Last Updated on July 23, 2023, 12:52 PM | Published: July 18, 2023
OKLAHOMA CITY — Forget all the escapism and the fantastical, idealized worlds of fun.
When our world is staring down so many terrifying realities and Earth-altering threats, sometimes you just need to sit down in the dark and confront them directly with a film that doesn’t shy away from hard truths or challenging, socially relevant subject matter.
If that kind of existential crisis sounds like your idea of entertainment, then you’re in luck, because for the last couple of weeks in this sweltering, climate change-riddled July, OKC theaters are rolling out some wildly diverse, creative films that each tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time.
Starting with one of the year’s most anticipated blockbusters.
‘Oppenheimer’ – Rodeo Cinema – July 23rd
By now, you’re surely aware of this mammoth, terrifying cinematic juggernaut bearing down on theaters everywhere this coming weekend.
After the lukewarm public response to box office wizard Christopher Nolan’s experimental actioner “Tenet,” this biopic of the man responsible for “the bomb” is looking like a clear return to the critical and commercial good graces.
Starring the always magnetic and mysterious Cillian Murphy in his highest-profile role yet as the titular J. Robert Oppenheimer, the film follows the race, secrecy, tension, and boiling fear around the development of the atomic bomb, and the fallout – both literal and figurative – left in its wake.
Moreover, it’s an exemplification of the lingering nuclear threat and a stark reminder of what modern war might be capable of, an even more chilling concept to confront at a time when existing nuclear powers are currently fighting wars on the other side of the world.
Though “Oppenheimer” is set to hit theaters everywhere this weekend, you can see it while supporting one of the city’s unique indie art-houses when Rodeo Cinema in the Stockyards screens it starting Sunday, July 23rd.
For showtimes and tickets, visit rodeocinema.org.
‘Afire’ – Oklahoma City Museum of Art – July 28th through August 3rd
Sometimes it’s the most harrowing circumstances that spark the most intense love and desire.
That’s the central conceit at the heart of “Afire,” a new German film from writer/director Christian Petzold that weaves an ensemble tale of emotional, dramatic romance around the troubling devastation of rampant European forest fires.
It’s an important and sadly timely issue given the outbreak of uncontrollable fires spreading throughout the world, and in particular throughout Canada, the billowing smoke from which is blanketing much of the US and has even affected air quality in OKC.
Fiery backdrop aside, no one does smoldering, brooding, and sexy quite like the Germans, so you know that this tale of encroaching passions and encroaching fire is bound to burn you up.
For showtimes and tickets, visit opkcmoa.com.
‘Maaveeran’ – Cinemark Tinseltown – July 18th & 19th
In classic, cross-genre fashion, this Tamil-language film from southern India blends everything from political statements about poverty and housing with psychological satire and super-heroic antics.
The story centers on a down-on-his-luck comic artist and his mother, who has been forced out of her home and into a poorly constructed, dangerously unregulated tenement slum by a local politician looking to bolster his image by relocating the district’s poor.
An “accident” results in our artist protagonist hearing voices and taking on the “defender of the oppressed” mentality of his own comic book creations to push back against the local politics and work to save the dilapidated building’s residents before what is surely an imminent tragedy.
Building collapses due to lapses in regulation and inspection have become depressingly common all over the world, with some particularly high-profile tragedies of the kind here in America in the past few years. But the film’s general themes of poverty-hating politicians and public pushback speak to plenty of local issues here in OKC as well.
For showtimes and tickets, visit cinemark.com.
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ – Harkins Bricktown – July 29th
A somber, hard-hitting examination of the dangers of toxic waste disposal and the environmental toll taken on animal life, this 1990 classic remains a required watch for anyone looking to be reminded of the importance of proper materials handling.
Okay, so maybe none of that is true, but this first in the long line of Ninja Turtles films is actually a great reminder of how much has changed and how much has come full circle in the US since the early 90s.
Sure, it’s a movie with adult men running around in oversized foam-rubber turtle costumes attempting clunky kung-fu against some inner-city ninjas, but it’s also about the ease with which disaffected youth are radicalized and lured into violent gangs to escape poverty and loneliness.
And not for nothing, but proper toxic waste disposal is still an important issue, too.
For showtimes and tickets, visit harkins.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.
