Films this week 9/4/2026 to 9/10/2026
by Gary Palmucci | 6th September 2026 | Gary's Corner
This Labor Day weekend is an opportunity for all of us to catch our breath, gear up for a dramatic autumn on many fronts of life, and catch up on a film or two that we only had an opportunity to screen once – or most a handful of times – during our itinerant summer.
Here’s the menu:
- The Marching Band – our reigning French crowd-pleaser follows two brothers who find each other, from opposite ends of the musical and socio-economic spectrum; multiple screenings to date have sold out, so please secure those online tickets early.
- SHTTL – after nearly a year of deeply emotional, capacity screenings, we’re welcoming to New Plaza Cinema for the first time this heart-rending film’s director Ady Walter, accompanied by his tireless leading man, Moshe Lobel.
- Wild Inside – the chronicle of Flaco the Eurasian owl captivated New Yorkers for a year and has been shaped into an inspiring film by director Penny Lane, who’ll be joining us on Sunday afternoon for some Q&A.
- The Invite – here’s one film we haven’t yet screened this summer, but couldn’t resist adding to the program once it departed AMC. Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogan, Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton are a shining, deviously sexy ensemble who get together one serpentine San Francisco evening.
- Il Sorpasso – this 1962 Italian comedy-drama classic, featuring Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant, played to a rapturous response last month, and we had to do an encore in hopes that more NPC-ers will discover – or remember – it.
- How to Divorce During the War – the dark comedy of a couple attempting to commence their divorce just as Russian tanks barrel into Ukraine has garnered prizes at Sundance and elsewhere, and rueful recognition from audiences both up- and downtown.
- American Doctors – an unflinching account of three courageous American physicians’ immersion in the Israel-Hamas conflict, working in Gaza’s frontline hospitals. Riveting, and necessary.
- Mary Oliver: Saved By the Beauty of the World – visiting Provincetown last week, I had a new appreciation of the land- and townscapes that inspired the work of one of America’s both beloved poets. Of course this film’s been playing all summer on Commercial Street….
- Marcel Duchamp: Art of the Possible – here’s a coda for those who saw Moma’s blockbuster summer show: a meditation on Duchamp’s incredible impact on art and artists, now heading into its second century.