March on MUBI UK sees the exclusive UK streaming releases of Holy Spider and Saint Omer, a focus on women directors, a Lars von Trier spotlight and more.
Holy Spider
Following its theatrical release at the beginning of the year, Ali Abbasi's latest feature Holy Spider (2022) arrives exclusively to MUBI this March. Set in the holy city of Mashhad, Holy Spider (2022) follows journalist Rahimi (Zar Amir Ebrahimi), as she investigates the murders of several sex workers by the "Spider Killer," who believes he is on a divine mission to cleanse the city of sinners.
The film received its World Premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival where Ebrahimi won the Best Actress award.
Based on the real-life case from 2002 of serial killer Saeed Hanaei, whose crimes were dubbed the "spider killings" by the Iranian media, Holy Spider (2022) is both a terrifying crime procedural drama and a disturbing expose of hypocrisy and misogyny which shows that there can be very different interpretations of what justice actually means.
Saint Omer
Alice Diop's first fiction feature Saint Omer (2022) will be arriving exclusively to the platform following its theatrical release in February. Named after the French town in which it is set, Saint Omer (2022) takes inspiration from Diop's experience of the 2016 trial of Fabienne Kabou, which saw a young woman charged with the murder of her baby after leaving her on a beach. Rama, Diop's alter ego, is a novelist who attends the trial of Laurence Coly at the Saint-Omer Criminal Court, and uses her story to write a modern-day adaptation of the ancient myth of Medea, but things don't go the way they're expected. Awarded the Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival in 2022, Diop's courtroom drama is not to be missed when it arrives on the platform this March.
Mr. Bachmann and His Class
Arriving to the platform this March is filmmaker Maria Speth's compelling German documentary, Mr. Bachmann and His Class (2021). The film intimately chronicles a year in the life of a primary school class in Stadtallendorf, Germany with a focus on teacher Mr. Bachmann, and his unconventional yet effective teaching methods. Many of the students come from diverse backgrounds and have faced significant challenges in their lives, such as poverty, discrimination, and familial issues. Bachmann, who is deeply committed to his students, encourages them to work together, to learn from one another, and to support each other.
Through a series of poignant and thought-provoking vignettes, this beautiful film delves into complex themes of education, socialisation, and individualism within the classroom, while also illuminating the challenges and rewards that come with being a teacher. Mr. Bachmann and His Class (2021) premiered to widespread acclaim at the 2018 Berlin International Film Festival and received high praise for its honest and authentic portrayal of the modern classroom experience.
German Feminist Cinema
Starting on International Women's Day, MUBI will be presenting a season of films over the coming months providing an overview of feminist filmmaking in Germany from the 1960s up to the 1990s. Looking to break from the male canon, the restorations of works by luminary directors such as Ula Stöckl explore the place of women as mothers within patriarchal families, women's professional independence, sexual liberation, and political struggles – reflecting the concerns of the feminist movement of the time.
Reframing: Women Directors
Throughout film history, women have been making their mark. Alice Guy-Blaché, who rose through the ranks at Léon Gaumont's studio, paved the way by directing one of the very first narrative films in 1896, The Cabbage Fairy. Fast forward to today, and a growing number of talented women directors are finally breaking through in an industry that has hindered their progress for far too long. In celebration of their remarkable achievements, MUBI's Reframing: Women Directors collection features a diverse array of themes, styles, and genres, showcasing the exceptional work of female auteurs.
Akio Jissôji: The Buddhist Trilogy
Continuing into March is MUBI's Akio Jissôji: The Buddhist Trilogy. Akio Jissôji was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and Buddhist priest known for his imaginative and visually stunning works that explored philosophical and religious themes. One of his most notable contributions to cinema is The Buddhist Trilogy, a series of three films that delve deeply into Buddhist concepts and practices. The first film in the trilogy, This Transient Life (1970), tells the story of a young man's journey towards enlightenment through his encounters with various people and experiences. The second film, Mandala (1971), explores the complex relationships between two monks in a Japanese temple, touching on themes of desire, ego, and spiritual growth, while the final film Poem (1972), follows a young woman's spiritual journey as she navigates the challenges of everyday life. The films are widely regarded as some of the most important works of Japanese cinema, and showcase Jissôji's unique style and creative vision.
Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier
This March MUBI brings its Chaos Reigns: The Films of Lars von Trier series to the platform. When Lars von Trier was accepted to the National Film School of Denmark in the late 1970s, he claims to have spray-painted a wall in the institution with the insolent words "film school is dead." In the four decades since then, the Danish director has continued his fearless dance on the grave of received wisdom, creating a cinema that asserts itself forcefully with each new film as if with an exclamation mark. With stories built around such staggeringly grand themes as morality, depression, and democracy, von Trier soon became one of the most prominent and volcanic voices in contemporary cinema. Chaos reigns in the anarchic cinema of von Trier, but passion in the end, outsizes whatever hoax is at play.
Glass Life
From her studio, Sara Cwynar uses her computer and various studio setups to make sense of her visual archive – luscious pictures of food, political figures, Instagram models, grand artworks, among many other images, content for our attention. Glass Life (2021) explores themes of consumer culture, capitalism and identity materialised in sharp, colourful form.
One Way or Another
Middle-class teacher Yolanda meets factory worker Mario. They fall in love and are forced to confront their values, prejudices and contradictions. Mario's machismo is confronted by Yolanda's instinct for emancipation, while Yolanda's prejudices surface when teaching underprivileged children. The first Cuban feature film directed by a woman, Sara Gómez's One Way or Another (1977) crafts a complex critique of patriarchal society and class violence in post-revolutionary Cuba.
