The Israeli film Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem is the rare work of craft that takes a single location conceit and morphs it from filmed theater to something purely cinematic. Director-writer siblings Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz are sure-handed in how they tell the story of Viviane’s Read More …
In this lush, loving adaptation of Colm Toibin’s bestselling novel, it’s the middle of the twentieth century, and thoughtful Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) is sailing to America from Ireland in search of opportunities that her small, quiet, seaside hometown can’t offer to her. As she begins Read More …
Inside Out announces itself as a movie about emotions—and it is—but it’s also about the making of our minds. And the minds that made it are among the wildest imaginations making movies today. It tracks a world inside the mind of eleven-year-old Riley, who is growing Read More …
It sounds like the setup for a conventional thriller or horror movie: A man comes home and reunites with friends from his college days for a vacation in a cabin at the beach—and everything goes terribly wrong. But there’s nothing conventional about master filmmaker Asghar Read More …
At turns inspiring, challenging, sobering, and finally devastating, The Overnighters is an existentially probing documentary with more layers than a twisty Hollywood thriller. Partly this is due to the compelling subject matter: a Lutheran pastor in a booming North Dakota oil town committed to showing Read More …
“The rich exist for the sake of the poor,” said St. John Chrysostom, “but the poor exist for the salvation of the rich.” Watching Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow—a tale of survival and friendship about a pioneer and cook (John Magaro) and the Chinese immigrant (Orion Lee) with Read More …
“If you’re too busy chasing the third act, you’ll miss the meaning and message of acts one and two.” – Gretchen Jordan, Rosewood High drama teacher Sometimes in life we are so focused on pursuing our purpose that we forget how to embrace each minute Read More …
Christians tend to like their redemption arcs clean and their underdogs easy to root for. But much like This is Martin Bonner, Sound of Metal presents a character who resists help. Ruben (Riz Ahmed) at first does not wish to admit that he is losing Read More …
Kirsten Johnson’s moving tribute to her dying father (Dick Johnson) and cinema itself is easily one of the best documentaries of the year. Kirsten admits she is making time capsules to remember her father, but the film also serves as a sharing of careers as she and Read More …
Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari is a quietly spiritual film that gives voice to the immigrant experience in pursuit of the American Dream. The writer-director channels deeply personal sentiments in a story of vast Biblical undertones. The central metaphor of the minari plant embodies hardy resilience Read More …