Fresh
| Fresh 90%
| The Secret of the Grain (2008) | "
Through his superlative cast of performers, Kechiche's family portrait is a doting record of the innate resiliency of this beloved community." Posted Apr 23, 2008 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| The Unforeseen (2007) | "
It provides a multilayered examination of what it means for society to "develop" and "grow" while depleting its natural resources." Posted Nov 14, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| The Doctor's Horrible Experiment (1958) | "
It's the kind of role that can inspire brilliance, and Barrault is remarkable, suggesting a deranged mime who moves in a series of spasms and ticks before breaking into wild, inexplicable violence." Posted Oct 31, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 60%
| George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead (2008) | "
This time out, the elements seem particularly impassioned and conscientiously formed." Posted Oct 16, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| Blade Runner - The Final Cut (1982) | "
The film's noisy sound mix and congested pictorialism--as if it had been directed by a crazed, postmodern Von Sternberg--is a direct corollary to its moral ambiguity and sense of climactic human expiration (technological and social)." Posted Oct 8, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| The Violin (2007) | "
by turns shocking, observant, picturesque, and thought-provoking, the film is a moving expression of the tumultuous existence of countless Mexican lives." Posted Sep 26, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Out 1, Noli Me Tangere (1971) | "
Out 1 has been accurately described as a "film-fleuve," and though its current may be slow, its volume is massive; one could easily follow any one of its many tributaries to vast thematic territory." Posted Aug 21, 2007 |
Fresh
| N/A | Kapurush (1965) | "
A deeply felt and observantly rendered mood piece that pivots on setting, camera placement, actor positions, and an editing structure that incorporates flashbacks via emotional associations" Posted Aug 21, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 72%
| Tekkon Kinkreet (2007) | "
If it doesn't quite achieve seamless plotting and colorful dialogue, it makes up for it by merging highly stylized animation with live action aesthetics in remarkably immersive ways." Posted May 8, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Cria Cuervos (1977) | "
The film's vaguely uncanny and disquieting tone is due to several factors, including its emphasis on death, loss, and decay...In many ways, the film is a lament and warning for Spain's future." Posted Apr 1, 2007 |
Fresh
| N/A | Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) | "
Hollywood melodramas do not often compare to timeless masterpieces of world cinema, but this does, largely through McCarey's sophisticated blend of tragic pathos, psychological insight, and rich, knowing humor." Posted Mar 21, 2007 |
Fresh
| N/A | La Leyenda del tiempo (2006) | "
A seemingly effortless, but enigmatic and deeply engaging observation of modern San Fernando islanders." Posted Mar 8, 2007 |
Fresh
| N/A | The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On () | "
One of the more astonishing aspects of the film (one that also incriminates the viewer) is [its] shocking moral fury." Posted Mar 8, 2007 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Hamlet (1964) | "
Kozintsev emphasizes the imprisoning moral architecture of Elsinore, not by obvious claustrophobic visuals, but by a rich, widescreen frame and purist, black-and-white imagery..." Posted Nov 7, 2006 |
Fresh
| Fresh 86%
| Who's Camus Anyway? (2005) | "
While it's chock full of film references, colorful characters, and social eccentricities, its true sophistication emerges gradually, posing complex questions about the roles of fantasy, identity, and volition in modern life." Posted Nov 1, 2006 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| La Commune (2000) | "
Filled with wall-to-wall political debate, pleas for social equality and critiques of power, the film is a furious, provocative, and rousing experimental documentary that reenacts the Commune's historical moment." Posted Oct 27, 2006 |
Fresh
| Fresh 86%
| The Road to Guantanamo (2006) | "
To its credit, the film isn't sensationalistic nor is it political agitprop. While the violence is concrete and upsetting, it's virtually tame by contemporary Hollywood standards." Posted Jun 22, 2006 |
Fresh
| Fresh 82%
| Mr. Arkadin (1955) | "
While the plot sometimes seems too fragmented for its own good, Welles' consistently inventive imagery nevertheless ensures that the action remains thoroughly engrossing." Posted Jun 21, 2006 |
Fresh
| Fresh 73%
| Cavite (2006) | "
The film maintains an impressive narrative momentum throughout, but its documentary details make the biggest impression." Posted Jun 13, 2006 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Buffalo Boy (2004) | "
In a lesser film, the copious floods would signal pat themes of life and renewal, but Nguyen-Vo emphasizes the water's destructive power as well." Posted Jun 6, 2006 |
Fresh
| N/A | Our Times (2002) | "
A personal and informative time capsule of a crucial moment revealing the ongoing cultural tensions in Iran between conservatism and progress." Posted Mar 22, 2006 |
Fresh
| Fresh 84%
| The Future Of Food (2005) | "
With alarming and concise analysis, it highlights the way traditional farming in the US has become a corporate-controlled, less diversified business with global repercussions." Posted Mar 17, 2006 |
Fresh
| Fresh 90%
| Tony Takitani (2005) | "
The characters and narrative are so lightly sketched, the film's gravity sneaks up on the viewer through the gradual force of its form and rhythm." Posted Aug 31, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 93%
| A State of Mind (2005) | "
The film is also admirably intimate, giving a human face to those living in a totalitarian society; their fears, joys, inspirations, and hopes." Posted Aug 28, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 92%
| Darwin's Nightmare (2006) | "
Sauper is no polemicist, and his close observation and eye for challenging juxtaposition provides more than enough impetus for engagement." Posted Aug 21, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) | "
Robert Bresson's aesthetic of realist, material sounds and images assembled in paradoxical ways virtually defines the cinematic parable..." Posted Jun 14, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 85%
| Howl's Moving Castle (2005) | "
...heartfelt humanism once again enlivens the filmmaker's craft, yet this time around the film seems quieter, more charming and eccentric than awing." Posted Jun 13, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| L'Argent (1983) | "
L'Argent showcases the filmmaker at the height of his formal ingenuity, particularly his use of narrative ellipses and fragmented space (close-ups of legs, hands, objects)." Posted Jun 11, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 89%
| Funny Ha Ha (2005) | "
Dollenmayer's low-key naturalism is a perfect compliment to the camera's hand-held gaze, presenting a touching combination of amiable nonchalance and emotional yearning." Posted Jun 6, 2005 |
Fresh
| N/A | Nang-Nak (1999) | "
George Lucas isn't the only filmmaker who can turn ancient myth, graphic eye candy, doomed romance, and Buddhist non-attachment into box office gold..." Posted Jun 3, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| The Tracker (2002) | "
[T]he film emphasizes its fable qualities and sets the stage for its moral structure, which hinges on the merging of power and racism and the possibility of resistance." Posted Jun 1, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 89%
| White Dog (1981) | "
A powerful, inspired critique of racism, tapping into the relationship between humans and animals in a way that places it within the ranks of cinematic masterpieces..." Posted May 14, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Fury (1936) | "
Fury offers a striking portrait of the structure of society; its assorted classes, organizations and technologies, and methods of law and order..." Posted May 12, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 94%
| Los Angeles Plays Itself (2004) | "
[A] passionate call for a more accurate account of the diverse struggles, hopes, and joys to be found throughout the city of angels." Posted May 8, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 97%
| Killer of Sheep (1977) | "
If this sounds depressing, it's not, largely due to Burnett's ability to highlight warmth, humor, and unexpected moments of compassion." Posted May 4, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 88%
| F For Fake (1976) | "
An almost impossibly lively pastiche of images and ideas that never tires." Posted May 1, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 95%
| The Best of Youth (2005) | "
It avoids the pratfalls of easy melodrama by maintaining a psychological distance from its characters; there are never any obvious explanations for their choices or behaviors." Posted Mar 22, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 86%
| The River (1951) | "
The film's scenario is merely a loose framework for emphasizing its setting through various festivals, bazaars, and imaginative legends." Posted Mar 21, 2005 |
Fresh
| N/A | Star Spangled to Death (2004) | "
It's a stimulating, labyrinthine experience provided by a master of the American avant-garde and an historical artifact that is nevertheless piercingly contemporary." Posted Feb 14, 2005 |
Fresh
| N/A | The House is Black (1963) | "
Farrokhzad breaks through the repugnant aura that has often haunted victims of [leprosy] and affirms their resilience and human beauty." Posted Feb 14, 2005 |
Fresh
| Fresh 80%
| It's All True (1993) | "
...the film at once seems like a visually dynamic conflation of a Robert Flaherty film and a proto-neorealist fable comprised of photogenic locals and working class heroics." Posted Dec 10, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 87%
| Tell Them Who You Are (2005) | "
Mark Wexler's film is the latest success in the blooming genre of therapeutic, first-person, digital essay films exploring the filmmaker's personal life." Posted Dec 10, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| I Vitelloni (1953) | "
Although the plot moves between set pieces, its dramatic structure is centered on the characters, individuals caught between terminal stasis and illegitimate dreams." Posted Dec 2, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 93%
| The Milky Way (1969) | "
More witty than Dogma and more aesthetically refined than the original Bedazzled, the film is affectionately irreverent and adventurous storytelling." Posted Dec 2, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 96%
| Umberto D. (1952) | "
Like Falconetti as Joan of Arc, Battisti offers one of those rare performances that is so perfectly realized, it automatically negates the possibility of any future roles." Posted Dec 2, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 80%
| Jacquot (1991) | "
A portrait that is at once a love letter to the movies, a critical perspective on one of its celebrated artist's, and a personal tribute." Posted Dec 2, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Salt of the Earth (1953) | "
More than a typical Miramax/Tarantino extravaganza, it's films like this that establish the historical precedent and importance of truly independent American filmmaking." Posted Dec 2, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Tokyo Story (1953) | "
Ozu's style is one based on restriction, rigor, and repetition, which paradoxically expands his emotional meanings." Posted Dec 1, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Playtime (1967) | "
The setting is a relative of Metropolis and Blade Runner, its fictional urban landscape brilliantly representing problems of modern life through steel and glass." Posted Dec 1, 2004 |
Fresh
| Fresh 100%
| Salvatore Giuliano (1961) | "
Rosi adopts an austere structure with a complex timeframe that provocatively avoids narrative embellishment and the usual emotional padding." Posted Dec 1, 2004 |
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