The Best Movies You Can Only See in Miami in February

Love is in the air this month as Miami’s film scene gears up for Valentine’s Day, with classic romance flicks and newer and unconventional love stories in theaters. Not interested? There are plenty of other options, too, including awards contenders re-entering cinemas and advance screenings of upcoming major releases. Plus, get acquainted with classic Japanese cinema in a very special AV Club program. Here are the best films to see in Miami in February.

Marty Supreme at Coral Gables Art Cinema

If you didn’t get a chance to catch Timothée Chalamet in director Josh Safdie’s ping-pong thriller Marty Supreme, Coral Gables Art Cinema will screen the film a few more times as part of its awards season series.

Our Take: More than a little reminiscent of Safdie’s earlier film Uncut Gems, Marty Supreme is yet another story following a recklessly wily protagonist tearing an unbearably tense path of self-destruction through New York City. This time it’s Marty Mauser (Chalamet), a prodigious table tennis athlete who faces doubters, danger, and self-sabotage as he attempts to seize an impossible dream of glory and fame as a ping pong wizard. Chalamet is in rare form as the rakish Mauser, whose personal vision barely sets him apart from the street crooks and criminals he encounters throughout the film. Claustrophobic cinematography paired with Daniel Lopatin’s maximal synth score adds propulsive forward motion, while Safdie’s penchant for casting unconventional actors, including Shark Tank‘s Kevin O’Leary and legendary New York director Abel Ferrara, gives the film an added layer of grime. But make no mistake: It’s Chalamet’s show from start to finish, and it’s his Oscar to lose. February 14, 15, and 19 at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249. Tickets cost $10 to $11.75 via gablescinema.com.

The Voice of Hind Rajab at Coral Gables Art Cinema

Following No Other Land‘s victory at the Oscars last year, another film focused on the plight of the Palestinian people has earned attention this awards season. Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s ripped-from-the-headlines narrative feature The Voice of Hind Rajab dramatizes the notorious 2024 incident in which Rajab, a 6-year-old girl in Gaza, was killed in an Israeli military attack while awaiting rescue from first responders. Nominated for Best International Feature Film at this year’s Academy Awards, the film has already won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and screened to strong responses at other fall film festivals in Toronto, London, and San Sebastián. Coral Gables Art Cinema will screen the film twice, with one showing on Sunday, February 15, and another on Wednesday, February 18. 1 p.m. Sunday, February 15, and 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, February 18 at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com. Tickets cost $10 to $11.75.

Our Take: Everything seems to be going wrong for Linda (Byrne). Her sick daughter has to be fed through a tube. Her estranged husband can only be reached on the phone. She has to spend all day listening to people’s problems as a therapist and all night listening to the machinery keeping her kid healthy. And, oh yeah, there’s a gaping hole in her ceiling, and the repairs keep getting pushed back. Forced to live in a rundown motel, her sanity begins to crack. With claustrophobic cinematography heavy on close-ups, hallucinatory special effects, and crucial details left out of frame to make the audience stew in its own anxiety, calling this a Safdie brothers movie from a woman’s point of view isn’t very far off — Marty Supreme director Josh Safdie and co-writer Ronald Bronstein, husband of this film’s director Mary Bronstein, are both producers. Yet If I Had Legs I’d Kick You tells a far more mundane, yet gripping story about the sacrifices mothers have to make. And while plenty of kooky characters populate the film, including Conan O’Brien as a therapist colleague and A$AP Rocky as the druggy motel super, it’s undeniably Byrne’s show, with the actress giving a stunning performance as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. 5 p.m. Tuesday, February 17, and 5:15 p.m. Thursday, February 19, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com. Tickets cost $10 to $11.75. 

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival

Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival will feature 69 films at four different locations across Broward County, including new sites in Davie and Deerfield Beach, as well as Cinema Paradiso in Hollywood and Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale. The lineup includes international films from countries ranging from Spain and Cuba to Morocco, Ireland, and Laos, while the documentary slate will feature films focused on Yellowstone mountain lions, Buddhist monks, and Broward’s LGBTQ community, among other topics. Special guests include actor Chevy Chase and fashion designer Guy Harvey, both of whom are the subject of films screening at the festival. Friday, February 20, through Saturday, February 28; fliff.com. Individual film tickets cost $8 to $13.

Past February Screenings:

Pillion at AMC Sunset Place and Paradigm Cinemas Gateway

A24 is no stranger to provocative romance films, and Pillion might be its wildest yet. Focusing on a gay BDSM relationship between a gruff, dangerously sexy biker (Alexander Skarsgård) and a shy, happily submissive barbershop quartet vocalist (Harry Melling), the film by British director Harry Lighton picked up the Best Screenplay prize at the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section. Local LGBTQIA+ film festival Outshine is screening the film ahead of its stateside release at AMC Sunset Place in South Miami and Paradigm Cinemas Gateway in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, February 4. Tickets are first-come, first-served, and include admission to a free after-party at the Eagle Bar in Wilton Manors, plus a free drink. 7 p.m. Wednesday, February 4, at AMC Sunset Place 24, 5701 Sunset Dr. #300, South Miami; 305-740-8904; amctheatres.com. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, February 4, at Paradigm Cinemas Gateway, 1820 E. Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-678-4858; paradigmcinemas.com. Admission is free on a first-come, first-served basis. 

AV Club: Japanese Cinema Series at Main Library

Get up close and personal with some of the greatest films to come from the Land of the Rising Sun. Curated and hosted by New Times film critic (and the author of this column) Doug Markowitz, “Kintsugi: The Golden Age of Japanese Cinema” features samurai epics, surreal dramas, and more of Japan’s most celebrated movies, all on 16mm, and all for free. The series kicks off on Saturday, February 7, with the haunting Macbeth adaptation Throne of Blood, a classic samurai thrill-ride from Akira Kurosawa starring actor Toshiro Mifune. Then, on Saturday, February 21, come back to see the atmospheric, Oscar-winning drama Woman in the Dunes. 2 p.m. Saturday, February 7, and Saturday, February 21, at Main Library, 101 W. Flagler St., Miami; 305-375-2665; mdpls.org. Admission is free.

EPiC: Elvis Presley In Concert Preview Screening at Koubek Center

Apparently, one Elvis movie wasn’t enough for Baz Luhrmann. The director of 2022’s Elvis, starring a breakout Austin Butler as the legendary rock ‘n’ roll star and pop culture icon, has also put together a grand-scale concert film extravaganza sourced from unseen archival footage dating back to his early ‘70s comeback tour. Although the film will be released in IMAX later in February, the Miami Film Festival is giving those who don’t want to wait for their fix of the King a chance to see the film early. The festival will host a members-only screening on Tuesday, February 10, at the Koubek Center in Little Havana; the lowest-tier festival membership costs $65 and offers discounts to festival screenings and other benefits. 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 10, at the Koubek Center, 2705 SW Third St., Miami; 305-237-7749; miamifilmfestival.com.

Valentine’s Day at Coral Gables Art Cinema

Coral Gables Art Cinema is offering several cinematic options for Valentine’s Day. If you like your romance on the old-fashioned side, the arthouse theater is screening Casablanca on Saturday, February 14, at 7 p.m. The Hollywood classic stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, one of the most iconic screen couples in film history, as a pair of ex-lovers who meet by chance in the titular Moroccan city during World War II. If you’re looking for something a little more youthful and modern, how about a rom-com from the ‘80s? Director Cameron Crowe’s Say Anything…, a heartfelt romance between two teens on opposite sides of the social spectrum, is best known for its much-referenced boombox scene, where lovestruck Lloyd (John Cusack) plays Peter Gabriel for Diane (Ione Skye). What would the modern equivalent of that even be? Playing Mitski on a Bluetooth speaker, perhaps? Catch that one at 10 p.m. Saturday, February 14, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com. Tickets cost $10 to $11.75. 

Caught By The Tides at Coral Gables Art Cinema

Screenings of Chinese cinema are rare in Miami, so this presentation of the latest film from Jia Zhangke, considered one of the most important mainland directors of his generation, at Coral Gables Art Cinema is a must-attend.

Our Take: Jia Zhangke’s filmography has evolved into a document of an evolving China, and Caught by the Tides, edited together from more than 20 years of footage, may be the culmination of that project. Following a woman (Zhao Tao, Jia’s wife) in her hunt for her lover through years of travel across the country, the film showcases China’s great leap forward from a blighted industrial economy into the futuristic superpower it has become today, with even the texture and quality of the footage marking the passage of time. Very similar in plot to Jia’s other films, especially his recent Ashi is Purest White, those already familiar with Jia’s work may find the film something of a retread. But for first-timers and the China-curious, Caught by the Tides will be a rewarding watch. 6 p.m. February 16 at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; gablescinema.com. Tickets cost $10 to $11.75.