Finding Agnes

♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

A young Agnes Rivero (Roxanne Guinoo) abandons her family, promising her son that she will come back for him once he is done solving his Rubik’s Cube. She doesn’t. 25 years later, Brix (Jelson Bay) is now a successful businessman jetting off just about everywhere for his business empire. One busy afternoon during a client meeting he gets a visit from an unexpected guest. An older Agnes (Sandy Andolong) begs for her son’s forgiveness, which she easily gets, but their reunion more than two decades in the making is cut short when she suffers a stroke. Leaving behind a box of letters hidden by the boy’s father, Brix discovers the life his mother has lived in Morocco and decides to take a flight to fix the legal documents for the bed and breakfast she left behind. There he meets Cathy (Sue Ramirez), a young woman his mom considers to be her own daughter. Together, they go on a journey around the country to find the late Agnes.

Hillbilly Elegy

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Yale law student JD Vance (Gabriel Basso) is juggling his studies at an Ivy League and several jobs to make ends meet. In the hopes of getting an internship that will bring him closer to girlfriend Usha (Freida Pinto) and alleviate his financial issues, he attends a networking dinner where he gets to meet the top bosses of big firms across the country. Just when he is about to secure a final interview slot, he receives a call from his sister Lindsay (Haley Bennett) who breaks the news that their mother Beverly (Amy Adams) has just been admitted to a hospital due to heroin overdose. Forced to go on a long drive to help his family, he takes a trip down memory lane, from his humble beginnings in Ohio to his growth as a human being heavily influenced by his hillbilly history mainly through the guidance of his late Mamaw (Glenn Close).

Sound of Metal

♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Living the indie rock star life, metal duo Blackgammon tours the country in their RV to perform at various gigs. Lou Berger (Olivia Cooke) serves as the lead vocalist while boyfriend Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed) is her drummer. Constantly exposed to a loud environment while performing, Ruben realizes that he is quickly losing his hearing. Consulting a doctor, he is faced with a life-changing reality as he is diagnosed to now be able to hear just between 20 and 30 percent of all the sound he is exposed to. The doctor suggests cochlear implants to salvage what they could, but the operation is not covered by medical insurance and will cost them thousands of dollars. Left without much of a choice, Lou moves on as a solo act in Europe while Ruben is welcomed in a rural shelter for the deaf. There, he is introduced to a community helmed by Vietnam veteran Joe (Paul Raci), a recovering alcoholic who lost his hearing during the war. Ruben must decide whether to embrace his new group or go for broke and take a chance on the surgery that could bring back the life he knew.

La vita davanti a sé

♣♣♣♣♣/♣♣♣♣♣

Young Senegalese immigrant Momo (Ibrahima Gueye) snatches two antique candelabras from an unsuspecting passerby at a flea market so he can get good money selling them at the black market. Unfortunately, his attempt to hide the goods is foiled by Dr. Cohen (Renato Carpentieri), his guardian. It so happens that the good doctor knows the owner of the stolen candle holders who is none other than his patient, aging Holocaust survivor and ex-prostitute Madame Rosa (Sophia Loren). He asks her a favor in exchange for giving her stuff back: Take Momo in so he can live with a mother figure who could put his life back on track. Hesitant, she agrees and introduces him to two other children whom she is taking care of and also residing in her humble abode while their mothers are busy making a living. Personalities clash, but the two eventually form an unlikely bond which will change his life for the better.