“‘The Irishman’ may be the last film of an era. The banquet scene ranks among the most powerful sequences of Scorsese’s career because he allows it, following Visconti’s example, to linger.”
“‘The Cloud in Her Room’ is an indie revelation for the dreamers. It invites collected reflections and quiet reminiscences; the eclectic images are a roaring statement.”
“‘Shell and Joint’ thrives in being carefully discovered by peeling away one layer after the other.”
“‘Shirley’ is not just a film about the pain and struggle of creativity for all artists, but about women particularly.”
“‘Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ is an abortion drama that is so grounded in reality, so meticulous in its details, that it becomes one of the most moving and insightful movies made on the subject.”
“Chukwu avoids any overt didacticism in her storytelling, even if the mounting pressure on the beleaguered protagonist is delivered with quiet resolve and suffocating dread.”
“Andersson depicts fragments of humanity, stitched together with humour and relatability, and without a hint of loftiness or condescension.”
“Over time, a film critic should be able to engage with cinema in an all-encompassing manner, acknowledging the interior and exterior forces of what makes a movie…”
“The persona, the artist, the maestro, the ringmaster — one can’t help but bask in the direct, subjective joy and the elegiac reverence for cinema itself.”
“The films of Bill Forsyth are well-observed, genial comedies — and yet the director’s humor is intermingled with a powerful strain of sadness, an attentiveness to protagonists lost and longing.”
“In her mysterious way, Hatidze’s character is as gorgeous and singular as the breathtaking images collected by cinematographers Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma.”
“Many directors twice Balagov’s age could only dream of making a film this unwavering and unsettling — so explicit in its understanding and exploration of extreme female pain.”
“With a fresh, new approach, Mendes memorializes not only his grandfather, but all the brave soldiers of WWI, reminding viewers of the individual tragedies that comprise warfare.”
“‘The Verdict’ is Lumet’s morality play, a palate-cleanser after the bitter cynicism of his previous film that affirms the fundamental goodness of a few ordinary people within the justice system.”
“The demise of the conspiracy thriller pointed to a broader shift; it signalled the rise of a new credulity, a willingness to re-engage with the idea of America in spite of its reality.”
“It is Karina who embodied the freedom, fascination and the unpredictability that would define the French New Wave. It is Karina who made so many fall in love — with her and with cinema as an extraordinary, exultant medium.”
“Every frame of ‘A Hidden Life’ is informed by unapologetic inquisitiveness. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful tapestry of faith, systemic inhumanity, humility and transcendent love — made with rare sublimity and sincerity.”
“Diop’s feature debut is one that embraces the strange, joyous and tender moments that extend beyond boundaries and linear temporalities. Neither love nor life moves in a straight line.”
“There is a danger and dynamism to 20s cinema which was gradually eradicated by the standardisation of production processes.”
“More mood piece than cohesive story, it’s impressive chiefly in how McGuinness mirrors the desolate bleakness of the protagonists’ lives with the parched cinematography of their surrounding landscape.”