25 must-see films playing at this year’s AFI Fest

Bird Box

What’s the Story?: An unexplained apocalyptic event takes place leaving a woman named Malorie (Sandra Bullock) joining a gang of survivors and trying to protect two children.

The title itself doesn’t seem to make any sense to me. Maybe I should have read the Josh Malerman novel on which it’s based. Regardless of the name, Bird Box looks to be another compelling story about women in unique circumstances directed by Susanne Bier.

The Danish director won an Emmy recently for helming the AMC series The Night Manager, and previous films like After the Wedding, Things We Lost in the Fire, and Brothers have all received their share of acclaim. Bier has certainly gathered together quite the cast for this feature: Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson and Rosa Salazar are the three leads listed on IMDb, though we only know that Bullock is seemingly the protagonist. Bier is a master of working with women actors, especially dominant leading ladies like Bullock, Jennifer Lawrence, and Natalie Portman. I have no doubt Bird Box will transcend its sci-fi origins and do a lot more, from exploring a woman’s maternal instincts to what happens to them when the world goes to hell. Right now it’s all a mystery and that works just fine for the hype machine.