Playground
An unflinching, immersive look at childhood bullying that plunges us deep into a child’s agitated POV.
Film-Forward
Brighton 4th
Ruin porn addicts will revel in the film’s rich dinginess, while others may be pulled in by a gruffly sentimental story of a purehearted immigrant putting his life on the line for distinctly lesser men.
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Bhutan’s vast landscape overwhelms with its beauty, and as the village of Lunana and its people calmly make an impact on the protagonist, Lunana makes one on the viewer.
A Hero
A lot of activity takes place around a wistful antihero buffeted by events: a noble deed that goes awry, a social media pile-on, and a good old-fashioned vendetta.
Benedetta
Veteran provocateur Paul Verhoeven's movie about lust and mania in a 17th-century Tuscan convent fulfills its sensationalistic promise.
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn | Uppercase Print
Two more Radu Jude films torch Romanian ignorance, authoritarianism, and poltroonery. The borderline-bonkers Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn churns with incendiary ideas, while Uppercase Print condemns Ceausescu–era repression with clunky sincerity.
Gaza Mon Amour
This gentle, lived-in story about a tentative romance between an older man and woman wins you over with low-key, unhurried charm.
Only the Animals
Intricate and masterful, strange and heartbreaking, Only the Animals is a great new entry into the multilinear narrative canon.