The theaters below show films in their original language; click on the links for showtimes and ticket information.
 
Interviews with the stars, general film articles, and reports on press conferences and film festivals.
 
Subscribe to the free KinoCritics monthly email newsletter here.
 
 

 

© DCM Film Distribution GmbH

Spencer

“A fable from a true tragedy” reads the opening subtitle to Pablo Larrain’s film Spencer, an imagining of Princess Diana’s (Kristen Stewart) Christmas visit to the the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in 1991, the final year of her doomed marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing). Already living separately from her husband, who is in the middle of his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, Diana must still keep up all public appearances and attend family events, where her every move is constantly scrutinized and the pressure to remain in a toxic marriage is becoming unbearable and pushing her to the breaking point.

From the moment she arrives at Sandringham, Diana is constantly surveilled by the head of staff Major Alistair Gregory (Timothy Spall), a military man who is tasked with making sure she stays in line. The more he struggles to control her, the more she rebels — and the more her mental health spirals. Told solely from Diana’s increasingly manic point of view, writer Steven Knight puts the audience directly in the grip of an unreliable narrator, and what begins as historical fiction becomes more of a metaphor-laden psychological thriller.

“In this house there is no future. The past and the present are the same thing,” she hauntingly says to her son, Prince Harry (Freddie Spry). Indeed, while at Sandringham, Diana becomes obsessed with the past. Finding a biography of Anne Boleyn, the beheaded second wife of Henry VIII (and actually a distant Spencer relative), in her room, Diana becomes convinced her ghost is trying to communicate a warning to her. She is also increasingly drawn to her old childhood home, now an abandoned estate that neighbors Sandringham.

Over the course of these three days, the audience has an up close and at times claustrophobic view of what it is like to be Diana during this trying and critical time in her life. Her bulimia problem is exacerbated by the increased stress, which begins the moment she sets foot in Sandringham. In keeping with historic royal protocol, Major Gregory insists Diana be weighed to ensure the required three pounds are gained over the holiday. It is a royal life of decadence and riches, but for Diana, it is a life encaged — one she’s not sure is worth living.

Kristen Stewart’s performance as Diana is truly mesmerizing and the success of this film largely rests on its shoulders. With every tortured shrug and shy side glance, she gives life to this fable. (Adelina Gonzales)

 

A Thousand and One (2023)

Barbie (2023)

Das Lehrerzimmer (The Teachers' Lounge) (2023)

Die Bologna Entführung - Geraubt im Namen des Papstes (Kidnapped, Rapito) (2023)

DogMan (2023)

Indiana Jones und das Rad des Schicksals (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) (2023)

LOLA (Lola) (2023)

Maria Montessori (La nouvelle femme) (2023)

Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Teil Eins (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One) (2023)

Mumien - Ein total verwickeltes Abenteuer (Mummies) (2023)

One Life (2023)

Oppenheimer (2023)

Oppenheimer (2023)

Poor Things (2023)

Rückkehr zum Land der Pinguine (Voyage au pole sud) (2023)

Seaside Special (2023)

Seneca (Seneca - On the Creation of Earthquakes) (2023)

The Holdovers (2023)

The Zone of Interest (2023)

Vergiss Meyn Nicht (Lonely Oaks) (2023)

Voll ins Leben (Life for Real, La vie pour de vrai) (2023)

20.000 Arten von Bienen (20,000 Species of Bees, 20.000 especies de abejas) (2023)

Air - Der große Wurf (Air) (2023)

Anatomie eines Falls (Anatomy of a Fall, Anatomie d'une chute) (2023)

Auf der Adamant (On the Adamant, Sur l'Adamant) (2023)

Baby to go (The Pod Generation) (2023)

Catch the Killer (To Catch a Killer) (2023)

In voller Blüte (The Great Escaper) (2023)

LOLA (Lola) (2023)

The Creator (2023)

Tótem (Totem) (2023)

Vermeer - Reise in Licht (Close to Vermeer, Dicht bij Vermeer) (2023)

Would you like to receive a list of all the current month's film releases -- with links to reviews by the KinoCritics -- delivered right into your email box? If so, click here to subscribe to the KinoCritics Newsletter. We'll email it to your inbox at the beginning of every month.