Carl Roberts 
With the premieres of the acclaimed Crossing and La Chimera and plenty of great movies available, it is a magical month on MUBI this August.
It is a magical month in store this August on MUBI. With the premieres of Crossing and La Chimera. And with Seasons which include Rediscovered, Hit The Road. Besties Only, Ira Sachs: The Early Works. And Apocalypse Now, there’s plenty on offer to tempt you on the streaming service. Let’s dive in and see the highlights.
CROSSING
Following its theatrical release in July, Levan Akin’s (And Then We Danced, Sweden’s 2019 Academy Award® entry) latest feature film Crossing (2024) will be available to stream exclusively on MUBI from 30 August.
Crossing (2024) is a moving and tender tale of identity, acceptance and unlikely connection that transcends borders and generations. Lia (Mzia Arabuli), a retired school teacher living in Georgia, hears from a young neighbour Achi (Lucas Kankava) that her long-lost niece Tekla, a transgender woman, has crossed the border into Turkey. Hoping to bring Tekla home after a period of estrangement, Lia travels to Istanbul with the unpredictable Achi to find her. Exploring the hidden depths of the city, they cross paths with a transgender lawyer called Evrim (Deniz Dumanlı), who helps them with their search.
Crossing (Akin, 2024) – August 30
LATEST & GREATEST: LA CHIMERA
Alice Rohrwacher’s meditative La Chimera (2023), follows Arthur (Josh O’Connor). A taciturn man in mourning who lives his life in rural Italy. Arthur uses his archaeological intuitions to support a local community of graverobbers in their quest to find Etruscan tombs. Tombs filled with ancient artefacts ripe for fortune. But he uses the digs as a means of finding signs of the afterlife to contend with his sorrow and not material profits.
Rohrwacher’s Italian backdrop allows an onset of probing questions about the ephemeral nature of life and love. Captured through a landscape in radiant sunlight and pregnant with the melancholic history of human civilisation. Ultimately, we are all living beings sentenced to become memories.
La Chimera (Rohrwacher, 2023) – August 2
LATEST & GREATEST: ROBOT DREAMS
In Pablo Berger’s Oscar-nominated, Robot Dreams (2023), Dog orders a build-your-own-robot kit and assembles Robot. And the two spend an entire summer exploring a 1980s Manhattan together while forging an indivisible bond. Against his will, Dog is one day forced to leave Robot behind at the beach. But upon returning to claim him, misfortune strikes. And the duo may never be able to see each other again…
Berger’s dialogue-free animation is a paean to friendship. And a therapeutic understanding of how the passing of time is the ultimate balm to our emotional ailments. Scored to the soulful beats of Earth, Wind & Fire.
Robot Dreams (Berger, 2023) – August 16
REDISCOVERED: THE SACRIFICE
Revered auteur Andrei Tarkovsky journeys to Sweden for The Sacrifice (1986). A symbolic masterpiece that sees him borrow Bergman’s frequent collaborators, actor Erland Josephson. And cinematographer Sven Nykvist, for a timelessly relevant, cinematic swan song.
Faced with the impending threat of a nuclear holocaust, retired actor Alexander (Josephson) attempts to bargain with God in a desperate effort to prevent catastrophe. Embarking on a spiritual journey toward redemption. Both haunting and beautiful—and a thought-provoking sign of the times. The Sacrifice makes its return newly-restored in breathtaking 4K.
The Sacrifice (Tarkovsky, 1986) – August 9
LATEST & GREATEST: THE HYPNOSIS
Marking the directorial debut of Swedish filmmaker Ernst De Geer, The Hypnosis (2023) is an unapologetic and refreshing comedy of manners about female liberation. Filled with absurdly funny moments and cringe-worthy scenes, this satire skewers gender roles, societal norms and modern startup culture.
Vera and André, an entrepreneurial couple working on launching their women’s reproductive health mobile app, get the chance to pitch their business at a prestigious competition. But right before the contest, Vera tries hypnotherapy to quit smoking with an unexpected side effect. She starts to lose all social inhibitions.
The Hypnosis (De Geer, 2023) – August 16
LATEST & GREATEST: SLOW
In Marija Kavtaradzė’s delicate Slow (2023), dancer Elena meets sign-language interpreter Dovydas and the two share an instant cosmic chemistry. Dovydas is an asexual, however. And the duo must navigate the impact this has on their relationship while respecting each other’s individual needs.
Kavtaradz’s tender portrayal of this pairing celebrates intimacy that does not conform to the expected status quo of relationships. And it is one of the first times a nuanced representation of asexuality has been put to screen with such compassionate detail.
Slow (Kavtaradzė, 2023) – August 9
HIT THE ROAD: ROAD MOVIES
Sate your thirst for adventure and chase new horizons on a winding journey across countries, genres, and eras with surprises at every turn. Our beloved collection, Hit the Road: Road Trips, spotlights unforgettable cinematic journeys, from their ecstatic highs to every bump in the road.
On the Road (Salles, 2012) – August 1
Alice in the Cities (Wenders, 1974) – Now Streaming
Vagabond (Varda, 1985) – Now Streaming
Crossing the Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul (Akın, 2005) – Now Streaming
Thursday Till Thursday (Castillo, 2012) – Now Streaming
Frank (Abrahamson, 2014) – Now Streaming
Trenque Lauquen: Part 1 (Citarella, 2022) – Now Streaming
Trenque Lauquen: Part 2 (Citarella, 2022) – Now Streaming
Gasoline Rainbow (Ross Brothers, 2023) – Now Streaming
BESTIES ONLY
The soaring heights and occasional pitfalls of platonic friendships are exhibited in Besties Only, our collection of friendships in their many multifaceted forms. Frances Ha (2012), stars Greta Gerwig as a late-20s self-proclaimed autodidact struggling to make her artistic dreams manifest while they seemingly come naturally to her best friend and the people around her, whereas Carol Morley’s enigmatic The Falling (2014) follows a fainting epidemic at a British girls school after a tragedy hits campus, allowing for an exploration of female solidarity and grief.
Frances Ha (Baumbach, 2012) – August 16
The Falling (Morley, 2014) – August 16
Robot Dreams (Berger, 2023) – August 16
Rita, Sue and Bob Too! (Clarke, 1987) – Now Streaming
Lick the Star (Coppola, 1998) – Now Streaming
First Cow (Reichardt, 2019) – Now Streaming
Shagbands (Carmoon, 2020) – Now Streaming
Petite Maman (Sciamma, 2021) – Now Streaming
The African Desperate (Syms, 2022) – Now Streaming
How to Have Sex (Walker, 2023) – Now Streaming
IRA SACHS: THE EARLY WORKS
Journey back in time with director Ira Sachs to his native Memphis, where he explores the blurred parameters of sensuality and desire in three profound works. Featuring his first short, Lady (1993), his first feature, The Delta (1996), and the newly-restored Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning Forty Shades of Blue (2005), our new collection Ira Sachs: The Early Years chronicles the director’s studies of forbidden sexualities and queer awakenings as an exciting prelude to his critically-acclaimed Passages (2023).
The Delta (Sachs, 1996) – August 23
Forty Shades of Blue (Sachs, 2005) – August 23
Lady (Sachs, 1996) – Now Streaming
APOCALYPSE NOW: FOUR SCI-FI PARABLES BY PIOTR SZULKIN
Follow science-fiction legend Piotr Szulkin to the epicentre of the apocalypse with his newly-restored Apocalypse Tetralogy – the dystopian anthology that masterfully blends imaginative escapism and alarming realism. Drenched in razor-sharp sociopolitical commentary and guilefully created under the strict censorship of Cold War-era Poland, our new collection Apocalypse Now: Four Sci-Fi Parables by Piotr Szulkin features four cornerstones of dystopian sci-fi including the critically-acclaimed O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization (1985) and the precursor to Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, Golem (1979).
Golem (Piotr Szulkin, 1979) – August 16
The War of the Worlds: Next Century (Piotr Szulkin, 1981) – August 16
O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization Piotr Szulkin, 1985) – August 16
GA-GA: Glory to the Heroes (Piotr Szulkin, 1986) – August 16
MUBI UK/IE AUGUST 2024
01/08/2024 | On the Road | Walter Salles | Hit the Road: Road Movies
02/08/2024 | La Chimera | Alice Rohrwacher | Latest & Greatest
05/08/2024 | The Dream and The Silence | Jaime Rosales
05/08/2024 | The Tsugua Diaries | Miguel Gomes, Maureen Fazendeiro
09/08/2024 | Slow | Latest & Greatest
09/08/2024 | The Sacrifice | Andrei Tarkovsky | Rediscovered
16/08/2024 | Saint Frances | Alex Thompson | Besties Only
16/08/2024 | The Falling | Carol Morley | Besties Only
16/08/2024 | Frances Ha | Noah Baumbach | Besties Only
16/08/2024 | The Hypnosis | Ernst De Geer | Latest & Greatest
16/08/2024 | Robot Dreams | Pablo Berger | Latest & Greatest
23/08/2024 | Forty Shades of Blue | Ira Sachs | Ira Sachs: The Early Works
23/08/2024 | The Delta | Ira Sachs | Ira Sachs The: Early Works
23/08/2024 | Variety | Bette Gordon
30/08/2024 | Crossing | Levan Akin | MUBI Releases
Introducing Carl! As the News Editor at Future of the Force, Carl has been an invaluable member of our team since early 2016. His expertise and dedication have made him an integral part of our editorial staff. Beyond his professional role, Carl is a fervent supporter of Liverpool F.C. and an avid follower of pop culture. He has a deep passion for Halloween, Friday the 13th, and the iconic movie franchises Star Wars and Star Trek.
He can be found either at his neighborhood cinema, enjoying the latest releases on the big screen, or at home streaming the newest blockbuster movies.
