Official Competition is a decidedly strange film — formally impressive, off-kilter in its humor, and often incisive with its observations of the state of cinema.…
Brian and Charles is so lightweight as to risk blowing over at any moment, but is also a wholly endearing affair that will charm more…
Tahara isn’t a subtle film — formally or thematically — but it is an exceptionally executed one, striking a impressive balance between emotional realism…
Lost Illusions is a lush, ravishing work that avoids the lethargy and empty aesthetics of so many literary adaptions and fully embodies the spectacle…
All My Puny Sorrows builds a striking purgatorial atmosphere that transcends any by-the-number grief narrative, but the film is burdened by an unwieldly and overly…
Ayuma Watanabe’s latest anime is both bland and loathsome, dull when its not offending and contemptible the rest of the time. Let’s not beat…
The Phantom of the Open doesn’t deviate much from the underdog sports movie template, but has just enough depth and charm to slightly elevate…
Poser is an ambitious work that pushes contemporary indie filmmaking out of its familiar comfort zone, doing so with authenticity and creative aplomb.. In…
Freakscene is worth a watch for completists, but anyone looking for a more comprehensive, well-structured deep-dive would do well to look elsewhere. Legendary indie…
In ultimately providing too many answers to its excessive plotting, A Chiara extinguishes some of its more troubling and intriguing possibilities. A gangster film from…
Cane Fire is a kaleidoscopic portrayal of white supremacy’s brutal legacy and a challenge to the enduring colonial myth of Kauaʻi. In the investigative documentary…
On the Count of Three can be uneven and frequently toes the line of twee, but ultimately settles into the right mix of broad…
Montana Story is a notably tender film, patient both in its flaying of old wounds and in sewing seeds of healing. Scott McGehee and…
Pleasure isn’t the first film to attack the intersection of capitalism, misogyny, and exploitation endemic to the porn industry, but it does so with…
Human Nature’s looping narrative games don’t always work, but overall the film makes for an effective study of middle-class malaise. There’s not one, but two structural/temporal…
Reflection lacks the scale of Vasyanovych’s Atlantis, but its brutalist Wes Anderson-esque tenor makes for a difficult yet still hopeful study of war. While Ukrainian…
Fiddler’s Journey isn’t much more substantive than your average love letter doc, and suffers from an ill-conceived late-film detour. Daniel Raim’s chronicling of the pre-production…
Los conductos is a disarmingly personal film that is also masterful in its understanding of the way artifice interacts with realism. Camilo Restrepo has made…