Evil Does Not The Beast

If you thought the four killer movies that Criterion announced for a December release last week -- No Country For Old Men, baby! -- were enough then you don't know Criterion. Or more specifically their off-shoot line of Janus Contemporaries releases, which has been dropping its own stellar roster for a year or so now. Today JC has added two more wicked good flicks to the December line-up, including one of my favorite movies of this year (by way of last year -- I first saw it at the NYFF in October of 2023), Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Evil Does Not Exist. The latest from the Drive My Car director is a slow burn but when it lands it's the sort of thing that will haunt you for life -- I've said it several times on social media whenever this movie comes up but this one has drifted into my mind often over the past twelve months, and sends a chill down my spine every damn time it does. It's so good! I'm also deeply and profoundly in love with its poster art (I made sure to snag a copy of the poster when Posteritati had them for sale) and I am extremely happy they used that art for the blu-ray cover. This drops on December 17th.

The second movie getting a December drop (a week before on the 10th) is Bertrand Bonello's somewhat unfathomable The Beast, which confounded me at NYFF last year and yet I have been really wanting to see it a second time and wrestle with its many, many ideas and images and oddnesses. It stars Léa Seydoux and George Mackay (mmm Mackay) as... well, several different people across several different timelines, all weaving and bumping up against one another. It's certainly a singular experience (as most of Bonello's works are) and if any of you have seen it I'd love to hear your thoughts. One day when I have time it'll push its way in front of me again and I'll be able to sort out some of my own. Maybe. Or maybe I'll just enjoy George Mackay being hot and perfect. So many possibilities.