Young Ahmed (2019) | Directed by the Dardenne Brothers

 4.5/5

The Dardenne brothers’ Young Ahmed is a gut-wrenching, deeply poignant look at radicalization and the ways desperate young people can be held under the sway of charismatic authority figures – especially in religious communities. Like so many of their other work, the effortless, almost documentary realism makes the film appear simpler than it is. The loose, handheld camerawork and long sequence shots are meticulously crafted and perfectly constructed – to heighten suspense and tension in some scenes, to bring us to profound emotional catharsis in others. And I appreciate the ways in which they attempt to show the breadth of Muslim experience in this community – especially since so much of the film focuses on a radicalized Muslim teenager. It’s a work filled with the Dardenne brothers’ deep humanist compassion for everyone – even for characters who attempt terrible things. It’s a beautiful, deeply moving film.

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Palm Springs (2020) | Directed by Max Barbakow

 4/5

Max Barbakow’s Palm Springs is a thoroughly enjoyable addition to the time loop comedy genre. It’s especially refreshing to have the narrative handed off between the two leads, allowing us genuine moments of surprise as the story is told from multiple viewpoints. The comedy is tightly executed and just absurd enough to work within the premise without ever spinning too far out of control. Samberg and Milioti play off one another beautifully, and J.K. Simmons makes for a perfect third player. As the film reaches its conclusion, the script does try to explain the “science” of the scenario more than is needed, bogging down the final act with nonsensical particle physics for dummies. But in reaching for an explanation, the film does provide some nice moments for Milioti’s character as she tries to take control of her life and navigate this endless purgatory. Even though it was made long before the pandemic was a blip on our radar, it’s the perfect film for this moment, stuck inside during a health crisis for months on end in an endless repetition of the same routines, reaching out beyond our wall, looking for connection.

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Da 5 Bloods (2020) | Directed by Spike Lee

 5/5

Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is absolutely incredible – another masterpiece from one of America’s greatest living filmmakers. As he’s done so beautifully in recent years, Lee draws such clearly defined lines between the past and the present, working in archival footage, fictional narrative, pseudo-documentary, and direct address to craft a rich narrative quilt that looks at the legacies of racial and colonial violence, deep generational trauma, and the communal effort it takes to heal and rebuild from these deep wounds. And the fact that it’s all wrapped up in a rip-roaring adventure story makes such incendiary material more accessible for the average viewer than it otherwise would be. Working with an impressive cast of Lee veterans and newcomers alike, the filmmaker and the performers are all working at the top of their game – especially Delroy Lindo who gives a career best performance in a lifetime of incredible work. Like so many of Spike Lee’s films, it manages to be both highly experimental in form and deeply moving in its content. As I continue to dig into his filmography, I continue to be astounded by Lee’s work.

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Hamilton (2020) | Directed by Thomas Kail

 4.5/5

Thomas Kail’s Hamilton is an effective and deeply moving recording of the stage production, capturing so much of the energy, evocative and highly theatrical staging, and thoroughly compelling performances that are only part of what’s made it such a phenomenon. Of course, with all the hype, it has a lot to live up to – more than any work of art can possibly be burdened with – but it still manages to be thoroughly engaging. It’s refreshing to see the ways that writer Lin Manuel Miranda allows the United States’ founders to be fully human – petty, vain, idealistic, naïve, and very wrong sometimes. And the way the play interrogates the idea of who gets to shape our narratives – of a nation’s history or even a person’s history – adds more thought and nuance to its layers than many of our modern musicals. Even though the financial side of a recording like this is highly impractical on a wide scale, it would be nice to see this open the door for more theatrical recordings-on-film to make their way to the general public. Increasing accessibility to this art form through digital technology may be imperfect, but there’s something beautiful about increasing accessibility to productions that people would never be able to see due to geographic, physical, or financial limitations.

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Family Romance, LLC (2019) | Directed by Werner Herzog

 4.5/5

Werner Herzog’s Family Romance, LLC is a Herzog film through and through, complete with the auteur’s obsessions about the blurred lines between performance and reality, as well as his penchant for narrative digressions and his delight in the imperfections that arise in the filmmaking process. Made on a tiny budget, the film’s handmade aesthetic and use of non traditional actors (mostly playing themselves and recreating and improvising situations similar to ones they’ve encountered) creates an eerie space where fiction and reality blur, placing us within the uncanny valley – where the approximation of real life is off just enough to keep us off balance and unsettled for the duration of the film. It’s a space where Herzog thrives. And he’s found the perfect collaborators in this film that asks us to question what it means to truly connect with another human being in an age where we’re so disconnected. As postmodern and intellectual as it is, Herzog and his cast never lose sight of the humanity at the center of these questions. It’s an approach that makes the film deeply moving and a work of incredible beauty.

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The Truth (2019) | Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda

 5/5

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s The Truth may be the first of the filmmaker’s works made outside of Japan, but he’s lost none of his unblinking honesty about the nature of family and the deep wounds we inflict upon one another over the years. On the surface, it’s a film that can feel slight and superficial – like any number of dramas centered around family and relationships. But as you keep peeling back the layers and examining what Kore-eda is doing with memory and the pain embedded within family dynamics – not to mention the weighted symbolism of playing Juliette Binoche off of Catherine Deneuve – you begin to see just how rich and complex a story he’s telling here. And unlike the acerbic comedies you’d get from a more European aesthetic, there’s a quiet honesty to Kore-eda’s approach with this story and a generosity that allows each character a moment of grace and their own reasons for action or inaction. This is an absolutely marvelous film.

Where to Watch

Pin Cushion (2017) | Directed by Deborah Haywood

 3/5

There’s a lot to like in Deborah Haywood’s Pin Cushion – the moments of fantasy throughout are particularly striking and I especially like the ways in which the film explores the slow escalation of feminine teenage cruelty. I also like that, even with the fairy tale quality to everything, there are no simple solutions to the persistent bullying that we see directed to both mother and daughter. But even with strong performances across the board, the film’s narrative transitions are too abrupt, making several essential character beats feel less organic and natural, more forced and predetermined. Add in a final twist with conclusions that feel naïvely dangerous at best, and you end up with a film that had so much potential but comes up short.

In This Corner of the World (2016) | Directed by Sunao Katabuchi

 4/5

Sunao Katabuchi’s In This Corner of the World is a lovely, heartfelt family drama set against the backdrop of World War II in a naval community near Hiroshima. Tracing the life of a young woman as she is married off and sent to live with her new in-laws – strangers in a strange new village – the film manages to eschew most of the typical beats you’d get in a family drama of this variety. There are no overly melodramatic elements, no abusive husband, no domineering in-laws – just a tender story of a young woman coming into her own during difficult times, learning resilience and the powerful bonds of this new family she’s married into. There are lovely flourishes to the animation that serve as a nice counterpoint to the brutal reminders of the grim realities of war, and the final coda is a lovely note of hope, a reminder that acts of humanity and compassion are what get us through these truly horrific moments in history.

Where to Watch

Tito and the Birds (2018) | Directed by Gabriel Bitar, André Catoto, and Gustavo Steinberg

 4/5

Gabriel Bitar, André Catoto, and Gustavo Steinberg’s Tito and the Birds is a breathtakingly gorgeous work of Brazilian animation about the ways fear is used by those in power to exploit and divide us. Using the outbreak of a disease across the globe as its central metaphor for ways fear, hatred, and division spread from person to person, the film’s young hero and his friends must find a way to communicate with the birds to find a cure for this fear before it’s too late. Watching this in the midst of an actual pandemic requires a certain amount of distancing, reminding yourself that the outbreak is a metaphor for other concerns. And even though the final act relies a little to heavily on the children’s action movie formula, it’s still such a beautiful and emotionally moving film with absolutely dazzling animation.

Emma. (2020) | Directed by Autumn de Wilde

 4.5/5

In spite of the film’s candy-colored sets and delicate finery, Autumn de Wilde’s adaptation of Emma. is as biting and acerbic a satire on class and privilege as you could want. Anya Taylor-Joy’s performance as the titular character is fantastic, and Emma is allowed to be an unlikeable protagonist whose journey of growth and self-discovery is believable, honest, and ultimately moving. Even the most ridiculous characters are revealed to have hidden depths and reservoirs of pain or heartbreak guiding their actions and behaviors. And de Wilde’s direction is stunning, with each frame richly composed – especially the head-on close-ups of characters which allow us to chart their every fleeting emotional change as it dances across their face. It’s an adaptation that proves Austen’s work is just as timely and relevant now as ever.