“Times of Upheaval” is set in Queens, New York, in the mid-1980s. Little Paul (Banks Repeta) grows up in an affluent neighborhood and has just entered sixth grade. At school he meets Jonathan (Jaylin Webb), the only black boy around who lives alone with his seriously ill grandmother. The two quickly become friends, which doesn’t go down well with their classmates.
At home, Paul lives with his loving mother Esther (Anne Hathaway) and father Irving (Jeremy Strong). He may be a bit strict at times, but he always has the best for his filius in mind. And then there’s Grandpa Aaron (Anthony Hopkins). He not only takes Paul’s dreams of an artistic career seriously, but also tries to educate the little one – based on his own history – to be courageous and moral. In a world characterized by everyday racism and prejudices taken for granted, this turns out to be anything but easy…
The coming-of-age drama had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which was acclaimed by the audience. We were able to see it there and rated it as strong in our official DashFUN review. “Times of Upheaval” will be released in German cinemas nationwide on November 24, 2022.
James Gray is not only responsible for directing, but also for the script and production. The New Yorker’s most important directorial work to date includes “Ad Astra”, “Die versunkene Stadt Z”, “Little Odessa” and “The Yards”.
Young actor Banks Repeta (“Black Phone”) was joined by an impressive array of world stars on the cast list. This is how the parents of Oscar winner Anne Hathaway (“Les Misérables”) and Emmy winner Jeremy Strong (“Succession”) embodied. Anthony Hopkins, who has won two Academy Awards (“The Silence of the Lambs”, “The Father”), plays the loving and wise grandfather.
In smaller parts are also “Interstellarstar Jessica Chastain, Miami Vice veteran John Diehl, Broadway star Tovah Feldshuh and The Wire’s Domenick Lombardozzi. If you don’t want to miss “Times of Upheaval” and other important restarts – whether cinema, streaming or home cinema – then simply subscribe to our free newsletterwhich comes out every Thursday.
