Carefully curated by us as part of our Phoenix at Home programme, our handpicked weekly recommendations include new releases, and our pick of the films available on major streaming platforms and free-to-air services – all available to watch at home.
Another bumper crop, as the Phoenix at Home team is taking a well-earned break!
“★★★★★ – triumph in restating the inhumanity of empire” – Guardian. 1970, and Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent on a secret mission to Cambodia via war-torn South Vietnam, to assassinate a decorated American colonel who has gone rogue. Francis Ford Coppola’s Palme D’Or-winning 1979 masterpiece is considered one of the greatest and most influential films ever made. Part of our Essential Cinema selection.
Four young men from the Paris banlieues discuss their personal perspectives on masculinity, from the ‘macho’ facade they feel society expects of them, to the fundamental desire for love that it masks. Filmmaker Alice Diop’s César-winning documentary lays bare how toxic masculinity has corroded the minds and souls of young men.
★★★★ – Guardian. Asif Kapadia’s (Senna, Amy) remarkable, award-winning feature debut is set in ancient India. Sent by a powerful warlord to punish villagers who have not paid their taxes, a warrior (Irrfan Khan) suffers a crisis of conscience. Laying down his sword, he heads to the Himalayas in search of peace, but his master’s enforcers are on his trail seeking vengeance.
“★★★★★ – [conjures] a child’s-eye sense of wonder” – Observer. Sean Baker’s (Tangerine) wonderful, humanist drama focuses on six-year-old Moonee’s adventures living in a motel near Walt Disney World, while her streetwise mother Halley (newcomer Bria Vinaite) struggles to make ends meet. Willem Dafoe also stars, but it’s Brooklynn Kimberly Prince who steals the show as young Moonnee.
★★★★★ – Guardian. A big hit with audiences when it screened at Phoenix in February 2022, Roger Michell’s entertaining and uplifting final feature stars Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren in the true story of the 1961 theft of Goya’s portrait of the Duke of Wellington from London’s National Gallery by Kempton Bunyon, a 60-year-old cabbie and idealistic soapbox revolutionary.
“★★★★ – ingenious time-loop romance you’ll hope never ends” – Guardian. An entertaining sci-fi rom-com about two strangers who meet at a wedding in Palm Springs and get stuck in a time loop. Well received at the Sundance film festival, with audiences claiming it’s because lockdown made Groundhog Day-esque time loops fashionable again! Plus, that cool guy from Brooklyn 99 is in it.
“★★★★ – clever, poignant little movie… delivers the shock of the new and the shock of the old” – Guardian. Germany 1990, and Alex (Daniel Brühl) attempts to make time stand still to protect his ill mother from finding out that her beloved East Germany no longer exists after she wakes from a coma. Amelie fans will love this Rip Van Winkle-esque satire for Yann Tiersen’s gorgeous soundtrack.
“★★★★★ – forgotten festival of Black brilliance finally gets its dues” – NME. In his filmmaking debut, the legendary musician Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson presents this powerful documentary – part concert film, part historical record – about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, an epic event that celebrated African-American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity.
★★★★★ – Observer. Writer and director Lauren Hadaway uses sound to great (and unnerving) effect in this story of a young, queer physics major who joins her university’s elite rowing team, setting her on a gruelling physical and psychological journey that pushes her to breaking point. A gripping and intense drama based on Hadaway’s own experiences.
John Mills leads the cast in this story of the legendary breakout by allied POWs from the Germans’ supposedly escape-proof WWII fortress. Undaunted by the threat of execution, the inmates try every conceivable means of escape – until someone suggests they attempt to walk out dressed as enemy officers. Selected to coincide with our series of War on Screen courses.
“★★★★★ – silence never sounded so terrifying” – Guardian. In a post-apocalyptic world, a young family must live in total silence for fear of alerting a mysterious and deadly threat that attacks at any sound. Emily Blunt and John Krasinski star in this nerve-shredding horror.
★★★★ – The Times. Wealthy young Emma Woodhouse finds her matchmaking ‘skills’ leave much to be desired in this delicious adaptation of Jane Austen’s Regency comedy. Anya Taylor-Joy (Last night in Soho) leads a superb cast, including Josh O’Connor (The Durrells), Johnny Flynn (Beast) and BAFTA winner Bill Nighy (Pride).
Available online now
Welcome to Phoenix at Home, the place to come to find a specially-curated programme of films, art, learning and creative activities to enjoy in the comfort of your own home.
Dive into our specially-selected resources and online content exploring a range of film-related subjects, including interviews, articles, and archive film.
We’ve got a great range of activities for children and young people at Phoenix, from filmmaking courses to downloadable activities using Scratch.