Upcoming Films to Watch in the Exam Period

With the weather turning cold and the exam period beginning, it is crucial to devote some time to rest, which helps to set all worries aside for a bit. It is the best time to sit with a warm drink, read a book, or watch a good film. For this reason, in this article, we recommend some new releases to watch during the exam period.

In the past few months, some new, promising animated films have been released. Flow (dir. by Gints Zilbalodis, 2024) offers a unique perspective of the life of a black cat, whose former habitat was completely destroyed by a flood. The story follows her as she cooperates with other animals in order to survive. An interesting feature of the film is that there are no dialogues, leaving the interpretation of the events entirely up to the viewer.

Ridley Scott’s new movie, Gladiator II (2024), the sequel to the cult-classic Gladiator (released in 2000), is currently in theatres. Taking place years after the death of Maximus (Russell Crowe), it tells the story of Lucius (Paul Mescal), who is forced to become a gladiator after the Roman Empire conquers his homeland. In Rome, he gains allies who share his goal to restore the Empire to its former glory: the film follows their struggle as they fight for justice.

Another recent blockbuster is The Substance (dir. by Coralie Fargeat, 2024), which critiques the unattainable ideals set by the film industry and other advertising agencies. Elisabeth (Demi Moore), the protagonist of the film, is an ageing celebrity who, in order to keep getting contracts, takes an illegal drug that transforms her into a younger version of herself. But like everything else, it comes at a price.

Sean Baker’s new film, Anora (2024) is about a young prostitute, Ani (Mikey Madison), who meets Ivan (Mark Eidelstein), the son of a Russian oligarch. They get married on the spur of the moment, but Ivan’s parents, upon hearing the news, do everything they can to break up their marriage.

For those of you who prefer series to movies, we would like to recommend some popular shows with new seasons released. Based on the MOBA video game League of Legends, Arcane (2021–, available on Netflix) reveals the origin story of the sisters, Violet (or “Vi”, for short, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld) and Powder (later Jinx, voiced by Ella Purnell). The second, and final season has been recently released in three parts during November.

In the fourth season of Outer Banks (2020–, available on Netflix), we follow the recurring characters, as they understand that a huge amount of money cannot solve all their problems.

Finally, in the new season of What We Do in the Shadows (2019–, available on Max and Disney+) we get to see Guillermo (Harvey Guillén) realising that he does not fit for a vampire. Therefore, he re-evaluates himself in relation to other vampires.

We hope that you have all found a show you like in our article, which might help you to survive the exam period. If you get bored of watching films at home, we encourage you to visit a cinema.

(Translator’s note: Except for Flow, which is currently limited to Belgian, French, and Latvian audiences, and will be available to stream online from 6th December, all of these films are screened in original English language with Hungarian subtitles in Cinema Apolló in Pécs.)

Translated by: Tímea Hajtmann