Film
“They’re Not Normal People”: Azazel Jacobs’s French Exit
By Madeline WhittleAn exceptional ensemble cast—including Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges—renders the absurd with singular emotional nuance (and comic timing) in Azazel Jacobs’s latest, co-written by and adapted from a novel by Patrick DeWitt.
In Conversation
FERNANDA VALADEZ and ASTRID RONDERO with Caitlin Quinlan
Filmmaking partners Fernanda Valadez and Astrid Rondero’s Identifying Features empathetically depicts the effects of border disappearances on Mexico’s inner and outer landscapes.
Rebel Against Reality: The Spheres of Henri Plaat
By Marius HrdyDutch visual artist Henri Plaat’s 8mm and 16mm films, influenced by his memories of World War II and contemporaneous newsreels, playfully examine the persistence of the past within the present.
The People's Demands Are Lawful: Jill Li's Lost Course
By Matt TurnerJill Li’s longitudinal documentary follows the group of activists behind the Wukan Protests of 2011 and the ever-developing interpersonal dynamics between them as they transition from protesting political corruption to governing themselves.
Communion and Expression: “21st Century Japan: Films from 2001–2020” at Japan Society
By Jaime GrijalbaJapan Society and the Agency for Cultural Affairs proposes a perfectly cinephilic survey of the century so far that favors the deep cut over the known masterpiece, with the likes of Naomi Kawase and Hirokazu Kore-eda sharing the spotlight with younger filmmakers to forward a Proustian snapshot of the past two decades of Japanese cinema.
