With the summer rush fading and cooler days creeping in, September feels like a quiet exhale—and the perfect time to retreat into the cinema for stories that are more thoughtful, layered, and bold.
This month’s international films trade superheroes for soul-searching, with a lineup that spans twisted fairy tales, body horror romances, philosophical dramas, and stylish thrillers.
Madly / Follemente
September 5
From Paolo Genovese, the director behind Perfect Strangers, comes Madly—a charming, sharply observed Italian film that plays like a romantic comedy but unpacks like a relationship autopsy.
Set over one night in Rome, the story follows Lara and Piero as they navigate an awkward first date that turns slowly, then suddenly, into a deeply personal conversation about love, assumptions, and modern intimacy.
With dialogue that sparkles with humor and insight, the film gently dismantles traditional ideas of romance, making room for a more honest and vulnerable kind of connection.
A sleeper hit at this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival (tickets were nearly impossible to get!), this is a witty, emotionally resonant must-see that proves love stories don’t need car chases or clichés to make your heart race.
Memoir of a Snail
September 5
Grace is a quiet girl with a curious habit: she collects snails.
When she’s separated from her twin brother Gilbert, it’s this odd little ritual—and an unexpected friendship with an eccentric elderly woman named Pingie—that helps her process grief and rediscover joy.
Memoir of a Snail is a tender, whimsical coming-of-age story that’s as much about loss and loneliness as it is about finding magic in small, slimy things.
With pastel-toned visuals and a quietly poetic rhythm, it’s the kind of film that sneaks up on you with its emotional depth—a small story that leaves a surprisingly large mark.
Loveable
September 5
After falling hard for a man she meets at a party, Maria finds herself seven years into a marriage that suddenly and unexpectedly collapses—not with a bang, but a quiet request for divorce.
As the memories of the relationship resurface and distort under scrutiny, Loveable unspools the intricacies of romantic disillusionment and the questions we don’t want to ask until it’s too late.
Winner of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actress at the 15th Beijing International Film Festival, this Norwegian film is a haunting and intimate portrait of emotional erosion.
Bambi: The Reckoning
September 6
Once he was the soft-eyed prince of the forest—now he’s the stuff of nightmares.
Bambi: The Reckoning reimagines Disney’s most innocent creature as a vengeful predator, with bloodied antlers and a hunger for retribution in the rain-slick woods.
Part of the ‘TCU’ (Twisted Childhood Universe) that includes Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, this horror remix tells the story of a mother and son hunted during a seemingly innocent Thanksgiving road trip gone horribly wrong.
Grotesque, violent, and delightfully audacious, this is not the Bambi of your childhood—it’s the Bambi that watched everything burn and came back to return the favor.
Red Silk
September 6
Set aboard a train slicing through the Siberian frost, Red Silk weaves a dense, paranoid spy thriller where no one is who they claim to be—and everyone wants something dangerous.
A top-secret intelligence document could shift the fate of both China and the Soviet Union, and the passengers onboard include monarchist remnants, Soviet agents, rogue Japanese spies, and a female operative whose allegiances are written in shadows.
Shot on location in both countries to blend cultural nuance with icy suspense, this China-Russia co-production marks the first major Russian film in Chinese theaters since 2017's Matilda.
If you like your thrillers with fur coats, frostbite, and geopolitical stakes, this train ride will leave you breathless—and maybe a little suspicious of everyone around you.
Planet Earth: Forces of Nature
September 12
The landmark Planet Earth series returns with a new chapter, continuing its legacy as the crown jewel of BBC nature documentaries.
With groundbreaking visuals, sweeping narration by Sir David Attenborough, and a cinematic score that stirs the soul, this sequel once again redefines what nature storytelling can be—blending awe, science, and emotion into one breathtaking journey.
A Chinese dubbed version featuring popular voice actor Liu Cong will also be available. So check your ticket options carefully when booking!
Greedy People
September 13
Will and Terry were just two small-town cops with small-time ambitions—until they stumbled on a million-dollar crime scene they accidentally created.
Greedy People is a black comedy caper starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Himesh Patel as mismatched partners in greed, panic, and bad decisions, as their attempt to walk away with stolen money turns their town—and their own friendship—upside down.
Wickedly funny and packed with high-tension reversals, the film explores how quickly a moral line can disappear when seven figures are on the table.
Known affectionately in China as 囧瑟夫, this marks Gordon-Levitt’s return to Chinese screens after a nine-year absence—and it’s a chaotic, compelling performance well worth the wait.
Together
Sometime This September
A couple on the verge of emotional collapse move to a remote village in hopes of saving their relationship—but what they find is something far stranger.
After a brush with a mysterious supernatural force, the two begin to physically attract each other like magnets, their bodies literally pulled together in an unexplainable effort to merge.
Together is body-horror as relationship metaphor, deconstructing gender roles, dependency, and emotional co-dependence in ways that are as eerie as they are oddly touching.
Originally released on Peacock in the US, the film earned rapid critical acclaim for its genre-defying storytelling and psychological depth—and on the big screen, its intimacy becomes all the more unsettling.
Important Reminder
Non-English films will be screened in their original languages (some dubbed) with Chinese subtitles only—be sure to check the language version before booking your tickets.
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[Cover image by That's]
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