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October is the perfect time for scary movies, but Miami’s cinema scene isn’t just offering thrills and chills this month. Miami Film Festival Gems is back to prime you for awards season with great films from around the world alongside soon-to-be hits from Hollywood. Meanwhile, a powerful documentary about the Everglades debuts at Coral Gables Art Cinema, and AV Club is diving into German Expressionism. Here are our picks for the best movies to see this month in Miami.
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River of Grass Premiere at Coral Gables Art Cinema
Reinterpreting Marjorie Stoneman Douglas’ legendary book of the same name, local director Sasha Wortzel’s award-winning documentary River of Grass will have its premiere at Coral Gables Art Cinema with a weeklong engagement starting Friday, October 17. The film has become accidentally timely thanks to the hastily constructed Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center, the existence of which is in limbo, partly due to legal complaints from the Miccosukee Tribe. Betty Osceola, a tribal elder and a prominent figure in the protests against the camp, is featured in the film. Wortzel and Osceola will attend the Friday and Saturday screenings for post-film Q&As. Friday, October 17, through Wednesday, October 22, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249. Tickets cost $17.75 via gablescinema.com.
Our Take: Few films about Florida are so clearly made from the perspective of a born-and-raised Floridian. And fewer still have been able to so clearly articulate both the subtle charms and the vital ecological importance of the Everglades, an ecosystem that continues to be overlooked by visitors and transplants, and, as the film argues, abused by big agro-industries, such as Florida’s so-called cane-sugar cartel. With sumptuous visuals drawn from both contemporary and archival footage, Wortzel’s documentary beautifully captures what makes the Everglades so important and essential to safeguard. Friday, October 17, through Thursday, October 23, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249. Tickets cost $17.75 via gablescinema.com.
Predators at O Cinema
O Cinema will premiere the new documentary from director David Osit (Mayor), examining NBC’s To Catch a Predator and the cultural aftereffects it spawned, on Friday, October 17. The film previously screened at Sundance and other film festivals.
Our Take: NBC TV reporter Chris Hansen launched a national phenomenon in the mid-2000s with To Catch A Predator, staging elaborate sting operations to lure alleged pedophiles and expose them to a captivated nation. But in Predators, documentarian David Osit wonders why the show never answered the one question he hoped it would answer: Why do these men do what they do? In trying to find the solution, he turns the cameras around, revealing the highly questionable ethics of the show, its position as a cornerstone of the crass and vindictive culture of the Bush era, and its inspiration for a wave of vigilante “pedo-hunters” broadcasting on YouTube and social media. He also shows a surprising amount of sympathy for the alleged predators, most of whom seem less like evil monsters and more like scared, confused men who need help and won’t get any. Reality TV is rarely a one-to-one reflection of reality itself. Friday, October 17, at O Cinema South Beach, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; o-cinema.org. Tickets cost $10 to $12.50.
AV Club: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari at Main Library
AV Club begins a series this month on the weird, wonderful, and deeply influential German Expressionism movement, starting with a screening of the 1920 classic The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene.
Our Take: If you’ve ever wondered why Tim Burton’s movies look all crooked and gothic, you’ve got Dr. Cagliari to thank for it. Robert Wiene and his art directors drew upon the then-nascent Expressionist art movement — which aimed to depict a subjective and emotional view of the world as a reaction to traditional realism — to craft the film’s distorted and disturbing look. The result is a piece of art that feels like a descent into madness. 2 p.m. Saturday, October 25, at Main Library, 101 W. Flagler St., Miami; 305-375-2665; mdpls.org. Admission is free.
Miami Film Festival’s Gems
Miami Film Festival’s Gems is back with some of the most exciting and notable films of the fall season, as well as appearances from major stars such as Ethan Hawke, Dylan O’Brien, and director Park Chan-wook. Earlier this month, I ventured to the New York Film Festival to see some of the films selected for Gems at their U.S. premieres. Below are my takes on a few of the most notable movies to sink your teeth into during Halloween weekend. Wednesday, October 29, through Wednesday, November 5, multiple locations; miamifilmfestival.com.
No Other Choice
Were it not for the bombastic thrills of One Battle After Another, Park Chan-wook’s latest would be far and away the best film of the year. It’s also just as timely as Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic, although instead of tackling immigration crackdowns, the Korean director follows family man Man-so (Lee Byung-hun), who’s on the verge of losing everything after he gets laid off from his paper mill job. Anyone who’s had to slog through the swamp of unemployment in the last few years will identify with the anger and hopelessness he experiences, especially when his desperation becomes so great that he’ll do anything to get a new job, even eliminate the competition. If that’s not enough, Park fills the movie with incredible trick shots — split diopters, POV shots — that make you question how the hell he accomplished them. The result is an astonishing, balletically directed tour de force that lives up to his best work. Park himself will be in town to give a Q&A following the screening, making this a true must-attend event. 6 p.m. Wednesday, October 29, at the Koubek Center, 2705 SW Third St., Miami; 305-237-7749; miamifilmfestival.com.
It Was Just an Accident
Jafar Panahi, one of Iran’s greatest filmmakers, has spent the past 15 years evading a ban on making movies handed to him by his own theocratic government. His Palme d’Or winner, It Was Just an Accident, is the first film he’s been able to actually leave the country to promote since then, and the first in which he doesn’t appear. The story is deceptively simple: Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri), a mechanic, has a chance encounter with Eghbal (Ebrahim Azizi), the man who tortured him in prison. He follows the guy home and kidnaps him, intending to give him a taste of his own medicine. But something gives him pause — is this really the right man? Panahi’s blackly comedic, utterly engrossing revenge thriller spirals out from here like a long joke, adding characters and muddying the already gray morality of Vahid’s quest. And like all great jokes, it ends in a devastating punchline. 6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 30, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; miamifilmfestival.com.
Sentimental Value
Following up his devastating millennial dramedy The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier returns us to Oslo to follow a family defined by artistry and unaddressed generational trauma. After the death of their mother, sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reconnect with their distant father, the Lars Von Trier-esque film director Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgård). When Gustav suddenly offers theatre actor Nora the lead role in his next film, to be shot in the family home, she refuses, but will things change after Gustav hires famous American actress Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning) to replace her? Sentimental Value may disappoint those who were awed by Trier’s more direct last film — an adrift twentysomething is a better recipe for relatability than a bourgeois family drama. Yet the film is competently made and acted, and may resonate at least a bit with those of us with difficult families. 4 p.m. Saturday, November 1, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249; miamifilmfestival.com.
Sirât
Imagine you’re at Burning Man when World War III breaks out. Now imagine you’re also trying to find your missing daughter, and you’ve brought your preteen son and the family dog along for the trip. This is the situation Luis (Sergi Lopez) finds himself in at the beginning of Oliver Laxe’s Sirât as he and his son join a techno raver caravan in the Moroccan desert. He, nor anyone watching the film, is prepared for what comes next: sandstorms, dwindling resources, cliffside disasters, and an explosive final stretch. A fresh take on Sorcerer and The Wages of Fear infused with rumbling bass and sweaty tension, Laxe’s film is both a potent thriller and a meditation on a first world that’s ill-prepared to face the consequences of its hedonism and ignorance of the conflicts that bloom when they’re not looking. 7:45 p.m. Saturday, November 1, at the Koubek Center, 2705 SW Third St., Miami; 305-237-7749; miamifilmfestival.com.
Cover-Up
Even if he didn’t have Pulitzers and Polk awards galore, Seymour Hersh would still be one of the greatest investigative journalists ever. He’s the man who broke My Lai and Abu Ghraib, he was namedropped in the Nixon Tapes, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Veteran documentarian Laura Poitras, in collaboration with Mark Obenhaus, profiles Hersh as an irascible story-hound, fiercely protective of his sources and driven by a compulsion to dig deeper and expose our government’s darkest secrets. She also doesn’t shy away from his mistakes, such as the times he’s gotten a story wrong. Fans of documentaries, journalism, and exposing the many vicious crimes of the U.S. government — this one’s for you. 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 5, at O Cinema South Beach, 1130 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; miamifilmfestival.com.
Past October Screenings:
Mean Girls at Coral Gables Art Cinema
Dear millennials, we regret to inform you that it is once again October 3. Yes, Mean Girls is a year older — old enough to drink, in fact — and that means you are too. Do your bones ache at the very notion? Can you feel the cold hand of death on your shoulder? Are you still trying to make ‘fetch’ happen at the ripe old age of thirtysomething? For some of us, there’s nothing scarier than aging, so for the ultimate spooky season movie, you can confront the vicious and inexorable march of time and see the utterly quotable high school comedy classic at Coral Gables Art Cinema for its 21st anniversary. Because you’re not like a regular mom, you’re a cool mom. 10 p.m. Friday, October 3, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249. Tickets cost $11.75 via gablescinema.com.
Hispanic Heritage Film Festival at the Koubek Center
Oolite Arts will host a film festival in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month at the Koubek Center in Little Havana. Opening with Rodrigo Alvarez Flores’ film Solo lo que nunca fui on Friday night, the program includes work from a wide array of filmmakers of Hispanic-American heritage, including Hansel Porras and Patricia Castañeda. With features and narrative short blocks that delve into Cuban exile stories, the LGBTQ+ experience, and even animation, there’s something for everyone. This is the second edition of the event, which debuted in 2024. Friday, October 3, through Sunday, October 5, at the Koubek Center, 2705 SW Third St., Miami; hispanicheritagefilmfestival.com. Tickets cost $12 to $60 via hhff2025.eventive.org.
A Weekend With Udo Kier at Coral Gables Art Cinema
When Udo Kier comes on the screen, you know a movie is about to get more interesting. Appearing in more than 200 films for the likes of R.W. Fassbinder, Dario Argento, and Lars Von Trier, the German character actor is one of the most prolific screen presences in all of cinema. At 80 years old, he’s not going anywhere — he’s even set to appear in the hotly anticipated Brazilian thriller, The Secret Agent, later this year. He’ll also turn up in person at Coral Gables Art Cinema for an entire weekend of screenings. The lineup is as diverse as Kier’s storied career, including an art film from Von Trier (Medea), a double feature of cult horror (Blood of Dracula and Flesh for Frankenstein 3D), and a ‘90s Hollywood anti-classic (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective). Friday, October 10, through Sunday, October 12, at Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables; 786-472-2249. Tickets cost $14 to $30 via gablescinema.com.
