Watch these 12 movies in November

"The Seed of the Sacred Fig"

The story of the film "Seeds of the Sacred Fig" is almost as amazing as its plot.

Screenwriter and director Mohammad Rasulof served time in prison in Iran for speaking out against the regime, so he shot the tape secretly.

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

The film became one of the brightest novelties of the festival.

The story centers on an Iranian family reeling from political upheaval in their country and determined to stay out of trouble as much as possible after the father (Misagh Zare) lands a high-paying job in the civil service.

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 thriller deserves the widest audience possible," writes Ryan Lattanzio in an article for IndieWire. - Rasuloff creates an extremely fascinating allegory about the corruption of power and the oppression of women in the conditions of a religious patriarchy that destroys the very people it claims to protect."

The film will be released on November 27 in the US

"The Piano Lesson" (The Piano Lesson)

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

It was produced by Denzel Washington, directed by one of his sons, Malcolm Washington, and starring another son, John David Washington.

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

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

"Piano Lesson" is a lesson in love, friendship and family values, - writes Wrap columnist Carla Renata. "It serves as a reminder that the wealth of generations is not only money, but also an emotional and genetic connection with our ancestors."

The film is released on November 22nd on Netflix

"Emilia Pérez" (Emilia Pérez)

One of the best modern French directors and screenwriters, Jacques Audiard, is known for his tough modern thrillers "And My Heart Stood Still", "Prophet", "Rust and Bone", "Dipan".

His latest film "Emilia Perez" was shot in the genre of a criminal musical.

Zoe Saldana stars as Rita, a lawyer who agrees to help Mexican gangster Juan Del Monte undergo gender reassignment surgery so he can start a new life under the name Emilia. Meanwhile, a cozy house in Switzerland must be found for his wife Jessie (Selena Gomez) and children.

The music for the songs played in the film was written by the French singer Camille, and the choreography was done by the Belgian Damien Jalet, who has staged more than 30 plays.

"Emilia Perez is an extremely original dedication to all those who dare to follow their own path. And above all to the amazing women who do it in difficult life circumstances," wrote Evening Standard columnist Nick Havells.

The premiere of the film is scheduled for November 13 on Netflix

"Here and now" (Here)

Robert Zemeckis' drama tells the story of an ordinary family with the help of a single room, in which they experience key moments of their life journey.

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

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

"The angle is one, and it doesn't change, but everything around changes," Zemeckis explained to Anthony Breznikan of Vanity Fair. - Actually, this has never happened before. There are similar scenes in very early silent films, even before montage appeared. But otherwise, it was a rather risky idea."

The world premiere took place on November 1

"Juror #2" (Juror #2)

Ridley Scott directed "Gladiator 2" at the age of 86, but he is a young man compared to the 94-year-old Clint Eastwood, who has just completed work on his fortieth film.

"I think this is his last film," noted Eastwood's friend and colleague, producer Robert Lorenz. - I spoke with him before the release of "Juror No. 2", and he said that he would not film anymore. But never say never. He's always full of surprises, this guy."

"Juror No. 2" can also present several surprises.

The screenplay for this court thriller was written by Jonathan Abrams.

The main character of the film - Justin Kemp (Nicholas Gault) takes part in the investigation of a high-profile murder case. The defendant is accused of hitting his girlfriend and leaving her on the road.

Plunging into the details of the case, Justin realizes that he was the one who hit the girl a year ago and calmly drove home, thinking that he encountered a deer that ran across 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 is not surprising that Disney decided to continue the adventures of the Polynesian princess (Auliia Cravalho) and her demigod friend Maui (Dwayne Johnson).

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

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

"It became obvious that the tape wants to be on the big screen. We felt it throughout the studio," he added.

And it's not surprising either, 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 27

"Gladiator 2" (Gladiator II)

Since "Gladiator" was released in 2000, there have been many attempts to continue the famous epic. However, this is not an 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 reincarnates.

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

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 Acacius (Pedro Pascal), Lucia is taught how to fight by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a former slave who plans to overthrow the emperor (Joseph Quinn).

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

"Gladiator 2 is much bigger, rougher and tougher than the first film," says GQ's Gabriella Paella. – Extensive battle scenes, brutal one-on-one fights. You'll spend most of the movie cringing."

It will be released worldwide on November 22

"Wicked"

Screen adaptation of the musical fairy tale, one of the most popular Broadway musicals, directed by John Chu ("Crazy Rich Asians", "New York Heights").

In the center of the plot are two witches of Oz: Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a green-skinned exile and the future Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (Ariana Grande), an attractive and ambitious girl who will later become the good witch of the north.

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

The audience will get the answer to this question only after a year.

The first part of "The Enchantress" lasts 160 minutes, but this is only half of the tape: for the first time in the history of a Hollywood musical, it is released in two parts, and the second will appear as early as November 2025.

"During the production of the film, it became clear that it would not be possible to fit the entire musical into one screen, so the studio decided to split the film into two parts," explains director Chu. And to add even more depth and suspense 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" (A Real Pain)

Anyone who's seen Kieran Culkin in The Heirs and Jesse Eisenberg in, well, anything knows how far apart their usual screen personas are.

Eisenberg mostly plays tense and anxious characters, while Culkin, according to Toronto Star culture 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 heated arguments in "Real Pain," an insightful 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 clashes are accompanied by the exquisite music of Chopin," says Howell, "but Eisenberg does not 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 is a pleasure to watch."

The film was released worldwide on November 1

"Blitz" (Blitz)

British films about the Second World War usually tell about combatants (Dunkirk), spies (Operation Minsmith) and leaders (Dark Ages). And "Blitz" by Steve McQueen shows what life was like for ordinary citizens, residents of London, who survived night bombings by the Luftwaffe.

In the center of the story are two residents of the East End, a single mother (Sierra 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 premiere of the tape is scheduled for November 22 on Apple TV+

"Queer" (Queer)

Luca Guadagnino - the director of the films "Call Me by Your Name", "Together with Bones", "Rivals" - 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 the 1940s in Mexico City.

Daniel Craig plays William Lee, a war veteran, an American expatriate who is interrupted by temporary jobs and obsessed with the search for hallucinogenic grass in the South American jungle. Wandering around 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 not too similar to Burroughs, and added an ending.

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

"Craig showed himself to be a real master. And it's not just about frank love scenes that leave no room for imagination - writes Rolling Stone columnist David Furze. – Embodying the alter ego of Burroughs and going through the lust, jealousy, fatigue, neediness and bliss of the main character, Craig reveals this disillusioned, doomed romantic in full force.

The tape is released on November 27 in the United States

"September 5" (September 5)

On September 5, 1972, at the Munich Olympics, a group of Palestinian terrorists took several Israeli athletes hostage. 11 athletes and five criminals died.

The 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 docudrama directed by Tim Felbaum tells this story from the point of view of a film crew of American journalists who were at the scene of the events.

Peter Sarsgaard, John Magaro, Ben Chaplin and Leonie Benes star as ABC Sports broadcasters who planned to exclusively cover sports records, but in practice faced staggering technical and ethical challenges.

Is it justified to show potentially horrific events live? And if so, how to do it with limited technical capabilities?

"The film is shot in the style of a documentary, which emphasizes the tension of the situation," writes Tim Grierson in an article for Screen Daily. "The Fifth of September" tells about that tragic day with horror and tension, using the crazy energy of different people and strong acting to reflect on the responsibility of the mass media in such a difficult situation."