Film News South Africa

#OnTheBigScreen: The Father and Godzilla vs Kong

Films opening on this big screen in South Africa, this weekend, include The Father, which is nominated for Best Picture at this year's Oscars, and Godzilla vs Kong, which sees two iconic cinematic monsters face-off.

The Father

The Father celebrates the unbreakable bond between parent and child. It is an inescapable fact of life that for every relationship between a parent and a child, there is a moment in time where the child becomes a carer, and the parent a dependent.

This is at the core of The Father, a beautifully wrought family drama that brings together Academy Award-winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman in a heart-rending account of what happens when a relationship that has coloured our every waking moment for decades suddenly and irrevocably changes.

Hopkins plays the eponymous role of a mischievous and highly independent man who, as he ages, refuses all assistance from his daughter Anne (Colman). Yet, such help has become essential following Anne’s decision to move to Paris with her partner. As Anne’s father tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.

We experience the world through the prism of the character Anthony’s confusion, as his dementia set in motion a gradual decline affecting every part of his reality. But this is not just a film about dementia, and he is more than an unreliable narrator. He is at the centre of a struggle, which gives The Father elements of both thriller and horror – with Anthony’s mind as the unremitting nemesis.

Award-winning French novelist, playwright and director Florian Zeller makes his feature film directing debut with The Father, which he adapted for film from his celebrated stage play with British writer Christopher Hampton, his long-time collaborator and translator.

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Godzilla vs Kong

Godzilla vs Kong is a monster-sized event film with heart, humour and enough non-stop action to transcend the genre. For decades, cinematic titans Godzilla and Kong have been following their own, separate theatrical journeys, until now. Legends collide in Godzilla vs Kong as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages. This rivalry fuels an epic adventure that spans the globe to bring these two forces of nature, both more powerful than ever before, face to face and fist to fist on land and at sea in a battle to restore balance to the Earth.

Legends collide as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The initial confrontation between the two titans - instigated by unseen forces - is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth.

The film stars Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, with Kyle Chandler and Demián Bichir.

It is the fourth film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. The film is also the 36th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 12th film in the King Kong franchise, and the fourth Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio.

Adam Wingard directed from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, story by Terry Rossio and Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields, based on the character Godzilla, owned and created by Toho Co., LTD.

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About Daniel Dercksen

Daniel Dercksen has been a contributor for Lifestyle since 2012. As the driving force behind the successful independent training initiative The Writing Studio and a published film and theatre journalist of 40 years, teaching workshops in creative writing, playwriting and screenwriting throughout South Africa and internationally the past 22 years. Visit www.writingstudio.co.za
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