Paul Schrader’s had quite the career as a director, “Blue Collar,” “Mishima,” “Affliction,” “Auto Focus,” and “First Reformed.” There have definitely been some misses in his filmography, but he’s always remained this fascinating cinematic figure — an iconoclast who never really abused by any rules.
Schrader's latest, titled, “Master Gardener,” has a confirmed US release date of Friday, May 19th 2023 via Magnolia Pictures.
A trailer was released yesterday. It really gives you a nice look at the perplexing nature of this latest film from him. A harrowing, fascinating, frustrating and surreal dive into some kind of purgatory-like world.
Magnolia Pictures bought Schrader’s latest a few months after its Venice premiere. I didn’t get a chance to see it until very recently. A review will eventually follow, but I thought it was much better than “The Card Counter.”
Reviews for “Master Gardener” haven’t been as rousing as those that met ‘Card Counter’ or “First Reformed,” but no serious cinephile would dare miss this latest cinematic provocation from Schrader.
One thing I’ve noticed from this trilogy of Bresson-inspired films is that all three leads not only write in a diary, but they also have the same short gel-brushed to the side haircut. I’m loving it. I’m just wondering what Schrader will be doing next since the trilogy has now been completed, and when you do catch ‘Master Gardener,’ you’ll know very well that it’s the end.
Schrader’s 5-decade filmmaking career has been quite the journey. Not counting his own directorial efforts, he’s also produced these incredible scripts for “Taxi Driver,” “Rolling Thunder,” “Raging Bull,” “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Bringing Out the Dead.”
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.