Will watch these 12 movies in November

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig”

The story of the film “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is almost as amazing as its plot.

Screenwriter and director Mohammad Rasoulof served time in prison in Iran for speaking out against the regime, so he filmed the film in secret.

Shortly after it was selected for screening at the Cannes Film Festival, Rasulof was sentenced to another eight years, but he managed to flee the country and make it to Cannes for the premiere.

The film became one of the brightest new releases of the festival.

The plot centers on an Iranian family acutely experiencing the political turmoil in their country and determined to stay out of trouble as much as possible after their father (Misag Zareh) gets a high-paying civil service job.

However, tensions rise when the high school daughters, Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki), show signs of rebellion and begin to sympathize with the protesters.

“This action-packed thriller deserves the widest possible audience,” writes Ryan Lattanzio in an article for IndieWire. “Rasuloff creates a deeply moving allegory about the corruption of power and the oppression of women under a religious patriarchy that destroys the very people it claims to protect.”.

The film is released on November 27 in the US

“The Piano Lesson”

The film is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by August Wilson.

Denzel Washington produced, one of his sons, Malcolm Washington, directed, and another son, John David Washington, starred.

Set in Pittsburgh in 1936, after the Great Depression, the story centers on the Charles family and their heirloom, an old piano decorated by their enslaved great-grandfather.

The brother and sister cannot agree on the future fate of the instrument, and a conflict breaks out between them.

“‘The Piano Lesson’ is a lesson in love, friendship and family values,” writes Wrap columnist Carla Renata. “It serves as a reminder that generational wealth is not just about money, but also about the emotional and genetic connection to our ancestors.”.

The film is released on November 22 on Netflix

“Emilia Pérez”

One of the best contemporary French directors and screenwriters, Jacques Audiard is known for his tough modern thrillers “And My Heart Stood Still,” “The Prophet,” “Rust and Bone,” and “Dhipan.”.

His latest film, “Emilia Perez,” is a crime musical.

Zoe Saldana plays lawyer Rita, who agrees to help Mexican gangster Juan Del Monte undergo gender reassignment surgery so he can start a new life as Emilia. Meanwhile, his wife Jessie (Selena Gomez) and children must find a cozy home in Switzerland.

The music for the songs featured in the film was written by French singer Camille, and the choreography was done by Belgian Damien Jalet, who has directed over 30 performances.

“Emilia Perez is a highly original tribute to all those who dare to follow their own path. And above all to the amazing women who do so in difficult life circumstances,” writes Evening Standard columnist Nick Havells.

The film is scheduled to premiere on November 13 on Netflix

“Here and Now” (Here)

Robert Zemeckis' drama tells the story of an ordinary family through one room, in which they experience key moments in their lives.

The film is based on the 2014 graphic novel by Richard McGuire.

The main storyline concerns Richard and his wife Margaret, played by Forrest Gump stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.

“The angle is the same, and it doesn’t change, but everything around it changes,” Zemeckis explained to Vanity Fair’s Anthony Breznican. “It’s really never been done before. There are scenes like that in very early silent films, before editing came along. But otherwise, it was a pretty risky idea.”.

The world premiere took place on November 1

“Juror #2”

Ridley Scott made Gladiator 2 at 86, but he's a young man compared to 94-year-old Clint Eastwood, who just finished working on his fortieth film.

“I think this is his last film,” said Eastwood’s friend and colleague, producer Robert Lorenz. “I talked to him before Juror No. 2 came out, and he said he wouldn’t do another one. But never say never. He’s always full of surprises, this guy.”.

“Juror No. 2” may also present a few surprises.

The script for this courtroom thriller was written by Jonathan Abrams.

The film's protagonist, Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult), is involved in a high-profile murder case. The defendant is accused of hitting his girlfriend and leaving her on the road.

Delving into the details of the case, Justin realizes that it was he who hit the girl a year ago and calmly drove home, thinking that he had collided with a deer crossing the road.

Can a juror prevent the imprisonment of an innocent person without exposing himself?

The world premiere of the film took place on November 1

“Moana 2” (Moana 2)

In 2016, the computer-animated film “Moana” became a global hit, so it’s no surprise that Disney decided to continue the adventures of the Polynesian princess (Aulii Cravalho) and her demigod friend Maui (Dwayne Johnson).

The sequel was originally planned as a series for Disney+.

But, as director David Derrick Jr. noted, during the work, the authors felt that the project was becoming larger.

“It became obvious that the film wanted to be on the big screen. We felt it throughout the studio,” he added.

And this is not surprising, because the first “Moana” was the most popular show on Disney+ for several years, so the sequel should do well at the box office.

The world premiere is scheduled for November 27th

“Gladiator 2” (Gladiator II)

Since Gladiator was released in 2000, there have been numerous attempts to continue the famous epic. However, it is no easy task, considering that the main character Maximus, played by Russell Crowe, died at the end of the film.

Crowe even commissioned a script from rock star Nick Cave, in which Maximus meets the Roman gods in the underworld and then is reincarnated.

However, enough time has passed for an easier way to continue Ridley Scott's popular Roman saga to appear.

In Gladiator 2, the baton left by Maximus is picked up by Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and, possibly, Maximus.

After his family is killed by the soldiers of General Marcus Acacia (Pedro Pascal), Lucia is trained in combat by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a former slave who plots to overthrow the emperor (Joseph Quinn).

Mescal plays the complex Lucius, marked by a difficult family legacy, oscillating between rebellion and resilience.

“Gladiator 2 is much bigger, grittier, and more brutal than the first film,” says GQ’s Gabriella Paella. “The sprawling battle scenes, the brutal one-on-one fights. You’ll spend most of the movie shivering.”.

It is released worldwide on November 22nd

“Wicked”

A film adaptation of a musical fairy tale, one of the most popular Broadway musicals, from director John Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “In the Heights of New York”).

The plot centers on two witches from Oz: Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a green-skinned exile and future Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (Ariana Grande), an attractive and ambitious girl who later becomes the Good Witch of the North.

At first they are roommates at the magical Shiz University, but how do they become enemies?

Viewers will only get the answer to this question in a year.

The first part of "Enchanted" lasts 160 minutes, but this is only half of the film: for the first time in history, a Hollywood musical is being released in two parts, and the second will not appear until November 2025.

“During production, it became clear that it would not be possible to fit the entire musical into one film, so the studio decided to split the film into two parts,” explains director Chu. “This allows us to tell the story the way it needs to be told. And also add even more depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters.”.

The world premiere of the first part of the film will take place on November 22

“A Real Pain”

Anyone who has seen Kieran Culkin in The Descendants and Jesse Eisenberg in, well, anything else knows how far apart their usual on-screen personas are.

Eisenberg mostly plays tense and anxious characters, while Culkin, according to Toronto Star cultural columnist Peter Howell, “resembles a human exclamation point, eager to be noticed and make a scene.”.

That gulf between them is bridged by hilarious and poignant arguments in “True Pain,” a poignant comedy-drama written, directed, and produced by Eisenberg. He and Culkin play long-estranged cousins ​​who reunite for a trip to Poland in memory of their late grandmother.

“The comic skirmishes are accompanied by exquisite Chopin music,” says Howell, “but Eisenberg doesn’t make the audience laugh, but subtly explores the double meaning of the film’s title. He develops a humanistic style in the spirit of Hal Ashby and Alexander Payne, and it’s a pleasure to watch.”.

The film was released worldwide on November 1

“Blitz” (Blitz)

British World War II films usually focus on combatants (“Dunkirk”), spies (“Mincemeat”) and leaders (“Dark Ages”). Steve McQueen’s “The Blitz” shows what life was like for ordinary Londoners who survived the nightly bombings of the Luftwaffe.

The plot centers on two East End residents, a single mother (Saoirse Ronan) and her nine-year-old son George (Eliot Heffernan).

Along with thousands of other London children, George is sent by train to the countryside for safety. But he is determined to return home to the war-torn metropolis to find his mother.

The film is scheduled to premiere on November 22 on Apple TV+

“Queer”

Luca Guadagnino – director of the films “Call Me by Your Name”, “Together with Bones”, “Rivals” – has made another exquisite drama about a passionate, but not necessarily happy relationship.

This is a fascinating adaptation of William Burroughs' autobiographical novel "Queer.".

The action takes place in 1940s Mexico City.

Daniel Craig plays William Lee, a war veteran, an American expatriate who is interrupted by temporary jobs and obsessed with finding hallucinogenic weed in the South American jungle. Wandering the city's clubs, the desperately lonely Lee falls in love with a handsome young man, Eugene (Drew Starkey).

In his film adaptation, Guadagnino turned the author's documentary experience into a partially fictional plot, made Lee look less like Burroughs, and added an ending.

In it, unlike the book, Lee and Eugene realize their plan and try ayahuasca in the Amazon jungle. The hallucinogenic experience becomes both the culmination and the finale of their love story - mutual, but not very happy.

“Craig has proven himself to be a true master. And it’s not just about the candid love scenes that leave no room for the imagination,” writes Rolling Stone columnist David Furze. “Embodying Burroughs’ alter ego and going through the lust, jealousy, fatigue, neediness and bliss of the main character, Craig reveals this disappointed, doomed romantic in full force.”.

The film is released on November 27 in the US

“September 5” (September 5)

On September 5, 1972, at the Munich Olympics, a group of Palestinian terrorists took several Israeli athletes hostage. Eleven athletes and five attackers were killed.

This incident became the subject of Kevin MacDonald's Oscar-winning documentary "One Day in September," and its aftermath was the subject of Steven Spielberg's thriller "Munich.".

Now, a new docu-drama from director Tim Fellbaum tells the story from the perspective of a film crew of American journalists who were on the scene.

Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin and Leonie Benes play ABC Sports anchors who planned to exclusively cover sports records, but in practice faced daunting technical and ethical challenges.

Is it justified to broadcast potentially horrific events live? And if so, how can this be done with limited technical capabilities?

“The film is shot in a documentary style that emphasizes the tension of the situation,” writes Tim Grierson in an article for Screen Daily. “September 5th tells the story of that tragic day with horror and tension, using the frenetic energy of its various characters and strong acting to reflect on the responsibility of the media in such a difficult situation.”.