Empire of Light: Sam Mendes’ love letter to cinema releases a new trailer

The teaser trailer for the esteemed director Sam Mendes’ new movie, Empire of Light, has been released. The director also serves as screenwriter and producer for this TIFF-bound awards contender. This period piece features an ensemble composed of Academy Award winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Lost Daughter), BAFTA winner Micheal Ward (Blue Story, Top Boy), Toby Jones (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frost/Nixon), and Academy Award winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, A Single Man). The movie comes courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures.

The film is about the events that take place in an English seaside town in the early 1980s. The trailer features interlinked stories of the ensemble cast that culminates in the screening of a film. The movie explores the relationship between human connection and human interaction and how it all relates to the power of cinema. This is Sam Mendes’ poignant and powerful love letter to the medium he clearly loves so much.

A film of this theme is interestingly relevant in the wake of events in recent years. When the COVID pandemic broke, public places had to be closed in order for the prevention of the spread of the virus. Movie theaters were hit hard by this, and in reaction, attention turned towards the streaming of movies. Theaters are hanging on thanks to the exclusive screenings of certain titles and studio mandates that make sure some franchise properties get a proper release before being accessible at home. The movie business is still trying to figure out a way to survive in an ever-changing landscape, but there are plenty of film purists who stand by the whole experience of venturing to a movie house to experience the film as best as possible on a large screen with encompassing sound.

This movie is Mendes’ follow-up to his 2020 war epic, 1917, which garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Director and would go on to give cinematographer Roger Deakins his second Oscar.

Empire of Light will be released in theaters, of course, this December 9th.