Clash (Eshtebak) movie review: the view from inside social upheaval
Challenging and provocative, but the limitations it places on itself restrict the appreciation for anyone not already steeped in its culture and politics.
non-English-language
Raw movie review: girly gory allegory
Cinema as a punch in the gut and not for the squeamish, casting female desire as ravenously predatory in a way that few films have ever had the audacity to do.
The Handmaiden movie review: the women pushing back against misogyny, thwarted by their own film
The intrigue, shifting alliances, and twisted revenge? Delicious, pulpy fun. The male-gazey soft-core porn that undermines the female protagonists? Not so much.
Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts (89th Academy Awards) review
My favorite of the nominees is “Sing,” a movie for right-now with its pushback against a bullying authority figure and its gently effective defiance.
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts (89th Academy Awards) review
I would give the Oscar in a three-way tie to the Syrian-themed nominees, which offer stunningly intimate observations on the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The Salesman movie review: marriage, Iranian style
This delicately realized portrait of an intellectual Tehran couple could easily be taking place in New York, London, or Tokyo. The empathy machine strikes again.
Under the Shadow movie review: evil on the wind, and in the home
A sinister tapestry of urban unease and feminist fury that turns an ordinary domestic setting into a place of skulking terror. Original and deeply creepy.
The Uncondemned documentary review: the horrors of Rwanda, on trial
Meet the dedicated young lawyers and activists who prosecuted and convicted the first person ever to go to prison for genocide and wartime rape.
The Eagle Huntress documentary review: badass girl is badass even without embellishments to her story (LFF 2016)
Problems with authenticity don’t detract from the power of a story about a teen girl pursuing a challenging sport amongst beautiful Mongolian landscapes.
Aquarius movie review: home is where the fight is
A slow-burn battle between a woman and the developers trying to drive her from her home is a melancholy meditation on aging, memory, and family.
