By Katie McKenna
The Dublin International Film Festival is a highlight of the year for any Irish cinephile. However, with their extensive line-up it’s hard to know what films to watch. Don’t worry, here at Trinity Film Review we’ve gone through the line-up and made a list of the five films that must not be missed!
1. Pearl (Ti West)
This film needs no explanation, the stunning follow-up to X (Ti West, 2022) took all of social media by storm, with no small thanks to Mia Goth’s mesmerising performance. Now after months of waiting Pearl is finally in Irish cinemas and it shouldn’t be missed by any self-respecting girlboss.
2. Smoking Causes Coughing (Quentin Dupieux)
Any regular reader of Trinity Film knows we’re a fan of camp. And this French film seems to tick all the boxes. Following a group of avengers called the ‘Tobacco Force’, this film has everything; laughs, action scenes, giant turtles and rat goo.
3. Close (Lukas Dhont)
Winner of the Grand Prix award at Cannes 2022 and Oscar nominee, Close follows a friendship between two young boys and the incident that will irreparably damage their bond. A film busting with both childhood innocence and inescapable melancholy, Close is a film you’ll be thinking (and crying) about for a long long time.
4. The Future Tense (Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy)
What exactly does it mean to be Irish? How has the past, both our own and our country’s, affected us? These are the types of questions The Future Tense attempts to answer. Its style, caused by COVID, allows the film to achieve shocking levels of intimacy and vulnerability. More of a confession than a film, The Future Tense throws away the ‘Irish people are emotionally cold’ stereotype, leaving you with a film so authentic, you’ll feel you know the directors personally.
5. God’s Creatures (Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer)
This is Paul Mescal’s moment! Coming off his Oscar nominated role in Aftersun (Charlotte Wells, 2022), he has big boots to fill, and we’re sure he’ll fill them. Set in a fishing village in rural Ireland, God’s Creatures shows us how far a mother will go for her son. And any of us with a brother knows that’s pretty far! A film that’s almost too deliberate and tense to be called a thriller, God’s Creatures proves yet again that Irish films are on a hot streak!
You can book tickets for DIFF here
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