Monday (Sep 18) — Black Cop*, 6:30pm [info/tickets] Nova Scotia’s own Cory Bowles has expanded a short film into a feature that has debuted at TIFF to strong reviews—it is a vital and riveting feature-directorial debut.
• Tuesday (Sep 19) — The Party, 6:00pm [info/tickets] “A short, sharp, funny shock of a movie” with Kristin Scott Thomas.
• Wednesday (Sep 20) — BPM (Beats Per Minute), 6:30pm [info/tickets] This “sprawling, thrilling” AIDS activist drama took the Grand Prix, effectively second prize, at Cannes earlier this year.
  — Happy End*, 9:30pm [info/tickets] Some will find Michael Haneke’s shocks no longer so shocking; others, as usual, will find that they go too far. Others, perhaps, like me will appreciate the way the film knits together some of his previous themes (and indeed characters) and admire yet another fine performance from Isabelle Huppert.
• Thursday (Sep 21) Call Me By Your Name*, 7:00pm [info/tickets] The combination of Luca Guadagnino’s direction with a James Ivory script makes magic in this coming-of-age 1980s-Italy-set gay romance. Great choice for the closing gala.
  — The Florida Project, 9:50pm [info/tickets] An exciting late add to the festival, this drama featuring Willem Dafoe is the follow-up project from Sean Baker, who turned heads in a major way with Tangerine.

I’m in Toronto right now, enjoying the 2017 edition of TIFF, so I’m posting a brief update covering the next three days. Before the Atlantic International Film Festival kicks off in Halifax on Thursday, I’ll post another update with some festival picks.

Word has definitely got around about the final screenings at the Oxford Theatre—at time of writing, with three days of film programming left, all remaining screenings are sold out, except for a Tuesday screening of the very best film of the lot, City Lights. The Oxford will be such a tremendous loss that it’s hard to contemplate.

Also on Tuesday at the Central Library, Zack Miller introduces the remarkable 2002 film City of God.

I’ll be back soon with my festival picks.

• In theatres, notable:
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg, USA, 1977, 135 minutes — Halifax showtimes
  • Logan Lucky, Steven Soderbergh, USA, 2017, 119 minutes [78] — Halifax showtimes

The impending closing of the Oxford Theatre is a terrible loss to film lovers, a knife to the heart, as Carsten Knox puts it. While Wolfville, Liverpool, and Annapolis Royal, to name a few Nova Scotia towns, still have well-used historic theatres as cinematic venues, Halifax can’t seem to manage it, and if it can, it hasn’t been given a chance.

The theatre will be seen out with a number of classic film screenings starting this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Today, local Cineplex theatres are turning Labour Day Monday into Miyazaki Monday, with screenings of My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Castle in the Sky—check the Monday listings for Cineplex Park Lane, Dartmouth Crossing, and Lower Sackville.

On Tuesday at the Central Library, the Featured Director series of free screenings of Stanley Donen classics continues with Zack Miller introducing On the Town, the film that opened the door to location-based musicals.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is back in a sparkling restored 40th anniversary edition, while the film can be restored, its cultural moment is very much history. And speaking of culture and history, Yiddish cinema is back, and now is your opportunity to catch “a rare example of Yiddish neorealism” on local screens in Menashe.

• In theatres, seen and recommended:
  • Good Time, Ben & Josh Safdie, USA, 2017, 99 minutes — Halifax showtimes
• In theatres, notable:
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Steven Spielberg, USA, 1977, 135 minutes — Halifax showtimes
  • Menashe, Joshua Z. Weinstein, USA, 2017, 81 minutes [81] — Halifax showtimes
  • The Trip to Spain, Michael Winterbottom, UK, 2017, 108 minutes [66] — Halifax showtimes
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D, James Cameron, USA, 1991, 137 minutes — Halifax showtimes
  • Logan Lucky, Steven Soderbergh, USA, 2017, 119 minutes [78] — Halifax showtimes
  • Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan, UK/USA/France/Netherlands, 2017, 106 minutes [94] — Halifax showtimes: IMAX Digital
  • Baby Driver, Edgar Wright, UK/USA, 2017, 113 minutes [86] — Halifax showtimes
• Halifax screenings this week:
  • Tuesday (Sep 5) — On The Town, Central Library, 6:30pm, free, introduced by Zack Miller. Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen, USA, 1949, 98 minutes.

Good Time marks the emergence of the filmmaking Safdie brothers into the mainstream, sort of, and the certification of Robert Pattinson as a ridiculously talented actor (if Cosmopolis and Maps to the Stars, among others, didn’t convince already). It’s the quintessential almost-can’t-watch-but-can’t-look-away film, but my recommendation this week is that you watch, while it’s still here. I can also highly recommend as a post-screening listen this episode of the Film Comment podcast featuring Pattinson, the Safdies, co-writer Ronald Bronstein, and FC editor Nicolas Rapold at a sneak preview in NYC.

The Trip to Spain is garnering positive reviews, though not at the level of its essential, brilliant predecessors, The Trip and The Trip to Italy, but this review by David Ehrlich has me hoping for another fine instalment. But honestly it doesn’t matter—if Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon decide their next collaboration entails reading their grocery lists, I am here for it.

I’m also here for the 3D conversion of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, even though I am historically not a fan of digital post-conversion. As the 3D trend continues to recede, director James Cameron’s 2010 words about quickie conversions now seem prescient: “They will probably work against the adoption of 3D because they’ll be putting out an inferior product.” But this post-convert was no quickie, employing a team of more than 1,400 artists and technicians working for a year.

On Tuesday at the Central Library, the Featured Director series of free screenings of Stanley Donen classics continues with Zack Miller introducing Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, known for its remarkable dance numbers.

This Wednesday the Cineplex Studio Ghibli retrospective continues with the Japanese version (subtitled in English) of Castle in the Sky playing at Dartmouth Crossing and Park Lane.

• In theatres, seen and recommended:
  • Good Time, Ben & Josh Safdie, USA, 2017, 99 minutes — Halifax showtimes
• In theatres, notable:
  • The Trip to Spain, Michael Winterbottom, UK, 2017, 108 minutes [66] — Halifax showtimes
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D, James Cameron, USA, 1991, 137 minutes — Halifax showtimes
  • Logan Lucky, Steven Soderbergh, USA, 2017, 119 minutes [78] — Halifax showtimes
  • In This Corner of the World, Sunao Katabuchi, Japan, 2016, 128 minutes [73] — Halifax showtimes
  • Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan, UK/USA/France/Netherlands, 2017, 106 minutes [94] — Halifax showtimes: IMAX Digital
  • Baby Driver, Edgar Wright, UK/USA, 2017, 113 minutes [86] — Halifax showtimes
• Halifax screenings this week:
  • Tuesday (Aug 29) — Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Central Library, 6:30pm, free, introduced by Zack Miller. Stanley Donen, USA, 1954, 102 minutes.
  • Wednesday (Aug 30) — Castle in the Sky, Japanese w English subtitles, Cineplex Park Lane & Dartmouth Crossing, 75pm, $12.95. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1986, 126 minutes.
• South Shore screenings this week:
  • Friday (Sep 1) — The Beguiled, Astor Theatre (59 Gorham Street, Liverpool), 7pm, $8. Sofia Coppola, USA, 2017, 94 minutes.
  • Saturday (Sep 2) — The Beguiled, Astor Theatre (59 Gorham Street, Liverpool), 7pm, $8. Sofia Coppola, USA, 2017, 94 minutes.
  • Sunday (Sep 3) — The Beguiled, Astor Theatre (59 Gorham Street, Liverpool), 7pm, $8. Sofia Coppola, USA, 2017, 94 minutes.

It’s a good week in Halifax for fans of Japanese animation. At Park Lane you can see In This Corner of the World, a coming of age tale set in pre-war Japan, and based on a manga that ran from 2007 to 2009. Nerdist.com says that, according to the press notes, director Sunao “Katabuchi and his team spent years researching how Kure and Hiroshima looked at the time, making sure every building, house on the hill, Japanese naval vessel in the harbor, and even road was historically accurate.” And on Sunday there is another instalment of this year’s Studio Ghibli retrospective, with the English dub of Castle in the Sky playing at Dartmouth Crossing and Park Lane.

On Tuesday at the Central Library, the Featured Director series of free screenings of Stanley Donen classics continues with Tara Thorne introducing Funny Face, featuring a one-off team-up of Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.

David Lowery’s “film of mesmerizing visual ideas and conceptual integrity,” A Ghost Story, continues at Park Lane and also screens Wednesday afternoon and evening in Liverpool at the historic Astor Theatre. Meanwhile the latest demonstration of Steven Soderbergh’s fondness for the caper-film genre, Logan Lucky, is playing just about everywhere.

• In theatres, seen and recommended:
  • The Big Sick, Michael Showalter, USA, 2017, 124 minutes — Halifax showtimes
• In theatres, notable:
  • Logan Lucky, Steven Soderbergh, USA, 2017, 119 minutes [78] — Halifax showtimes
  • In This Corner of the World, Sunao Katabuchi, Japan, 2016, 128 minutes [73] — Halifax showtimes
  • Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan, UK/USA/France/Netherlands, 2017, 106 minutes [94] — Halifax showtimes: IMAX Digital
  • Baby Driver, Edgar Wright, UK/USA, 2017, 113 minutes [86] — Halifax showtimes
• Halifax screenings this week:
  • Tuesday (Aug 22) — Funny Face, Central Library, 6:30pm, free, introduced by Tara Thorne. Stanley Donen, USA, 1957, 103 minutes.
  • Sunday (Aug 27) — Castle in the Sky, Cineplex Park Lane & Dartmouth Crossing, 12:55pm, $12.95. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1986, 126 minutes.
• South Shore screenings this week:
  • Wednesday (Aug 23) — A Ghost Story, Astor Theatre (59 Gorham Street, Liverpool), 1:30pm & 7pm, $8. David Lowery, USA, 2017, 92 minutes.

Some of the hottest directors in world cinema will be screening new work at festivals next month. Here are some defining films by key directors of the season that you can watch right now on Netflix.

• A Bigger Splash – Luca Guadagnino, Italy/France, 2015, 124 minutes
  • Wikipedia page
  • critic reviews via Metacritic
  • Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name at TIFF, FIN-AIFF
• Wadjda – Haifaa al-Mansour, Saudi Arabia/ Germany/ UAE/ Jordan/ Netherlands/ USA, 2012, 98 minutes
  • Wikipedia page
  • critic reviews via Metacritic
  • Al-Mansour’s Mary Shelley at TIFF, FIN-AIFF
• Tangerine – Sean Baker, USA, 2015, 88 minutes
  • Wikipedia page
  • critic reviews via Metacritic
  • Baker’s The Florida Project at TIFF
• Force Majeure – Ruben Östlund, France/Norway/Sweden, 2014, 119 minutes
  • Wikipedia page
  • critic reviews via Metacritic
  • Östlund’s The Square at TIFF
• Our Little Sister – Hirokazu Kore-eda, Japan, 2015, 126 minutes
  • Wikipedia page
  • critic reviews via Metacritic
  • Kore-eda’s The Third Murder at TIFF

Whatever you think of the Atlantic Film Festival renaming itself after the part of the shark that you have to clear when you jump it, you have to like Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name as the pick for 2017’s closing gala—the Italian/American/Brazilian/French co-pro in English, Italian, and French is very much on message with the addition of “International” to the festival name. In North America, Guadagnino perhaps first came to public attention with 2009’s I Am Love, and then convinced Tilda Swinton to return for the wonderful A Bigger Splash by promising her she wouldn’t have to speak.

The newly rebranded festival in Halifax has also booked Mary Shelley, the new film from Haifaa al-Mansour, director of Wadjda, the first feature film in history to be shot entirely in Saudi Arabia. As fascinating as the production story may be, the film itself is a triumph of narrative skill, brilliantly balancing realism and idealism with a young protagonist you won’t soon forget.

Fans of Sean Baker’s extraordinary Tangerine were elated to hear this week’s announcement that his follow-up The Florida Project will be screening at TIFF in Toronto next month. Famous in part for being shot on three iPhones, Tangerine is in fact a beautifully shot and directed film: “An overt, outrageous comedy, it follows two transgender prostitutes on a day when one of them has a singing gig and the other is on a mission of vengeance to find her boyfriend and crush him for his various infidelities.”

Ruben Östlund’s The Square was a surprise winner at Cannes earlier this year, and now it will be making its North American debut at TIFF. His gloriously biting Force Majeure is a little slice of cinematic near-perfection—let’s hope the ill-conceived American remake never actually gets made.

Finally, Hirokazu Kore-eda has a curveball lined up for TIFF audiences this year in the form of crime drama The Third Murder, but 2015’s Our Little Sister is right in Kore-eda’s sweet spot—a carefully drawn Japanese domestic drama, the sort of quietly gripping, insightful film for which you rarely if ever see a North American equivalent.

• watch A Bigger Splash on Netflix
• watch Wadjda on Netflix
• watch Tangerine on Netflix
• watch Force Majeure on Netflix
• watch Our Little Sister on Netflix

Pretty much everything is on summer hiatus at the moment, but there is another screening of Hitchcock’s North by Northwest on Wednesday.

• In theatres, seen and recommended:
  • The Big Sick, Michael Showalter, USA, 2017, 124 minutes — Halifax showtimes
• In theatres, notable:
  • A Ghost Story, David Lowery, USA, 2017, 92 minutes [83] — Halifax showtimes
  • Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan, UK/USA/France/Netherlands, 2017, 106 minutes [94] — Halifax showtimes: IMAX Digital
  • Baby Driver, Edgar Wright, UK/USA, 2017, 113 minutes [86] — Halifax showtimes
• Halifax screenings this week:
  • Wednesday (Aug 16) — North by Northwest, Cineplex Park Lane & Dartmouth Crossing, 7pm, $6.99. Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1959, 136 minutes.

North by Northwest is one of those rare films that I can’t see too many times—among Hitchcock’s films, there are others that I admire more as works of art, but none that are more purely enjoyable. Cineplex has Classic Films screenings this Sunday at Park Lane and Dartmouth Crossing.

The Featured Director series of free Central Library screenings continues with another Stanley Donen classic, the Bob-Fosse-choreographed musical The Pajama Game, introduced by Nick Malbeuf.

Carbon Arc is still off season but is co-presenter/host this Saturday for the Iranian film I’m Not Angry!, “a strong, jittery social drama that captures the frustrations of Iran’s younger generation.”

A local film festival has its last outdoor screenings of the summer this Friday (Meatballs & Strange Brew at the Public Gardens) and Saturday (The Lego Batman Movie at the Dartmouth Crossing Pondside Amphitheatre).

• In theatres, seen and recommended:
  • The Big Sick, Michael Showalter, USA, 2017, 124 minutes — Halifax showtimes
• In theatres, notable:
  • A Ghost Story, David Lowery, USA, 2017, 92 minutes [84] — Halifax showtimes
  • Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan, UK/USA/France/Netherlands, 2017, 106 minutes [94] — Halifax showtimes: IMAX Digital
  • Baby Driver, Edgar Wright, UK/USA, 2017, 113 minutes [86] — Halifax showtimes
  • The Beguiled, Sofia Coppola, USA, 2017, 94 minutes [77] — Halifax showtimes
  • Maudie, Aisling Walsh, Ireland/Canada, 2016, 115 minutes [65] — Halifax showtimes
• Halifax screenings this week:
  • Tuesday (Aug 8) — The Pajama Game, Central Library, 6:30pm, free, introduced by Nick Malbeuf. George Abbott & Stanley Donen, USA, 1957, 101 minutes.
  • Wednesday (Aug 9) — Kiki’s Delivery Service (Japanese w English subtitles), Cineplex Park Lane, 7:10pm, $12.95. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1989, 102 minutes.
  • Friday (Aug 11) — Meatballs, Halifax Public Gardens, 8:30pm, free, please bring food donations for Feed NS. Ivan Reitman, Canada, 1979, 99 minutes.
    — Strange Brew, Halifax Public Gardens, 10pm-ish, free, please bring food donations for Feed NS. Rick Moranis & Dave Thomas, Canada, 1983, 90 minutes.
  • Saturday (Aug 12) — I’m Not Angry!, Carbon Arc Cinema @ the Museum of Natural History, 6pm, advance tickets $13. Reza Dormishian, Iran, 2014, 110 minutes.
    — The Lego Batman Movie, Pondside Amphitheatre at Dartmouth Crossing, 8:30pm, free, please bring food donations for Feed NS. Chris McKay, USA/Denmark/Australia, 2017, 104 minutes.
  • Sunday (Aug 13) — North by Northwest, Cineplex Park Lane & Dartmouth Crossing, 12:55pm, $6.99. Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 1959, 136 minutes.