Movies opening in theaters this weekend include the Cannes Grand Prix-winning Indian film All We Imagine as Light, directed by Payal Kapadia and filmmaking duo Kalman & Horn bring an absurdist ’90s cable TV style to their new film, Dream Team, which follows the journey of two Interpol agents.
Additionally, a selection of documentaries is making its way to theaters. Elton John: Never Too Late honors the legendary pop star, while Joy Haskell’s The Salmon’s Call examines the spiritual and cultural relationship between wild salmon and Indigenous peoples; Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly captures the beauty of his homeland in Life is Beautiful: A Letter to Gaza, and Alexis Spraic’s The World According to Allee Willis celebrates the life and creativity of the iconic artist.
Ridley Scott also returns with Gladiator II, a sequel to his classic, starring Paul Mescal as the son of Russell Crowe’s character from the original.
Full List of Movies Opening this Weekend, November 15
All We Imagine as Light
Directed by: Payal Kapadia.
Starring: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, Hridhu Haroon, and Azees Nedumangad.
The light, the lives, and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated by writer/director Payal Kapadia, who won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her revelatory fiction feature debut. Centering on two roommates who also work together in a city hospital – head nurse Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and recent hire Anu (Divya Prabha) – plus their coworker, cook Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), Kapadia’s film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha, her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany, is courted by a doctor at her hospital; Anu carries on a romance with a Muslim man, which she must keep a secret from her strict Hindu family; Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction from her apartment.
Review Summary:
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%. Guardian: 5/5, Next Best Picture: 9/10.
Official Trailer:
Dream Team
Directed by: Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn.
Starring: Esther Garrel, Alex Zhang Huangtai, Isabelle Barbier, Avalon Greenberg Call, Minh T Mia, John Fell Ryan, and Fariha Roisin.
An absurdist homage to ’90s basic cable TV thrillers, Dream Team follows the episodic escapades of two hot West Coast Interpol agents who uncover an international, interspecies mystery involving psychic coral, a sexually suggestive scientist, and an invisible coworker with a very vindictive streak.
Official Trailer:
Gladiator II
Directed by: Ridley Scott.
Starring: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.
From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Review Summary:
Rotten Tomatoes: 74%. NY Post: 3/4, IndieWire: C.
Official Trailer:
Elton John: Never Too Late (Documentary)
Directed by: R.J. Cutler and David Furnish.
Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish, the documentary follows Elton John as he looks back on his life and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in this emotionally charged, intimate and uplifting full-circle journey. As he prepares for his final concert in North America at Dodger Stadium, Elton takes us back in time and recounts the extraordinary highs and heartbreaking lows of his early years and how he overcame adversity, abuse and addiction to become the icon he is today.
Review Summary:
Rotten Tomatoes: . IndieWire: B-, Awards Watch: B.
Official Trailer:
The Salmon’s Call (Documentary)
Directed by: Joy Haskell.
The Salmon’s Call is a powerful documentary that explores the intricate spiritual and cultural relationship between wild salmon and Indigenous people that has lasted centuries. It is told through an Indigenous lens and gives a unique voice to a vital symbol of renewal, transformation, and resilience. The film takes viewers on a breathtaking journey with the Sockeye salmon from the West Coast waters of British Columbia, traversing the Fraser River, through the Chilcotin and the Stuart River (Nak’alkoh) and Stuart Lake (Nak’albun) situated in Northern British Columbia. Along this journey, we meet various members of the community from elders to youths as they share their rich connection to the salmon.
Official Trailer:
Life is Beautiful: A Letter to Gaza (Documentary)
Directed by: Mohamed Jabaly.
Stuck in the arctic of Norway and refusing to accept the boundaries imposed by international politics and rigid bureaucracy, filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly insists on telling heartfelt stories from his hometown Gaza. Despite having only limited connection to his family abroad and support from his friends, he manages to channel his own creativity, adhering to his motto LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL.
Official Trailer:
The World According to Allee Willis (Documentary)
Directed by: Alexis Spraic.
Take one look at award-winning songwriter/artist Allee Willis, and you see someone unafraid to be themselves. Dressed in a cacophony of prints and colors, with her signature asymmetrical haircut and the famed parties at her real-life Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, Allee didn’t waste any opportunity to tell you what she was about. But privately, Allee struggled with not fitting established gender and sexual norms.
She buried herself in her work until true love manifested her ultimate masterpiece—self-acceptance.
Review Summary:
Next Best Picture: 7/10, Maven’s Nest: 7/10.
Official Trailer: