Film
No spoilers here about what lies beneath the film’s dreamy layers of story, but some viewers will find the narrative pulling them helplessly forward, sucked into a maelstrom of pain and trauma and love and regret and memory.
Director Wim Wenders discusses two new films about art and toilets.
“Maestro” is raw and unsparing but also full of understanding, grace, and honesty. This compelling drama brings to life the man and woman behind an extraordinary amount of musical activity, with many of their shortcomings and contradictions fully intact.
Our demanding critics choose the best films (along with some disappointments) of the year. And there is plenty of disagreement.
The disconnect between the Amsterdam of the past that is revisited and the scenes of life in the city today dramatize the fragility of memory and its erosion.
Writer-director Sean Durkin’s engrossing biopic goes a far piece toward showing the dark side of this tale of patriarchal authority and its abuse under the cover of an all-American, clean-living, unassailable family of heroes.
“Poor Things” is a film in which the set designers are as much the auteurs as the director, to the detriment of the pathos that is at the heart of Alasdair Gray’s novel.
In a world that at times seems to have turned sour and colorless, “Wonka” brings much needed sweetness and beauty, making it a perfect diversion for the holiday season.
“Concrete Utopia” echoes “Parasite”’s sharp critique of class exploitation, but it applies a faster pace and more restless energy to its vision of economic meltdown.
Arts Feature: Ten Best Music Documentaries of 2023
Some of these films are easier to see than others, but they’re all worth seeking out.
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