Dinosaurs return to occupy cinemas on a large scale, with a new generation of characters and dangers created by Steven Spielberg. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” is the only wide release in theaters this Thursday (7/3). The limited release schedule also includes three European dramas and the new documentary by Petra Costa, “Apocalypse in the Tropics,” about the rise of evangelical politics in Brazil.
JURASSIC WORLD: REAWAKENING
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The new chapter in the Jurassic franchise is a pseudo “reboot,” planned to recapture the spirit of the original 1993 film. To achieve this goal, Universal Pictures brought back David Koepp (screenwriter of the 1993 “Jurassic Park”) and involved executive producer Steven Spielberg directly, who collaborated intensively on script development for six months. Direction was entrusted to Gareth Edwards (experienced in giant creatures thanks to “Godzilla,” as well as director of “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story”), marking the likely beginning of a new trilogy.
The plot takes place five years after the events of “Jurassic World: Dominion” (2018) and aims to begin a completely new chapter within the saga, independent of the previous trilogy. Set in a world that has proven largely hostile to dinosaurs released into nature, “Recomeço” shows the few surviving species confined to remote tropical regions with climates similar to their prehistoric habitats.
The cast represents a complete renewal of the franchise. Scarlett Johansson (“Black Widow”) plays Zora Bennett, a secret operations agent tasked with an ultra-secret mission alongside paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey from “Bridgerton”) and team leader Duncan Kincaid (Mahershala Ali from “Green Book”). The group’s goal is to infiltrate the remote Saint-Hubert Island—an old research center—to locate the three largest remaining prehistoric species from land, sea, and air, collecting their genetic material. The motivation behind this bold plan is to develop a revolutionary drug capable of saving countless human lives.
Throughout the journey, Zora’s team crosses paths with a family of shipwrecked civilians and discovers that the island harbors failed experiments from Jurassic Park: mutant dinosaurs that have thrived in isolation for decades. Among these creatures is the Distortus rex, a deformed mutant Tyrannosaurus with six limbs, and the Mutadons—winged pterosaur-velociraptor hybrids—as well as the triumphant return of the fearsome Spinosaurus, absent since “Jurassic Park III.” Facing unknown species and unpredictable dangers, Zora and her team race against time to complete their mission, while the wild forces of nature and remnants of human ambition place everyone at risk.
David Koepp’s screenplay incorporated ideas from Michael Crichton’s novels that were never used in the original films, recapturing the atmosphere of wonder and threat from the original Jurassic Park. Thus, the film adopts a more restrained and tense tone compared to its recent predecessors, emphasizing chase and survival scenes within dense jungles and dark facilities, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of classic monster movies. The filming used 35mm film and took place on real locations in Thailand, Malta, and the United Kingdom between June and September 2024, reinforcing the commitment to realistic settings and practical effects combined with state-of-the-art computer graphics—a approach responsible for bringing back the tangible “texture” of the original films even amidst scenes filled with CGI.
YOUNG LOVERS
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The nostalgic and autobiographical drama directed by actress and filmmaker Valeria Bruni Tedeschi brings back memories of the 1980s, when she was a student at the famous theater school Les Amandiers in Paris, under the guidance of legendary stage director Patrice Chéreau. The story follows a group of young actors filled with passion, talent, and restlessness who enter the school to pursue their artistic dream. The film exudes authenticity in recreating the era—including costumes and new wave music—while following Stella (Nadia Tereszkiewicz, “The Last Queen”) and her newly admitted classmates at the prestigious theater school. Under the intense and unpredictable leadership of director Patrice Chéreau (Louis Garrel, “Beloved Women”), these young performers fully immerse themselves in the world of performing arts. During classes and rehearsals, they explore classical works and test their creative limits, while offstage they experience first loves, discoveries, excesses, and the typical tragedies of youth.
Stella quickly becomes friends with Etienne (Sofiane Bennacer)—a charismatic boy whom she falls hopelessly in love with—and with Adèle (Clara Bretheau), François (Micha Lescot), and other classmates who form a close-knit group. Together, they intensely experience every emotion: sexual discoveries, the exhilaration of freedom away from parents, drug use as part of the era’s rebellious spirit, and inevitably, the pain of loss (the specter of AIDS, which shook the artistic community in the 1980s). As the group stages a production of Chekhov’s play “Platonov,” relationships blossom and break apart, ego conflicts arise, insecurities about their own talents emerge, and they are suddenly confronted with mortality when one of their classmates falls ill. The film portrays this “contaminated” generation, affected both by the HIV virus and by an insatiable hunger for life and art that causes them to burn through stages of development rapidly. By the end of the school year—and the hot summer during which the story unfolds—these young lovers and artists reveal scars and lessons that will forever remind them of that time when art, friendship, love, and tragedy intertwined.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, known for directing personal dramas (“A Castle in Italy”), puts much of herself into “Young Lovers.” She co-wrote the screenplay alongside Noémie Lvovsky and Agnès de Sacy, two classmates from that time who are portrayed in the film under fictional names. This collaboration resulted in a touching sense of authenticity—as several scenes and dialogues stem directly from the trio’s shared memories. Additionally, many scenes are shot with a handheld camera, lending a spontaneous and almost documentary-like quality to the sequences. The result is vibrant, genuine performances, highlighted by Nadia Tereszkiewicz, who transitions from euphoria to devastation with great truthfulness—earning her the César Award for Most Promising Actress that year—while Louis Garrel, himself the child of artists from that era, serves on screen as an alter ego of the old French artistic guard.
PIECE OF ME
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The intimate French drama marked the debut of filmmaker Anne-Sophie Bailly, winning three awards at the latest Venice Film Festival, including the Best Direction trophy. The film delicately and realistically explores themes rarely addressed in cinema, such as sexuality, consent, and the challenges of parenthood involving individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Veteran actress Laure Calamy (“Dix pour Cent”) plays Mona, a divorced woman in her early 60s who has devoted her life to caring for her son, Joël (Charles Peccia-Galletto, an actor with Down syndrome), an adult man with intellectual disabilities. The two live a quiet routine in a small apartment in the suburbs of Paris, sharing an extremely close and codependent mother-son bond. At nearly 30 years old, Joël works at an institution for people with special needs and is deeply in love with Océane (Julie Froger), his coworker who also has a disability. However, his mother knows nothing about her son’s relationship—until she unexpectedly discovers that Océane is pregnant.
Pregnancy hits like a bomb: on one side, Mona is confronted by the imminent responsibility of becoming a grandmother and supporting a young couple with disabilities; on the other, she feels her world spinning as she realizes Joel has built his own love life, breaking the protective bubble they lived in. From that moment on, the previously harmonious relationship between mother and son becomes unbalanced: Mona oscillates between unconditional love and the fear of “losing” her son to adulthood, while Joël fights for independence alongside Océane. Old wounds and repressed resentments emerge as Mona tries to reconcile her desire to finally take care of herself with the need to support Joël in this new phase. The clash of emotions threatens the fragile bond uniting them, pushing everyone to their limits as they prepare for the baby’s arrival and an uncertain future.
Influenced by French social cinema, Bailly favors handheld camera shots and natural light, recreating an aesthetic reminiscent of the 1980s and the intimate works of that era. This choice gives the film an almost documentary-like atmosphere, bringing the viewer closer to the characters’ daily lives without filters or idealizations.
By addressing the sexuality of people with disabilities and maternal overprotection, the film inevitably brings to mind works such as “The Sessions” (2012) and the French film “Breathe” (2019), which also deal frankly with inclusion and autonomy. However, “Pedaço de Mim” carves its own path thanks to the sharp common sense of the director, capable of handling sensitive topics with delicacy. Due to its sensitivity, it was enthusiastically received by international critics.
HOT MILK
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Shot under the intense sun of the Mediterranean coast, the British drama explores desires and tensions in the relationship between mother and daughter against a backdrop of sunny beaches and a dreamlike atmosphere. The actresses Emma Mackey (“Sex Education”) and Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve”) lead the cast as Sofia and Rose, who travel to a coastal town in southern Spain seeking treatment for the matriarch’s mysterious illness. They arrive in Almería, an arid seaside region, where Rose places her hopes in the enigmatic Dr. Gómez (Vincent Perez), a non-traditional healer. Under the relentless heat of the Spanish summer, the two settle into a routine of unconventional medical consultations and slow-paced days.
While Rose undergoes the doctor’s expensive and experimental methods, Sofia finds herself immersed in an unsettling idleness: at 25 years old, she has spent her life caring for her mother and given up personal ambitions. Now, away from home and without immediate obligations, she begins to feel a longing for freedom she has never experienced before. This desire takes shape when she meets Ingrid (Vicky Krieps, from “Phantom Thread”), a mysterious foreigner who fascinates Sofia with her independence and sensuality. The two embark on an intense affair, and Sofia experiences, for the first time, a world beyond her mother’s control—nights of partying, moonlit swims in the sea, and the discovery of her sexuality away from her mother’s watchful eye. However, Ingrid carries family secrets and traumas that make her more similar to Rose than Sofia could ever imagine.
Filmmaker Rebecca Lenkiewicz makes her directorial debut after standing out as a screenwriter of impactful female-driven stories—she co-wrote the Polish Oscar winner “Ida” (2013) and the drama “She Said” (2022), about the Harvey Weinstein case. Using Deborah Levy’s eponymous novel as a starting point, she crafts a character study punctuated by voice-over narration from Sofia’s thoughts (taken directly from excerpts of the novel). Many scenes are contemplative, with the character wandering through desolate landscapes or gazing at her reflection in water. Critics found it boring, resulting in a very low approval rating of just 26% on Rotten Tomatoes. Nevertheless, “Hot Milk” engages in dialogue with works dealing with late blooming and suffocating maternal bonds, echoing “Mia Madre” (2015, by Nanni Moretti) and even “Call Me by Your Name” (2017) in its scenes of sexual awakening under the Mediterranean sun.
APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS
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Petra Costa’s new documentary – the Brazilian filmmaker who was Oscar-nominated for “Democracia em Vertigem” (2019) – delves into the alarming intersection between religion and politics in contemporary Brazil. Co-written with Alessandra Orofino (“Greg News”), the film examines how the growth of evangelical Christianity, with its end-of-the-world ideology, played a crucial role in the rise of President Jair Bolsonaro and his far-right agenda, while also raising questions about the risk of a theocracy influencing the future of Brazilian democracy.
Produced by Plan B Entertainment (actor Brad Pitt’s company) and Netflix, Petra had unprecedented resources available for a national documentary. Over nearly a decade of research and filming, the director gained direct access to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former President Jair Bolsonaro, and pastor Silas Malafaia, a prominent figure within evangelical Bolsonarism. Her work goes beyond merely recording political events, questioning “the seduction of power, prophecy, and belief,” connecting personal experiences, historical records, and religious symbols into a narrative that, according to the director, reflects a moment of institutional collapse in the country.
The film intertwines past and present to draw historical parallels—it shows, for example, how the prosperity gospel and neopentecostal expansion have gained strength since re-democratization, influencing lawmakers and forming a robust evangelical bloc. Archival footage of massive stadium services, excerpts from fiery sermons about the “end of times,” and scenes from Bolsonaro’s electoral campaign support the narrative. Key moments from his administration are also examined through this lens: the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic (when Bolsonaro downplayed vaccines and aligned himself with pastors calling the virus “divine punishment”), and the strongly religious-influenced protests of September 7th. The documentary’s climax is its coverage of the shocking events of January 8th, 2023—when extremists stormed the headquarters of Brazil’s Three Powers in Brasília—chanting praises to God.
Shown out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, it received applause and drew international attention to Brazil’s political landscape. Since then, it has traveled through a circuit of major festivals: it was screened at the Telluride Film Festival in the U.S., was part of the Spotlight section at the New York Film Festival, participated in Spain’s San Sebastián Festival, and won the Coral Prize for Best Documentary at Cuba’s Havana Film Festival before receiving a limited national release in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Its global premiere will be on Netflix on July 14th, positioning it in the race for an Oscar 2026 nomination, with approval from the American press. Variety noted that Petra “makes Brazil a parable for the U.S.” and praised the director’s courage in exposing forces many would prefer to ignore, while The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Netflix plans an awards campaign for the film, such is its confidence in the film’s quality and relevance.