‘Little Trouble Girls’ Review: Catholicism and Coming-of-Age Clash in Slovenia’s Oscar Entry for Best International Feature
Urška Djukić's directorial debut aptly concentrates on the revelatory school trip of a sixteen-year-old Catholic schoolgirl, who struggles to disentangle the clashing feelings of a changing mind and body from her devout, up to this point, untested faith.
‘Reflection in a Dead Diamond’ Review: Style Reigns Over Substance in Dizzying Giallo-Inspired Thriller
For their latest movie, which premiered earlier this year in Competition at the Berlin Film Festival, filmmaking duo Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani fully lean into their fancy for Giallo cinema to deliver a work packed to the brim with stylistic flourish, although drastically detouring from any sense of satisfying narrative coherence in the process.
‘The Ice Tower’ Review: A Frosty, Hitchcockian Spin on a Classic Fairytale
French filmmaker Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s 2025 Berlinale winner casts a wholly hypnotic spell through its explorations of obsession and belonging.
‘The Ugly Stepsister’ Review: A Familiar Fairytale Reimagined with Gross Out Body Horror
For her feature debut, Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt channels her own feminine experiences to focus on a perspective in the iconic fairytale Cinderella that is typically skewed villainously, culminating with an entertaining work of body horror that oscillates between heartbreaking and disgusting.
‘Who by Fire’ Review: Resentments Ignite on Vacation in Philippe Lesage’s Enthralling New Movie
The latest work from the Quebecois filmmaker, Who by Fire utilizes the framework of a bad vacation to astutely deliver a coming-of-age tale that is both highly refined and refreshed in its approach to a tried and true concept.
‘The Empire’ Review: A Simultaneously Zany and Inert Reworking of the Sci-Fi Space Opera
French auteur Bruno Dumont’s Berlinale-winner The Empire is a genre-mashing comedy that is light on humor but heavy on impressive craftsmanship.
‘Special Operation’ Review: Kyiv-Based Filmmaker Oleksiy Radynski Pieces Together CCTV Footage to Document the Earliest Days of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine
Compiled entirely from surveillance footage from the security cameras at the Chornobyl Power Plant, Special Operation leans into the pure reality of imagery to remark on the ongoing Russian assault on Ukraine.
‘Lurker’ Review: Celebrity Obsession Reaches New Heights in the Modern Age
In his filmmaking debut, Alex Russell grapples with a blossoming fandom that turns into a twisted obsession, starring arthouse regular Théodore Pellerin and Saltburn breakout Archie Madekwe as a musician on the rise and his newfound groupie, who enter an increasingly psychological game of cat and mouse.
‘The Blue Trail’ Review: Gabriel Mascaro’s Latest Captures the Newness of Living Through a Journey Down the Amazon River
Mascaro’s Competition title at this year’s Berlinale is a vibrant spin on the road film genre that stars Denise Weinberg as a vivacious septuagenarian who refuses to be cast aside by the contemporary world.
‘Dreams’ Review: Jessica Chastain Leads a Cruel Love Story That Speaks to the Mexico-United States Border Crisis
Totally inconsolable in its views of today's America, Michel Franco’s Dreams is a steely, fascinating story of cross-cultural lovers doomed from the start.
‘Mickey 17’ Review: Bong Joon Ho is BACK, Baby!
Since his 2020 Best Picture winner Parasite, fans old and new have patiently anticipated Bong’s follow-up. Wait no longer because Mickey 17 is finally here in all its brilliant, hilarious, and spectacular glory.
‘Green Night’ Review: Fan Bingbing Returns to the Silver Screen in an Atmospheric but Flimsy Neo-Noir Thriller
Chinese writer-director Han Shuai probes a traditionally masculine genre with a decidedly female touch, building her sophomore feature's narrative around two women who turn to the seedy crime world of Seoul to escape the men who control them.