The best of October’s cultural offerings – from bright, bold beats to art showcases to visit
This month’s highlights include an irreverent novel about contemporary art, an exhibition of one of today’s most exciting fashion photographers and a Tom Cruise disaster movie.
Books
‘American Hagwon’
Min Jin Lee
The third instalment in Min Jin Lee’s Korean-diaspora quartet follows the Koh family across South Korea, Australia and the United States. Tracing decades of migration, financial upheaval and sacrifice, at its heart is a moving reflection on family, ambition and duty, set against the pressure of Korea’s hagwon private-tutoring system.
‘American Hagwon’ is published on 29 September.
‘Passengers’
Alexander Maksik
American novelist Alexander Maksik follows 2022’s The Long Corner with this tale of a father and his adult daughter delayed at LAX on a trip to Paris, the city of his youth. Tensions wax and wane, along with a creeping dread that something has gone wrong. Comparisons with Cormac McCarthy’s The Road will follow but Maksik’s work is laced with humour and arguably more subtle.
‘Passengers’ is published on 13 October.
‘Scene City’
Roísin Tapponi
Fancy being a fly on the walls of the art world? Then this is the book for you. It might read a bit like notes made on a phone but the writing scintillates. It’s a novel about losing the plot and finding a vibe – and those vibes are good.
‘Scene City’ is published on 13 October.
Music
‘Happiness Anytime’
Leon Bridges
US singer-songwriter Leon Bridges worked with J Lloyd-Watson and Lydia Kitto from UK band Jungle on his fifth studio album. The results are bright, bold and full of cosmic beats and easy-listening rhythms. Highlights include the pop-funk of “Light the Way” and the suave “All Day, All Night”.
‘Happiness Anytime’ is released on 25 September.
‘Ave de Maere’
Pierre de Maere
Belgian pop is having a moment and Pierre de Maere is among its shiniest stars. His second full-length features one of the best singles of the year, Monocle Radio favourite “Je Pense à Vous”. Elsewhere, the poignant “J’aurais Fini Par te Plaire” shows off de Maere’s crystalline vocals. See him and his dance moves in person on a European tour that starts in November.
‘Ave de Maere’ is released on 25 September.
‘Everything Has Changed’
Danielle Ponder
Danielle Ponder was a lawyer before signing her first record deal in 2022 at the age of 40. On her second album, she gives powerful voice to ideas of artistic freedom and the black diaspora in “Power”, while the bluesy ballad “God of You” is another standout track.
‘Everything Has Changed’ is released on 9 October.
Film
‘Remake’
Ross McElwee
Decades on from Sundance-winning documentary Sherman’s March and years after the death of his son Adrian, filmmaker Ross McElwee is reflective. “I look at this footage not only to remind myself you were alive,” McElwee narrates over clips of his son, “but to convince myself that you’re gone.” Remake is a meditation on grief, memory and unreliable narration that defies easy categorisation – but it’s among the most astonishing documentaries of this century.
‘Remake’ is released on 25 September.
‘Digger’
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Oscar-winning director and unabashed maximalist Alejandro González Iñárritu returns to English-language filmmaking with his biggest star and biggest stakes yet. Tom Cruise’s Digger Rockwell is a boorish oil billionaire who has carelessly kick-started the apocalypse with his plundering of Earth, unencumbered by morality or any intervention from the dictatorial US president (John Goodman). With only himself to blame, it’s down to Digger to wrangle with both geopolitics and Mother Nature to ensure the survival of both humanity and his beloved cat.
‘Digger’ is released on 2 October.
‘Wicker’
Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer
Fantastical comedy Wicker is set in a small medieval town where an unmarried fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) is a social pariah. She turns to the local basket weaver (Peter Dinklage) to create a wicker husband – the result is an Alexander Skarsgård-shaped man whose greatest desire is her sexual fulfilment. Cue chaos in the puritanical community and ridiculously horny joy on our screens.
‘Wicker’ is released on 30 October.
Photography
‘Rafael Pavarotti: Photographer’, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
Brazilian fashion photographer Rafael Pavarotti has crafted visual worlds for Vogue covers and Dior campaigns, yet at his core he’s still the same curious 12-year-old who borrowed his father’s camera and pooled money with friends to buy film. His early experimentation is seen here in more than 200 prints that are alive with saturated colour and unique storytelling.
‘Rafael Pavarotti: Photographer’ runs from 2 October to 2 May 2027.
Art
‘Roy Lichtenstein: Like New’
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Will debates about authorship and appropriation in the age of AI bring new relevance to Roy Lichtenstein’s magpie-like approach to pop art? The Whitney’s curators are banking on it with this vast career retrospective. About 130 comic-indebted works sit alongside recreations of three major wall paintings, including the 29-metre-wide “Greene Street Mural”, which was originally painted for a 1983 exhibition and destroyed after its six-week run. A fitting tribute to a master of recreation.
‘Roy Lichtenstein: Like New’ runs from 11 October to 10 May 2027.
‘Es Devlin: Other Worlds’
Design Museum, London
Need heavyweight artistic cred for a large-scale pop spectacle? Then call Es Devlin. The British artist and designer quoted Paul Bowles for a YSL launch, referenced Charles and Ray Eames at the Super Bowl half-time show and has crafted stage sculptures for Adele, Beyoncé and U2. Expect a dramatic setting for the largest solo presentation of her archive yet, including installations, maquettes and diaries.
‘Es Devlin: Other Worlds’ runs from 2 October to 4 April 2027.
Television
‘Carrie’
Prime Video
Social media can make modern life as a bullied teen feel like an endless digital bucket of pig’s blood, so it’s no wonder that Mike Flanagan has returned to Stephen King’s 1974 novel about a girl’s telekinetic awakening. Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation is hard to match but the eight episodes here allow the Haunting of Hill House creator a more nuanced take.
‘Carrie’ is released on 7 October.
‘Below’
Netflix
In Newfoundland, merciless nature collides with some of the warmest and funniest people you could hope to encounter. In Below the community is terrorised by a mysterious sea creature but still able to make it to the pub at the end of the day. Plus, Josh Hartnett nails the place’s Irish-adjacent accent.
‘Below’ is released on 8 October.
‘Nocturne’
Apple TV
Nocturne stars Stephen Graham, which alone makes it appointment television. Liev Schreiber plays a soldier-turned-detective whose search for peace in rural Pennsylvania is interrupted by Graham’s killer. The series is based on the novels of Lars Kepler, the pseudonym of a Swedish husband-and-wife duo.
‘Nocturne’ is released on 30 October.
