Cannes etc.

“Words fly in Xavier Dolan’s sixth film. They rain down from the sky, landing in flurries, allowing only occasional moments to catch one’s breath before beginning anew. It’s overwhelming, and that’s the point. Based on the play of the same name by late French playwright Jean-Luc Lagarce, who died in 1995 from AIDS-related illness, “Juste la [...]

“Granted, this is not multiplex fare. But those who aren’t put off by the extensive subtitling will find themselves swept away by this family reunion which offers not only a masterful portrait of the contemporary Romanian middle-class but also a whole set of smart, perceptive reflections on the relativity of truth, on the failings of [...]

“An unflinching look at deteriorating working — and non-working — conditions for the common man and woman in contemporary France, “La loi du marché” has the disquieting ring of truth. Vincent Lindon, in his third collaboration with Stéphane Brizé, is the only trained actor in the cast. Thirty or so non-actors performing roles close to [...]

“This film tells the epic story of the first contact, encounter, approach, betrayal and, eventually, life-transcending friendship, between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman, last survivor of his people, and two scientists that, over the course of 40 years, travel through the Amazon in search of a sacred plant that can heal them. Inspired by the journals [...]

“In which Scheherazade tells of the restlessness that befell the country: `It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that in a sad country where people dream of mermaids and whales, unemployment spreads. Forests burn into the night despite the falling rain: men and women long to set out to sea in the middle of Winter. [...]

“In which Scheherazade tells of how desolation invaded men : `It hath reached me, O auspicious King, that a Judge will cry instead of giving out her sentence. A runaway murderer will wander through the land for over forty days and will teletransport himself to escape the Guard while dreaming of prostitutes and partridges. A [...]

“Any purist fearing that Hou Hsiao-Hsien might have compromised his artistic integrity by making a wuxia/kung fu film will be mostly reassured by the long-gestating “The Assassin”. This is not a venture into wire-work and acrobatics but a contemplative, often ravishing-looking immersion in the complex politics, power struggles and personalities of the Tang Dynasty as [...]

“In which Scheherazade doubts that she will still be able to tell stories to please the King, given that what she has to tell weighs three thousand tonnes. She therefore escapes from the palace and travels the Kingdom in search of pleasure and enchantment. Her father, the Grand-Vizier, arranges to meet her at the Ferris [...]

“Norwegian director Joachim Trier's first two features, “Reprise” and “Oslo, August 31st.” were eloquent, subdued dramas in which the details of the narratives mattered less than the way characters processed them. “Louder Than Bombs”, Trier's first English-language project and inaugural collaboration with name actors, technically marks his biggest project to date — but this ruminative [...]

“A love story set in the near future where single people, according to the rules of The City, are arrested and transferred to The Hotel. There they are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days. If they fail, they are transformed into an animal of their choosing and released into The Woods. A [...]