Amour (Love)
Amour has been at the top of a lot of lists this awards season. It is Oscar nominated for Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Feature (that has only happened…
Headhunters (Hodejegerne)
Headhunters is one of those movies that grows on you. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it when it was over, but then days after, I kept thinking about…
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Bir zamanlar Anadolu’da)
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan's Once Upon a Time in Anatolia begins with what seems to be an impossible task -- finding a buried body in the vast expanse of…
The Hidden Fortress 隠し砦の三悪人
The Hidden Fortress may not be one of the most well known of Kurasawa's films, but it is a wonderfully entertaining mix of adventure, comedy and drama. It opens with…
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is an ode to the greatest sushi chef in the world, Jiro Ono. This 85-year old sushi master has been at his craft for 75 years…
Barbara
East Germany in 1980 really must have been a dystopian hell on earth. In the film Barbara, a doctor is exiled from Berlin for a minor offense and forced to…
Rust and Bone (De rouille et d’os )
Rust and Bone opens with a man and a little boy hitchhiking, then on a train scavenging food from left-behind scraps. This is Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) and his young son…
The Black Tulip
I am sure you haven't seen a lot of films from Afghanistan. It is not exactly the Hollywood of central Asia. But I was intrigued when I heard about The…
Battle Royale
I am sure that most of you have heard of or read or watched The Hunger Games by now, but when it came out on the screen, I read a…
The Intouchables
The Intouchables is my new favorite French feel-good film! Based on a true story, I must admit, the premise sounded like a total downer. A rich Parisian quadriplegic hires an…
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Without doubt Ai Weiwei is the most famous Chinese artist on the planet. His art is thought provoking, but his life, even more so. The documentary Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry…
The Forgiveness of Blood
Albania is no cinematic hotspot, though as The Forgiveness of Blood shows, they have some interesting stories to tell. It is fascinating to see these corners of the earth that…
A Separation
A Separation won the 2011 Oscar for Best Foreign Film, marking Iran’s first Academy Award ever. It was also nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category, unusual for any foreign…
The Skin I Live In
I have to admit two things up front. I am not usually a fan of Pedro Almodóvar, and the descriptions of The Skin I Live In did not lead me…
Melancholia
Danish director Lars von Trier is not known for happy movies (Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark) and with Melancholia he keeps true to form. The title clues you…