On tap this week: Free movies in San Francisco’s Union Square, a film documenting Robert Reich’s final semester teaching at the University of California, Berkeley; films by Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud; indies set in South Dakota and New Zealand; and a fantastic animated adventure.
Cinema on the Square, a new free movies-in-the-park series, is screening three San Francisco–set movies in Union Square: “Mrs. Doubtfire” starring Robin Williams on Aug. 16, “Big Hero 6” on Sept. 20 and Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” on Oct. 4. Pre-show entertainment curated by Alamo Drafthouse leads off each evening. Look for a “Mrs. Doubtfire” lookalike contest on Saturday. Screenings start after sundown. Viewers are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. For details, go to visitunionsquaresf.com.
Robert Reich—author, economist, former labor secretary, wealth-equality advocate and retired longtime UC Berkeley professor—conducts his final semester at the university in “The Last Class” in which filmmaker Elliot Kirschner documents the sessions and illustrates Reich’s brilliance as an educator. The film screens at 5 p.m. today through Thursday at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael. It’s also at the 4 Star Theater San Francisco at 12:30 and 3 p.m. on Aug. 16; at 12:30 and 5 p.m. on Aug. 17; and at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 20. A Q&A with Kirschner follows the Saturday 4-Star screenings.
“The Oslo Trilogy: Love — Sex— Dreams,” a trio of feature films from award-winning Norwegian filmmaker Dag Johan Haugerud, is coming to the Roxie Theater. The movies are connected by a common theme — all involve unconventional relationships— but don’t need to be viewed in consecutive order. “Love” screens on Aug. 12; “Sex” (recipient of the Golden Bear award at the 2025 Berlinale) screens Sept. 2; and “Dreams,” followed by an in-person appearance by Haugerud, screens Sept. 19. Visit roxie.com.
“East of Wall” is a realistically presented story of women, horses, land and survival set in a world of ranch and rodeo folk in the South Dakota Badlands.
Filmmaker Kate Beecroft transports viewers to the seldom-explored pocket of American life. Like Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider,” Beecroft’s movie features nonprofessional actors from rodeo communities convincingly playing fictional versions of themselves.
In a town where few have jobs and suicide has touched nearly everyone, Tabatha — a terrific protagonist played by real-life rancher Tabatha Zimiga — is a tattooed, self-styled horse trainer managing to keep her business going while struggling financially and grieving her husband’s death.
Tabatha shares her rundown home with family, including her rebellious teenage daughter, Porshia (Porshia Zimga), a talented rider. Also aboard are some directionless teens Tabatha has taken in.
There’s not much a story or dramatic arc; the film mostly follows Tabatha and the others as their lives ripple along.
But the director delivers authenticity: complicated characters who feel trapped in an isolated world; horse auctions and everyday ranch activities; site-specific female camaraderie, and gorgeous landscapes.
Professional thespians—Scoot McNairy as moneyed male outsider who shakes up the women’s equilibrium and Jennifer Ehle as Tabatha’s crusty moonshine-swigging mom — supply juice.
“East of Wall” opens Aug. 15 in Bay Area theaters. Rated R.
Dark truths emerge when a dead woman takes over the bodies of her surviving wife and son in “Went Up the Hill,” an exceptionally original arthouse ghost story directed and cowritten by Samuel Van Grinsven (“Sequin in a Blue Room”).
The New Zealand–set drama opens at the funeral of Elizabeth, an architect who drowned herself in an icy lake. Jill (Vicky Krieps), Elizabeth’s grieving wife, meets Jack (Dacre Montgomery), Elizabeth’s estranged son, and invites him to stay at the house.
At night, Elizabeth’s spirit possesses the bodies of both Jack and Jill. Boundary-pushing lovemaking scenes, involving entwining identities — mother, son, wife — occur.
Both Jack and Jill experienced horrible abuse from Elizabeth. Each needs to break free from her.
Inspired by childhood memories and films such as Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona” and Olivier Assayas’ “Personal Shopper,” this supernatural psychodrama isn’t as penetrating or as fascinating as it could be. Elements from the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme are unimpressive.
Still, there’s not been a ghost story quite like this before. What unfolds is unpredictable and daring; there are no ludicrous plot twists and silly effects.
Montgomery and the always fascinating Krieps, meanwhile, handle their risky material effectively and maintain the intrigue.
“Went Up the Hill” opens Aug. 15 at Landmark’s Opera Plaza in San Francisco. Not rated.
An animated adventure from the unique brain of filmmaker-artist Julian Glander, “Boys Go to Jupiter” is a fantastical coming-of-age adventure set in suburban America, a place conducive to weirdness.
Working in a style that suggests a mix of claymation and Lego, Glander presents the gig-economy experience of a Florida teen Billy (voiced by Jack Corbett) as he quests to make $5,000 by hustling on a food-delivery app. In the process, Billy interacts with strange characters, from a powerful orange juice CEO (Janeane Garofalo) to a spirited worm to a little doughnut with feet.
While filled with activity, the movie, which also contains musical numbers, lacks a solid narrative. The parts don’t jell into a compelling whole.
But as a work of animation, it sparkles, marked with the highly original stamp of Glander, who grew up in a Florida town similar to Billy’s. The quirky, surreal picture he presents, which includes empty swimming pools, dinosaur-themed mini golf, bizarre oranges and lots more, will please eccentric eyes.
“Boys Go to Jupiter” opens Aug. 15 at the Balboa, San Francisco and Rialto Cinemas El Cerrito. Not rated.
The post Movies: Cinema on Union Square, ‘Last Class,’ ‘East of Wall,’ ‘Went Up the Hill,’ ‘Boys Go to Jupiter’ appeared first on Local News Matters.