Last Updated on March 15, 2024, 9:23 PM | Published: March 14, 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY — If your head (like mine) is still spinning from the late awards season rush and the whiplash of seemingly foregone conclusions giving way to surprise Oscar wins, then it might be time to take a breather and enjoy a little trip around the film world.
Of course, when cinematic drama is on the itinerary, you can bet that it probably won’t be a relaxing vacation.
The biggest blockbuster contenders and the most irresistible indie breakouts have had their day in the sun. Now, the rest of March is all about turning the lens toward the real world, real people, and real places that have driven the true-life dramas of arts, culture, politics, and society around the world, from decades past right up to the harrowing present.
This month’s films across OKC focus on the figures that helped to build hearts and minds around the world and the forces at work that would tear them down.
‘20 Days in Mariupol’ – Rodeo Cinema – Now Playing
The winner of Best Documentary Feature at this month’s Academy Awards, and the catalyst for one of the most indelible and moving quotes from any of the night’s speeches, as director/documentarian Mstyslav Chernov declared “Cinema creates memories, and memories create history.”
Chernov’s “20 Days in Mariupol” chronicles the weeks that he and his crew were stuck in the Ukrainian city at the outset of Russia’s invasion and siege in 2022.
Compiled from the filmmakers’ own footage, first-hand accounts, and reports from across global journalism and correspondents embedded in the city, the carnage and toll of war are shown in stark, terrifying detail, pulling no punches and letting the realities speak for themselves.
It’s been hailed as one of the most vital pieces of recent filmmaking, as well as a testament to the continuing importance of real, human journalism on the ground.
For showtimes, tickets, and more, visit rodeocinema.org.
‘Bob Marley: One Love’ – Harkins Theatres Bricktown – Now Playing
Especially since the runaway success of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the celebrity musician biopic has taken Hollywood and box offices by storm, offering audiences a chance to see the world through the eyes of some of its most famous figures, all while singing along to the songs they know and love.
But rarely does one of these films cover a life as revered and consequential as reggae legend Bob Marley.
Marley was a musical powerhouse throughout the 60s and 70s, collecting smash hits worldwide and spreading the new reggae movement across the world, but in his native Jamaica, he was much more than just a rock star.
As the de-facto global ambassador for Rastafari, Marley became a monumental spiritual leader and the most powerful and effective voice for social change across Jamaica. Since his death at the age of just 36, each of those elements of his life has only strengthened and taken on more importance.
It’s a challenge, then, to pack all of that impact – and all the complication, complexity, and even controversy – of such a landmark figure into one film, and particularly one made on a comparatively paltry $70 million budget, only a fraction of what many modern Hollywood blockbusters see these days.
But director Reinaldo Marcus Green presents something clearly reverent and respectful with what he’s got, even if it does seem to tip a bit into hero worship.
Regardless, you can’t deny the power of those songs, and Kingsley Ben-Adir (one of the standout Kens from “Barbie”) looks to imbue his performance as Marley with the same power and energy that he brought to his concerts.
For showtimes, tickets, and more, visit harkins.com.
‘One Life’ – Cinemark Tinseltown – Now Playing
If you’ve spent much time falling down internet rabbit holes and consuming vintage video clips, there’s a solid chance that you’ve seen the famous clip of Englishman Nicholas Winton on television’s “That’s Life!”
Winton was a wealthy stockbroker in pre-WWII London who became aware of the impending horrors of the Holocaust and employed his money, connections, and influence to arrange for the immigration of nearly 700 predominantly Jewish children out of Nazi-controlled Europe and into safety in the West.
His efforts were mostly quiet and little known until 1988, when “That’s Life!” invited Winton to a taping of the show and surprised him by acknowledging his tremendous gift to human life in the most spectacular and unexpected way.
“One Life” explores the deeper workings behind the scenes of how Winton was able to fight for the children of Europe and how he was able to eventually raise the money and resources necessary, as well as his own guilt later in life for not having done as much as he’d wished.
And of course, who better to bring to life an incredible, heroic, and admittedly spiky British legend than the great Sir Anthony Hopkins, who took the role at the direct request of Winton’s own daughter?
It’s a remarkable story that deserves to be told through cinema, even if you know from the beginning that it’s headed toward a happy ending.
For showtimes, tickets, and more, visit cinemark.com.
‘Pictures of Ghosts’ – Oklahoma City Museum of Art – March 28th
Chernov’s quote about cinema, memories, and history rings as true as ever in this Brazilian documentary from director Kleber Mendonça Filho, who takes us through his hometown Recife, exploring the city’s changing and volatile history through the movie theaters that once shaped Mendonça’s life, but operate no more.
“Pictures of Ghosts” confronts how a city develops a life and character of its own, growing, changing, and even falling to manipulations and trends as easily as any human, but it’s also a film about film, examining the ways that cinema informs life and culture.
Intimate in scope, with Mendonça showing you the history of Recife through his eyes and memories, yet grand in scale, with the sounds, music, energy, and life of Brazil always coming through, “Pictures of Ghosts” was chosen to represent Brazil in the Oscars’ Best International Feature race.
For showtimes, tickets, and more, visit okcmoa.com.
Brett Fieldcamp has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly 15 years, writing for several local and state publications. He’s also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
