What to watch: ‘Origin’ is uniquely brilliant and riveting

Ava DuVernay’s “Origin” doesn’t have the hefty promotional budget of a “Barbie” or an “Oppenheimer,” let alone a “Maestro” but it should. The filmmaking tour de force is full of big, important ideas and deserves to be seen.

“Origin” tops our list of must-see releases, along with an intense standoff in space and a family drama set next door to a Nazi death camp.

Here’s our roundup.

“Origin”: Ava DuVernay accomplishes the impossible, adapting Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist/author Isabel Wilkerson’s uncinematic book, “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent.” It’s a hefty tome that postulates the root of oppression is tied not to skin color nor creed but to a global caste system that anoints a select group to be superior over all. From this hefty thesis DuVernay delivers an intellectually stimulating, emotionally gratifying film swirling with ideas. It’s a screenwriting and directorial triumph for the visionary filmmaker of “Selma.” Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor turns in an impassioned performance as Wilkerson, an accomplished writer who reluctantly embarks on a research mission as she’s reeling from a one-two punch of family tragedies. DuVernay’s screenplay crackles with brainy, kinetic energy and generates complex, substantial conversations that put lightning into Wilkerson’s theory. She also devotes equal time to making Wilkerson, beautifully played by Ellis-Taylor, a multi-dimensional person struggling with the heft of history and a sudden burden of grief.

Through historical flashbacks and research trips that jet Wilkerson to Germany and India, along with enlightening talks with loved ones, Wilkerson pieces together a convincing argument that opens the window to looking at race and oppression of others into a thought-provoking new way. DuVernay’s film will make your heart ache in the process, as will Jon Bernthal’s tender performance as Wilkerson’s husband. This is exciting, challenging filmmaking that works on every emotional and intellectual level. What a shame “Origin” hasn’t gained traction in this year’s Oscar conversation. It more than deserves to be right alongside other contenders bucking for that best picture prize. Details: 4 stars out of 4; opens Jan. 19 in Bay Area theaters.

“The Zone of Interest”: Jonathan Glazer’s latest ambitious feature — the best film of 2023 – defies categorization and convention. It gives us a front-row seat to the comings-and-goings and daily routines of a high-ranking German couple and their spawn. The difference here is that the year is 1943, and the patriarch of the family is Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), commandant of the notorious Nazi death camp, Auschwitz, which borders the family’s sprawling estate. Glazer loosely adapts Martin Amis’ 2014 novel and has created a silent scream on the mundanity of evil, and how tasks performed within our own zones of interest — perhaps advancing one’s career or gaining power and influence — can make being responsible for the massacre of a million people seem like just another stepping stone in one’s career. Friedel and Sandra Hüller, as his aggressively ambitious wife, wear their masks of evil chillingly well. “The Zone of Interest” is a unique cinematic experience (the sounds issuing from Auschwitz are almost a supporting performance, and will haunt you forever) that all but demands it be viewed in one sustained gulp in a theater, not at home. I’ve seen it twice and will see it again, not only being astonished by the craftsmanship displayed in every scene but for its timeless warning that sadly will never grow outdated. It’s brilliant. Details: 4 stars; in theaters now.

“I.S.S.”: If you come to Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s thoughtful “what if” space movie anticipating a pure adrenaline ride that’s bereft of ideas, get an E-ticket to a different destination. That’s because the director of “Blackfish” and “Megan Leavey,” along with screenwriter Nick Shafir, venture beyond standard sci-fi tropes to convey a dire warning about our paranoia of “the other.” Don’t get me wrong. This “trapped door” space odyssey is no slouch in the suspense department as six International Space Station cosmonauts – three Americans, three Russians – face orders from their governments to take over I.S.S. by any means necessary after war breaks out on Earth. The sharp-edged premise makes its bloody point well while the cast headed by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose and Chris Messina make us care about what happens in space and on the ground. Details: 3 stars; opens Jan. 19 in area theaters.

“The Beekeeper”: There’s something cathartic and downright therapeutic about seeing Jason Statham as a retired operative kick the living daylights out of hackers preying on an older generation. Screenwriter/director David Ayer relishes in going wildly over the top in preposterous ways, amping up the violence to ridiculous extremes and never allowing the audience to come up for air. It’s a classic B-movie (get it?) steeped in tortured bee metaphors that’ll make you chuckle and action set pieces that’ll have you cheering. Everyone in the cast cranks up the hamminess to delirious levels, from Josh Hutcherson as an annoying coke-snorting rich brat who’s the ringleader of the online hoodwinking scams and Oscar winner Jeremy Irons as a total tool who runs security for said brat. Much of it is illogical, preposterous over-the-top ridiculous, which is what makes it such a guilty pleasure and one of Statham’s and Ayer’s best films. We can only hope there’s a whole colony of “Beekeeper” movies in the future. Details: 3 stars; in theaters now.

Find of the week

“Driving Madeline”: Sometimes that weathered adage about looks being deceiving does prove out. In its opening moments, one might assume this drama centered on 92-year-old Madeleine’s (Line Renaud) taxi ride with driver Charles (Dany Boon) through Paris will be a ham-fisted tearjerker. But this much more ambitious than a pull-on-the-heartstrings road trip. Christian Carion’s seventh feature steers clear of hackneyed tropes, alternating between jarring flashbacks of Madeleine’s hard domestic younger years and those intimate conversations between this unlikely duo who form a bond as the day shifts into night. “Madeleine” is a showcase for its two leads; both are exceptional. So is the film, which gently reminds us to feel compassion for others since we never quite know where another person has been or where they might be going. Details: 3 stars; opens Jan. 19 at select theaters.

“Hazbin Hotel”: Amazon Prime’s raucous, raunchy new series is certain to be one of the hottest animated comedies of the season. It takes place in a hotel in hell (you read that right) run by a do-gooding princess tinkering with a plan to help guests earn their wings in order to augment the overpopulation problems plaguing damnation. It’s a hilarious premise, and originated as a 2019 YouTube pilot from creator Vivienne Medrano that garnered more than 92 million views. Each outlandish episode is filled with wicked wit and even busts out with a bit of song and dance.  A revolving team of guest voices descend to these fiery pits of what will likely turn into a cult sensation. Details: 3 stars; drops Jan. 19 on Amazon Prime.

“The Woman in the Wall”: The nondescript title suggests creator Joe Murtagh’s six-part BBC One series (releasing on Showtime and Paramount+) will be another routine domestic thriller, a hazy mystery along the lines of “The Woman in the Window.” While there are conventional elements tossed in here and there and a few comedic moments, this one’s shooting for bigger fish, focused on Lorna (Ruth Wilson), an outcast in a small Irish village that time forgot as she confronts more trauma in the wake of the abusive time spent when she was younger at a fictional convent that’s part of the Magdalene Laundries. A well-known priest’s murder sets off an investigation headed by a Belfast detective (Daryl McCormack of “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”) who also has childhood ties to the church and the dead man. Shortly thereafter, the prone-to sleepwalking Lorna wakes up after a night of drinking and bad behavior and finds a body of a woman in her house. Although “The Woman in the Wall” relies too often on coincidences, it’s a compulsively watchable series with a volcanic performance by Wilson and another appealing one from McCormack. Details: 3 stars; available on streaming and On Demand Jan. 19 for Paramount+ subscribers with Showtime and then releasing Jan. 21 on Paramount+ with Showtime.

“Death and Other Details”: This Hulu mystery series set on a ritzy cruise liner containing obnoxious rich folk will float the boat of any Agatha Christie fan, especially those wishing there was some sex, kinky and otherwise, going on below decks. Showrunners Mike Weiss and Heidi Cole McAdams don’t go overboard in that department as the so-called “world’s greatest detective” Rufus Cotesworth (Mandy Patinkin) joins sleuthing forces with someone who absolutely detests him, a hanger-on to a wealthy family on board, Imogene Scott (Violett Beane). The estranged duo crossed paths when Rufus was investigating the murder of Imogene’s mother and failed to nab the killer. That crime surfaces again as all sorts of sordid shenanigans — blackmail, dirty business takeovers and so on — go down once Rufus’ loyal assistant winds up dead with a harpoon in his chest. More get slain and there are many seaworthy suspects in this engaging if overextended mystery (eight episodes would have been fine), which benefits from fine deductive interplay between Patinkin and Beane — who should become a star. Hulu only made eight of the 10 episodes available to watch, and the series picks up steam as it proceeds. Details: 2½ stars; two episodes available now with one episode dropping each Tuesday through March 5.

“The Settlers”: At the turn of the 20th century on Tierra del Fuego, three men — a Texas braggart (Benjamin Westfall), an out-of-his-league Scottish officer (Mark Stanley) and a wary mixed-race tracker (Camilo Arancibia) — embark on a journey at the behest of a corrupt landowner to pinpoint the best route for transporting cattle. That synopsis sounds like this is nothing more than a John Ford/Sergio Leone homage, but Chile’s Oscar submission for best international film corrals bigger ideas, with director/co-screenwriter Felipe Galvez Haberle’s debut exposing colonization’s inherent nastiness. Details: 3½ stars; opens Jan. 19 at the Roxie in San Francisco.

“The Teachers’ Lounge”: A bad situation only worsens hour by ticking hour for principled teacher Carla Nowak (Leonie Benesch) in director Ilker Çatak’s beyond-intense feature, Germany’s short-listed Oscar entry for best international feature. A seemingly minor theft observed by Carla in the teachers’ lounge snowballs into an ethical avalanche, uprooting educators, parents and students. Çatak puts Benesch through the acting wringer in one of the year’s most propulsive, nerve-rattling dramas you’ll see this year. Not for one second does this film lag. Details: 3½ stars; now in select theaters.

Contact Randy Myers at soitsrandy@gmail.com.