By John Corrado

New releases for the week of August 11th, 2023.

Theatrical Releases:

Passages (TIFF Bell Lightbox): This latest human drama from American indie film director Ira Sachs (Love is Strange, Little Men) charts the sexually charged, emotionally messy dynamics around a self-absorbed young filmmaker (Franz Rogowski) who cheats on his husband (Ben Whishaw) with a woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos). At roughly ninety minutes, this is a brisk and exciting relationship drama, that works thanks to its trio of engaging performances. (Full Review)

The Beasts (TIFF Bell Lightbox): This Spanish-French thriller from director Rodrigo Sorogoyen follows a French couple (Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs) living in the Galician countryside who end up clashing against two local brothers (Luis Zahera and Diego Anido). Sorogoyen’s film builds tension through a series of escalating arguments that reveal long buried resentments, and it’s carried by excellent performances from Ménochet and Zahera as two men at an impasse. (Full Review)

Satan Wants You (Limited Release): This thought-provoking documentary offers a fascinating look at how the best-selling Canadian book Michelle Remembers, written by Michelle Smith and her psychiatrist Larry Pazder recounting “repressed memories” about growing up in a satanic cult, helped fuel the now-infamous Satanic Panic of the 1980s. Filmmakers Steve J. Adams and Sean Horlor tell Michelle’s story though an engaging mix of interviews, archival news footage, and tastefully done re-enactments, packing a lot into a concise 89 minutes. Good stuff. (Hot Docs 2023 Review)

More Releases: The Last Voyage of the Demeter (Wide), Toopy and Binoo: The Movie (Wide), The Pod Generation (Limited), When Morning Comes (Limited)

Streaming Releases:

Red, White & Royal Blue (Prime Video), Heart of Stone (Netflix), Painkiller (Netflix)