November Cinestudio Must-Watch List, Ranked

Hannah Smith ’26

Arts & Entertainment Editor

Cinestudio’s November 2024 schedule is filled to the brim with new releases and three films playing as part of a Palestinian film series supported by the Trinity Arts Initiative. The following is my personal ranking of the must-see movies for this month.

The film I’m most looking forward to watching is A24’s “We Live in Time” starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. I’m sure you’ve seen it all over your Instagram feed, and it is so deserving of all the hype it has gotten. Pugh and Garfield unexpectedly meet, fall in love and start a family, but their time together is threatened when Pugh’s character is diagnosed with cancer, and they must learn to cherish the time they have left together, hence the title. If you decide to watch this movie at Cinestudio, and I hope you do, I recommend coming prepared with at least two boxes of tissues.

Up next is “Lee,” a film about Elizabeth “Lee” Miller, a former fashion model turned photographer who becomes a war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. This film stars Kate Winslet, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård (“The Northman”) and Marion Cotillard (“The Dark Knight Rises”) and is directed by Ellen Kuras, the cinematographer for “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” making this the second collaboration between Kuras and Winslet. “Lee” is also one of the first serious roles for comedic actor Andy Samberg.

“The Time that Remains” is a semi-autobiographical Palestinian film from 2009 about the lives of families living in Palestine and Israel from 1948 to present day. It revolves around a Palestinian family labeled as “Israeli-Arab” who live as minorities in their own homeland. This film has a very similar visual aesthetic as a Wes Anderson movie, which is really interesting to see in such a serious context.

“Conclave” tells the story of the process of choosing a new pope while uncovering deeply hidden secrets that could threaten the legitimacy of the Roman Catholic Church. Directed by Edward Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front”), “Conclave” has a star-studded cast of Ralph Fiennes (“The Grand Budapest Hotel”), Isabella Rossellini (“Blue Velvet”), Stanley Tucci (“The Hunger Games” franchise) and John Lithgow (“Shrek”).

“The Critic” stars Ian McKellen (“The Lord of the Ring” franchise) as a theater critic who puts himself and others in a deadly situation when he decides to start a blackmail scheme. The cast also consists of Ben Barnes (“The Chronicles of Narnia”), Mark Strong (“Kingsman: The Secret Service”), Alfred Enoch (Dean Thomas in the “Harry Potter” franchise), Lesley Manville (“Phantom Thread”) and Gemma Arterton (“Prince of Persia”).

“Divine Intervention” is the second film of the November Palestinian film series. This 2002 war comedy follows two lovers from different cities that meet at an Israeli checkpoint and witness historic events as they unfold. This film is rather slow, but it is a truly beautiful piece of art.

“Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.” tells the true story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a man who preached love while plotting the assassination of Hitler. It is directed by Todd Komarnicki, the writer for films like “Sully” and “The Professor and the Madman” and one of the producers of “Elf,” and stars Jonas Dassler, August Diehl (“Inglourious Basterds”), Moritz Bleibtreu (“Run Lola Run”) and Flula Borg (“Pitch Perfect 2”).

The final film of November and the first Christmas movie of the year is “Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point.” The film’s tagline could easily be if “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” was filled with nepo-babies. The cast includes Maria Dizzia (“Agatha All Along”), Ben Shenkman (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”), Francesca Scorsese (Martin Scorsese’s daughter), Elsie Fisher (“8th Grade”), Michael Cera, Gregg Turkington (“Ant-Man”), Sawyer Spielberg (Steven Spielberg’s son) and a couple teenage TikTokers. The film is about a family’s Christmas Eve party that may be their last in their ancestral home. One of the teenagers sneaks out with her friends and hijinks ensues. I’m honestly not sure why Michael Cera is in this movie — but the more the merrier.