It’s going to be a great summer for cinema: Nine new movies to watch

Don’t feel too bad if you were confused about the films being nominated for Golden Globes this week. Emilia Perez? Conclave? Most Australians have never heard these titles. And with good reason: eight out of the 12 films nominated in the major categories aren’t yet released on our shores.

It’s frustrating that we often have to wait longer to see awards season fare – a result of the fact films are easier to sell to local audiences when buoyed by Oscar buzz. But it also means there’s some incredible cinema heading our way in the next month or so. Here are some titles for your summer watch list.

Anora (in cinemas December 26)

Australians will soon get the chance to see this much-hyped film seven months after it took the top prize at Cannes. Following the romance between a New York sex worker and the goofy son of a Russian oligarch, Anora is an absorbing and darkly funny film that may surprise you with the twists it takes along the way.

Anora has five Golden Globe nominations, including nods for director Sean Baker (Tangerine, The Florida Project) and actors Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov.

It’s expected to be a frontrunner in the Oscars best picture race, and Madison – a relative unknown before now – will definitely be in the conversation for best actress.

The Brutalist (January 23)

This A24 epic (yes, it’s three-and-a-half hours long) follows a fictional Hungarian architect (Adrien Brody) as he escapes the Holocaust and rebuilds his life in America.

It’s been celebrated as a wildly ambitious project for both its story (an original screenplay co-written by director Brady Corbet) and form.

The Brutalist is the first film in decades to be entirely shot in VistaVision – the format of classics such as Vertigo.

Two decades since his win for The Pianist, Brody could well return to the Oscars stage. Guy Pearce may get a look-in, too. The Australian is nominated for a Golden Globe for his portrayal of a wealthy American industrialist.

Wicked (out now)

This crowd-pleasing blockbuster is up for best motion picture (musical or comedy) at the Globes, and both Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are nominated in the acting categories. It’s generally expected this success will carry across to the Oscars (I’m so sorry, the promo cycle for this film will never end), but the jury’s out on just how far the momentum will get it. Remember what happened to Barbie? It’s not a great sign that director John M Chu failed to make the grade for best director at the Globes.

Conclave (January 9)

Could this be the year that Ralph Fiennes wins his Oscar? He’s been nominated twice – for Schindler’s List and The English Patient – but will probably get another run at it in this thrilling drama about the election of a new pope.

Directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) and based on a 2016 novel of the same name, Conclave follows Fiennes as a cardinal who finds himself unravelling scandals about papal candidates. Some critics have called it “very silly”, but Conclave still earned six Golden Globe nominations, including best motion picture (drama).

Emilia Perez (January 16)

Emilia Perez, a noir musical from a French auteur that’s been called “a cross between Mrs Doubtfire and Sicario”, may not seem like it has the broadest appeal. But this festival darling, which is now on Netflix in select countries, has earned more Golden Globes nominations than Barbie.

The Jacques Audiard film, which is primarily in Spanish, follows a Mexican cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascon) as they fake their death and seek gender-affirming surgery to start anew. Gascon won best actress at Cannes (alongside co-stars Zoe Saldana, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz) and is nominated at the Globes against Erivo and Madison. The outlandish film’s record-breaking haul of 10 nominations also includes best director and best motion picture (musical or comedy).

A Complete Unknown (January 23)

A biopic about one of the world’s most beloved musicians starring one of the world’s hottest young stars! Of course it’s in awards contention. This film from James Mangold (Walk the Line) explores Bob Dylan’s early days, from his arrival in New York to his controversial set at the Newport Folk Festival.

It has earned a Globes nomination for best picture (drama) plus acting nods for Timothee Chalamet and Edward Norton. Chalamet is getting particular love from critics for his turn as Dylan. If he manages to take home the Oscar in March, he would break Adrien Brody’s record as the youngest winner.

A Real Pain (December 26)

After winning his first Emmy and Golden Globe for the final season of Succession, Kieran Culkin is tipped to pick up an Oscar. His “hot-blooded, twitchy and chaotic” performance in this Jesse Eisenberg road movie about family, grief and historical trauma is being hailed as one of the year’s best.

All We Imagine As Light (December 26)

The first Indian film to compete at Cannes in 30 years (which went on to win the Grand Prix), this fiction feature debut from Payal Kapadia centres on three women who work in a Mumbai hospital. It’s been described as “a quiet drama about fragility, beauty and kinship”.

Though it was controversially not selected as India’s submission to the international feature category at the Academy Awards, Kapadia is one of two women nominated for best director at the Globes – alongside Coralie Fargeat (The Substance).

Sing Sing (January 16)

Colman Domingo will compete against Chalamet, Fiennes and Brody for the best actor gong at the Globes and could be up for an Oscars rematch. In this A24 drama, he portrays a real inmate at New York’s Sing Sing prison who puts on theatre productions through the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. Many of the other inmates are also played by former prisoners.

Some more titles, for your consideration

• The Substance (out now)
• Gladiator II (out now)
• Dune: Part Two (available to rent or buy)
• Challengers (available to rent or buy)
• The Apprentice (available to rent or buy)
• Babygirl (January 30)
• September 5 (February 6)
• Hard Truths (March 6)
• Nickel Boys (TBD)

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your½ must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.