Why, you ask, should I have to go to an advanced screening of a movie that's already available on Netflix? In fact, why should I be seeing a movie that's going to be available on Netflix in the theater at all, given the other priority decisions I must make for theater viewings at this time of year?
Ah, because Richard Linklater's latest movie is not available on Netflix -- in Australia.
We tend to get a "one world" idea of Netflix, like if a movie is available in any location, it's available in all locations. I may not have taken the time out of my schedule to complain about it in past years, but I know this not to be true.
Oh it might be true for their small buys, or the films that are fully branded as Netflix from the ground up, like Rian Johnson's Knives Out sequels -- one of which I could see tonight in the theater after Nouvelle Vague, which would be quite the unusual double feature considering that I've only ever seen one other movie that would soon be available to me on Netflix (David Fincher's The Killer) in the theater.
But each of the past three years, there has been a prestige release that simply wasn't going to be available on Netflix in Australia -- possibly ever. In fact, I'm still not sure if the other two have ever made their Australian Netflix streaming debuts.
In 2023 it was May December, which made my top ten that year, but only because I got wind of its imminent lack of availability on Netflix and went to an advanced screening like this one.
Last year it was Emilia Perez, which also made my top ten even higher than May December, which I was able to see in that case because I was in the U.S. at Christmas, making it available to me. In fact, I think there were two like this last year, as Maria was also available there, but I did not prioritize seeing it and still have not seen it.
I'd be able to get Nouvelle Vague on my list this year because it's coming to Australian theaters on January 8th. But I'd rather spend those January theater hours on movies I can only get in the theater, in any part of the world, than be reminded that I can't see this movie otherwise because of Netflix's capricious distribution strategies.
Look, I know this whole thing is more complicated than I'm making it out to be. I'd rather just whinge (Australian word) about the unfairness of it than to look into why it's done this way. There are different deals for different markets. I know this.
But maybe I'm just feeling a bit sensitive to these exclusive arrangements these days. Just this morning I was reminded of the fact that Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother, which is getting some of the year's best notices, is a MUBI exclusive -- but that even if I were subscribed to MUBI, I still probably wouldn't get it in Australia, because that's what happened a few years ago when I was subscribed, but I still had to find another way to watch Ira Sachs' Passages.
I also feel like it should be possible to predict these things better. I understand all the cheapo buddy comedies going to Netflix simultaneously around the world, and would expect nothing less. But if the restriction is only on prestige films, why was I able to watch Train Dreams this week? (Speaking of Netflix movies that might make my top ten.) And what will happen with Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly, which is also available in Australian cinemas right now? I haven't even looked into when/whether that one will be coming to my local Netflix.
As for Linklater, seeing Nouvelle Vague tonight will mean I get at least one of his 2025 films in my 2025 rankings. Blue Moon, which does not hit Australian cinemas until the end of January, may just go by the boards.
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