Synopsis

Jérémie returns to his sleepy hometown of Saint-Martial in the south of France to attend the funeral of his former boss, the village baker. Afterwards, he decides to stay for a few days with Martine, the baker’s widow. His continued presence in town unsettles the locals, and a threatening neighbor starts to question Jérémie’s intentions. When a mysterious disappearance disturbs the community, a cloud of suspicion begins to form.

Packed with suspense and intrigue, director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake, 2013, Staying Vertical, 2016) returns to the Festival with this misty masterwork. Cloaked in an aura of uncertainty, the film’s tense, winding plot expertly suggests hidden meanings and secret motivations. Featuring a stunning earth-toned visual palette and an unforgettable cast of characters (including a priest with suspicious intentions), Misericordia is an incisive, twist-filled mystery.

Synopsis

In an absurd concatenation of events, single mother Niina (Oona Airola) begins working as an archivist at a local paper. She is drawn inexorably into an investigation when a Soviet nuclear missile crashes near her Lapland town. International reporters and handsome strangers descend on the area, and Niina strikes up a relationship with Kai, a fighter pilot who knows a thing or two about the missile.

When her mother says that Finland is a country troubled by a sense of inferiority and unworthiness, Niina knows the feeling. Mistreated by her ex-husband, judged by her family, and dismissed by all with whom she comes in contact, this single mother has never learned to set boundaries. And Miia Tervo’s The Missile knows something about boundaries — specifically, how to shatter them. Based on an actual incident in 1984, The Missile constantly blurs the generic lines between political thriller, newspaper drama, domestic melodrama, and romantic comedy. Confidently walking this tightrope, writer/director Tervo delivers a moving essay on the importance of  self-worth and the extraordinary power of simply saying “no.”

Synopsis

A retired director (Kwon Haehyo), now running a bookshop, is hastily hired to supervise a short play at a nearby university. He agrees at the behest of his niece (Kim Minhee), who is scrambling to replace the student director who was dismissed due to misconduct. Excited to reconnect, the two work with the student actors to write and stage a work of political theater that irks the school administrators.

Infused with a political edge, By the Stream finds great depth in simplicity. Using a spare plot, stripped down visual style, and a cast of his regular actors, director Hong Sangsoo (On the Beach at Night Alone, 2017) crafts a wistful meditation about regret, human connection, and the creative process.

Synopsis

Moroccan friends Soundouss and Jaâfar arrive at a luxury villa in the resort town of Cabo Negro to await Jaâfar’s American lover, who is meant to join them there. The days go by, but the American doesn’t appear or answer Jaâfar’s calls. Left on their own in this place of transience, the villa becomes their refuge — but only for so long. As the harsh cultural and financial realities of life outside the villa creep in, the two friends seek out fleeting moments of connection with the other misfits of Cabo Negro. Profoundly subtle and rich, celebrated author Abdellah Taïa’s feature debut is an enchanting, tender ode to kinship and generosity between those pushed to the margins of society.

Synopsis

Traversing all of his past films, master director and Festival mainstay Jia Zhang-Ke delivers an epic look at the romantic destiny of his perennial heroine, Qiaoqiao (played by his wife, Zhao Tao). Utilizing scenes from his past work as well as documentary footage collected over the decades, Jia invents bold new scenarios that track his muse over 21 years. In the process, he offers a survey of contemporary China that examines the emotional tumult of living through turbulent social change. An invigorating assemblage of material old and new, Caught By the Tides is a one-of-a-kind odyssey through a nation’s history and a legendary auteur’s work.

Past works shown by Jia Zhang-Ke at the Chicago International Film Festival include Unknown Pleasures (2002), Platform (2005), 24 City (2008), Mountains May Depart (2015), and Ash Is Purest White (2018).