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Lost in the Night
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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The director is able to impressively flesh out the tortured soul of a society, all too aware of where all the bodies have been buried, but with more and more pain added with each sprinkle of dirt poured on top.
Posted Jun 04, 2023
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Firebrand
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Although there’s hardly anything regal in what’s actually being depicted, “Firebrand” is undeniably commanding.
Posted May 31, 2023
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Room 999
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Offering insights that are both memorable and memeable.
Posted May 25, 2023
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All to Play For
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Although “All to Play For” has a narrative drive on par with [its lead character]’s determination, Delguet mirrors the delicacy of the situation by illuminating the nuances that often get lost in the system.
Posted May 25, 2023
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Terrestrial Verses
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Asgari and Khatami find beauty in resistance, not only among characters who push back in what ways they can, but in challenging a narrative that has repeated itself for itself for generations.
Posted May 23, 2023
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The Buriti Flower
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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While now is a time of crisis, it isn’t presented as anything new in “Crowra,” which impressively spans generations without leaving the perspective of two characters.
Posted May 23, 2023
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Marguerite's Theorem
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Like its titular hero (Ella Rumpf), [the film] takes a certain accepted narrative logic as the mathematician must in working out time-old equations as the foundation to see things from a new perspective.
Posted May 22, 2023
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The Other Laurens
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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“The Other Laurens” takes a solid film noir premise and twists it to warped ends, delivering a moody slow burn that resists slickness but holds its share of intrigue.
Posted May 22, 2023
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The Settlers
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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To go by “The Settlers,” perhaps nothing about the past should be entirely trusted, but it sure feels as if [director Felipe] Gálvez and crew are delivering the truth.
Posted May 22, 2023
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After Sherman
(2021)
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Stephen Saito
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What Sesrie is able to unlock is mighty powerful.
Posted May 22, 2023
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The Breaking Ice
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Rather than crack, “The Breaking Ice” melts with an ephemerality that makes the moment at hand seem especially important to hold onto when it seems so fleeting.
Posted May 21, 2023
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Creatura
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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The film feels like the result of intense soul searching on the part of Gimeno, who you wouldn’t need to know is pulling double duty both behind and in front of the camera for the film to feel impossibly intimate.
Posted May 20, 2023
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The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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What’s considered normal [in life] can’t help but seem underwhelming when “The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” is so delightful because it’s anything but, leaving one with no other option but to surrender to it.
Posted May 19, 2023
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Year of the Fox
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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“Year of the Fox” can feel a bit unruly itself when it strays from the conventions of most coming-of-age narratives, but that’s all for the better.
Posted May 18, 2023
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The Delinquents
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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A film that’s anything but routine and while running out the clock may be a goal for [its characters], Moreno leaves one wanting more.
Posted May 18, 2023
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Inshallah a Boy
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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[Actors] Hala and Marwan also display a convincing defiance, perhaps playing the powerless, but contributing to a film that’s undeniably mighty.
Posted May 18, 2023
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The Sweet East
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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For as much of the current social climate it gleefully torches in effigy, “The Sweet East” is just as apt to light a fire under anyone who has developed an apathy towards the movies, showing there’s still room for rebellion.
Posted May 18, 2023
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Wildflower
(2022)
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Stephen Saito
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“Wildflower” feels like it’s drawing on a lifetime’s worth of experience, not only of the real Bea, but of the filmmaker’s as well and the result is utterly disarming.
Posted Mar 24, 2023
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The Arc of Oblivion
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Proves to be the engaging conversation starter that Cheney would hope for, not only on screen, but spilling off of it when the film tackles how personal inventories can create holes or patch them up in a larger historical sweep.
Posted Mar 20, 2023
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Queendom
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Gena [Marvin]’s own work reflects the might of artists everywhere as disrupters and while it might’ve been enough to amplify what she’s been up to in her practice, “Queendom” holds that same power to provoke and inspire as a work of art unto itself.
Posted Mar 20, 2023
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Last Stop Larrimah
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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When speaking of a town that could be seen as a laughingstock, the mere act of seeing their lives taken seriously becomes moving.
Posted Mar 19, 2023
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The Herricanes
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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For as entertaining as it is, the film may be most resonant about how powerful a community can be when it comes together, whether it’s in the form of a football team or an entire culture understanding what everyone can bring to the table.
Posted Mar 19, 2023
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Late Bloomers
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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“Late Bloomers” has a wisdom well beyond its years, breezily entertaining in the moment but lingering far longer when it is so humanely observed.
Posted Mar 18, 2023
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You Can Call Me Bill
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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A genuinely astute and captivating look at an actor’s life, intriguing even if it weren’t specifically this actor, although all the more compelling because of it.
Posted Mar 17, 2023
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Parachute
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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In a situation where the center will not hold, “Parachute” cuts to the core.
Posted Mar 15, 2023
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Cora Bora
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Playing someone who doesn’t have it all together provides an incredible showcase for [Meg Stalter] to show she’s the full package.
Posted Mar 15, 2023
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The Young Wife
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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When [the lead] has the choice to join this life or run from it, it’s difficult when one can’t help but see both its allure and its ability to overwhelm due to the verve of the filmmaking.
Posted Mar 15, 2023
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Bloody Hell
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Whereas her characters may fear having a unique outlook on the world as a result of things out of their control, [director Molly] McGlynn finds strength in it.
Posted Mar 14, 2023
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Peak Season
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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No one gets to relax in Henry Loevner and Steven Kanter’s delightful second feature, except for the audience for whom the vacation film will actually feel like an excursion.
Posted Mar 14, 2023
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Caterpillar
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Further proof that the nonfiction work [director Liza] Mandelup is doing is game changing.
Posted Mar 13, 2023
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Frybread Face and Me
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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The relatively light touch gives “Frybread and Me” a cumulative power as it rolls along, reflecting a way of life where both tragedy and celebration aren’t treated as major events but part of a continuum making any effort to break the cycle feel big.
Posted Mar 13, 2023
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This Closeness
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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It’s the simple things that present problems in Zauhar’s razor-sharp second feature, which overcomes them itself as a single-location relationship comedy that plays the angles as well in its plotting as its visuals.
Posted Mar 12, 2023
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Sister & Sister
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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“Sister and Sister” becomes a summer that neither the characters on screen or you will never forget.
Posted Mar 12, 2023
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Confessions of a Good Samaritan
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Deeply rewarding.
Posted Mar 11, 2023
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Going Varsity in Mariachi
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Regardless of how Mariachi Oro performs against other schools, “Going Varsity in Mariachi” is winning.
Posted Mar 06, 2023
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Hummingbirds
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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A refreshing coming-of-age story in which it becomes far less important what [its characters] think their future looks like than how they’re seen as an essential part of the future.
Posted Mar 06, 2023
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Silver Haze
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Polak really does make it feel as if you’re seeing Franky getting her first taste of freedom yet the lack of anyone to turn to with a compassionate ear makes any choices she makes downright terrifying.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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The Burdened
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Gamal subtly notes dichotomies all over the place, actively dismantling monolithic notions of a society that could be easily seen as being stuck in the past, but making the large abstract forces that continue to hold back progress so clearly visible.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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The Teachers’ Lounge
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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In succeeding as a provocation, it never fails to entertain.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Mutt
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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In spite of the messiness of the subject subject, “Mutt” unfolds elegantly, attuned to small details that illuminate the resourcefulness that Feña has drawn on internally and externally to build a life for himself.
Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Reality
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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In sticking to the facts of what actually happened, “Reality” proves to be unexpectedly revealing, as much about the person as the country she’s a citizen of.
Posted Feb 22, 2023
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Under the Sky of Damascus
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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When so many conversations in “Under the Sky of Damascus” continue to ring around in your head well after it ends, little doubt is left that it will reverberate in the places it matters as well.
Posted Feb 20, 2023
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Tótem
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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A thrillingly vital family portrait about a clan that does its very best to celebrate someone they’re about to mourn.
Posted Feb 20, 2023
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Here
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Giving in to what comes most organically may require some deprogramming from what the characters have picked up from their daily routines, but Devos’ refreshing vision offers clarity for them and for an audience.
Posted Feb 19, 2023
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White Plastic Sky
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Set in a time when humans appear to have little more to contribute to the earth’s sustainability than their bodies, the film sees [they] have plenty more to offer and in doing so, “White Plastic Sky” proves to be far more than the sum of its parts.
Posted Feb 19, 2023
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Joan Baez I Am a Noise
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Ends up as one of the few celebrity-driven biopics to clear a bar that so many don’t, answering the question of whether the life of the artist would be interesting apart from dutifully recounting the career they’ve had with a resounding yes.
Posted Feb 18, 2023
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Love in the Time of Fentanyl
(2022)
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Stephen Saito
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The film may actually present a way forward when, with as few resources as the OPS appears to have at their disposal, it seems smaller communal operations such as this that could make the largest impact...
Posted Feb 14, 2023
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Scrapper
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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You won’t find any more poised performers of any age than Lola Campbell, the ferocious talent at the heart of “Scrapper,” enough to convince you that her character Georgie’s scheme wouldn’t be questioned in the wake of her mother’s passing.
Posted Feb 01, 2023
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Girl
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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Grace may tell her daughter to keep the doors locked in “Girl,” but this is a filmmaker who isn’t afraid of opening them.
Posted Jan 30, 2023
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Young. Wild. Free.
(2023)
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Stephen Saito
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It’s heavy stuff for what appears to be charming young adult romance on the surface, but fitting when telling of someone who’s got so much going on underneath.
Posted Jan 30, 2023
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