What a strange thing, the Olympics. In 1896, with the tools for globalization just barely on the horizon, the world (or, rather, Greece, leveraging its…
In this dispatch: Agon, Donkey Days, Fantasy…
Over a small jetty, a cruise ship waits to dock and its passengers get ready to dismount. The process is unrushed, methodical; a throng of…
In German, Kai Stänicke’s debut feature Trial of Hein bears the title Der Heimatlose, which translates as “the stateless person” or “the homeless.” This is…
If one were being deliberately reductive, the logline for Dutch director-screenwriter Rosanne Pel’s sophomore film Donkey Days could read as a near-exact twin of Joachim…
In the first half of Fantasy, Isabel Pagliai’s feature debut, it is easy to become fixated on Fatty, the Calico-mix cat who lives with the…
The international breakthrough of All We Imagine as Light in 2024, which was the first Indian film to play in Cannes competition in 30 years,…
When you see a lot of movies at film festivals, you begin to notice certain patterns in the cinema as a whole. One such pattern…
Originally popularized and coveted by the Western world, the esteemed traveler cut a formidable figure for its elites: the rationalists for their admiration of breathtaking…
“The working man is a sucker” — so reads the opening title card of Joel Alfonso Vargas’ debut feature, Mad Bills to Pay (or Destiny,…
In this dispatch: Leviticus, Kika, Strange…
Much digital ink has been spilled over whether now, more than ever, we need positive queer images in popular media. As the world skids further…
Clemente Castor’s Cold Metal is a difficult film to wrap one’s head around. It’s a small-scale, profoundly opaque object that rejects traditional narrative in favor…
Social realism is alive and well and living in Belgium — but you knew that already, given that it’s the Dardennes’ home court. It may…
If, with Call Me By Your Name, Luca Guadagnino set a 21st century standard for leisurely, sun-dappled, queer coming-of-age films, then, nearly a decade later,…
Why are filmmakers today so afraid of melodrama? Many’s a recent feature, from the acclaimed (Celine Song’s Past Lives) to the less so (Luca Guadagnino’s…
Alexandra Simpson’s debut feature, No Sleep Till, is hardly a typical disaster movie. There’s no panicked fleeing, no looting, no screaming and crying. Her approach…
Anyone who has spent time with someone suffering from dementia has seen a loved one lie to them. These are not lies of malice; they…
Mad Bills to Pay “The working man is a sucker” — so reads the opening title card of Joel Alfonso Vargas’ debut feature, Mad Bills…
The middle class context of Kostis Charamountanis’ Kyuka: Before Summer’s End gives its story of a languid, European summer vacation a refreshingly dressed-down feel. Like…
One of the harshest realities in life is a lack of closure. The sudden death of a loved one, the dissolution of a serious relationship,…