Magic Lantern back with ‘The Father,’ ‘Wolfwalkers’

Above: The animated film "Wolfwalkers" opens at the Magic Lantern on Friday. (Photo/GKIDS)

Here’s some good news: The Magic Lantern Theatre will open two new films on Friday.

It wouldn’t make any difference to me what the two films were. I just like the fact that the Lantern is back in business.

Those films, by the way, are “The Father” and “Wolfwalkers.”

You may be familiar with “The Father.” It stars Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, both of whom have been nominated for Academy Awards, and was directed by Florian Zeller (who adapted his own stage play).

The film tells the story of an elderly man (played by the 83-year-old Hopkins) who is being looked after by his daughter (Colman) … or is he? Zeller keeps us guessing as to what is exactly happening until the film is well underway.

As I wrote in my review of the film, what Zeller has put on the screen is “stunning, maybe as good a portrayal of the damage caused by syndromes that affect an elderly mind as has ever been filmed.”

“Wolfwalkers,” which was released in late 2020, is something quite different. It’s an animated film, directed by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, and is the final part of a trilogy that includes “The Secret of Kells” (2009) and “Song of the Sea” (2014).

This is the film’s plot, according to IMDb.com: “A young apprentice hunter and her father journey to Ireland to help wipe out the last wolf pack. But everything changes when she befriends a free-spirited girl from a mysterious tribe rumored to transform into wolves by night.”

The film earned a 99 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Wrote critic Kevin Crust for the Los Angeles Times, “It is the type of stirring entertainment that delivers both the thrill of the moment and the kind of sophisticated ideas that can lead to discussion and even debate long after viewing.”

So there you have it. Two critically acclaimed films opening Friday at the Magic Lantern. We’ve come to expect nothing less.