Photo © Universal Pictures
Night Swim
Amélie Hoeferle in ‘Night Swim’
Before Now & Then
(Film Movement DVD/Digital)
“A woman has to be good at keeping secrets,” Nana tells her daughter. And those secrets include an inner life beyond what’s socially required of women.
Set in 1960s Indonesia, Before Now & Then (2022) follows Nana, the wife of an older man, a plantation owner. She remains haunted by her first husband, murdered years before in an earlier upsurge of political violence. In the film’s Now segments, anxiety lurks in the shadows, spurred by a Communist insurgency, the fear of being misidentified as a Communist and the coup that brings a new strongman to power. Nana finds a sense of freedom in the unlikely company of a younger woman, Ino, her husband’s mistress.
Suffused with sublimated eroticism and muggy rainforest atmosphere, Before Now & Then is a beautiful evocation of a time and place by Indonesian director Kamila Andini. It’s a film of long silences and reflection where dreams blend uneasily into reality. (David Luhrssen)
Night Swim
(In Theaters Jan. 5)
In 2014, inspired by Jaws, Rod Blackhurst and Bryce McGuire wrote and directed a three-minute horror depicting the fate of a teenage girl who takes a midnight dip in a haunted, backyard swimming pool. Posted on YouTube, the film was viewed by horror producers James Wan and Jason Blum. They invited Night Swim’s Bryce McGuire to flesh out his concept for a feature film. He wrote a 98-minute screenplay and signed on to direct. The premise moves a wholesome family into a home containing an abandoned pool. The repair is a family project, but after putting the pool in working order, they confront a malevolent entity. Ray Waller (Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn) begins to behave erratically, frightening his teen daughter Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle), young son Elliot (Gavin Warren) and patient wife Eve (Kerry Condon). Learning that the pool is connected to a terrible secret, we conclude that staying out of the water is best, except when it’s also makes a PG-13, box office splash. (Lisa Miller)
Race for Glory: Audi Vs. Lancia
(Limited Theatrical Release & Streaming on VOD, Jan 5)
The race-car world is fueled by pipe dreams. Race for Glory depicts a well-documented rivalry between team Audi and team Lancia at the 1983 Rally World Championship. Lancia’s team manager, Cesare Fiorio (Riccardo Scamarcio), refuses to accept certain defeat against Roland Gumpert (Daniel Brühl) and his formidable Audi team. In order to increase Lancia’s odds, Fiorio puts together an unusual group, seeking help from doctors and nutritionists. Fiorio’s coup de grace is convincing German racer Walter Röhrl (Volker Bruch) to drive for team Lancia (the Italians) but Röhrl has conditions, insisting he will only drive legs of his choosing in the 12-part competition. Meanwhile, a debate rages over whether heavier cars, outfitted with all-wheel drive, are favored over lighter vehicles without it. While the drama sometimes falls flat, this R-rated, 94-minute racing entry, is diverting and explores thoughtful strategies. (Lisa Miller)
