Growing old isn’t a challenge, but growing up certainly is, which is perhaps the most succinct way to describe Stop-Zemlia (Ukrainian: Стоп-Земля), a powerful social drama written and directed by Kateryna Gornostai (in her feature-length directorial debut), who tells the story of a close-knit group of high school students in working-class Ukraine, following them as…

On the Waterfront has been so omnipotent in discussions around its importance in film history, it’s easy to forget how excellent it actually is, beyond the very obvious qualities that have made it one of the true classics of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Perception is divided on whether to celebrate what Elia Kazan did…

There aren’t too many artists who possess the gall and audacity to go by a single name and still be entirely recognizable, and respected almost entirely on the merit associated with such a mononym. It suggests an overt confidence that can sometimes be mistaken for arrogance on some occasions – yet, when settling into a…

There are two films embedded in The Air of Paris (French: L’air de Paris), the powerful drama by Marcel Carné. The first is the heartbreaking story of a former boxer, played by Jean Gabin, who hopes to recapture the spirit of his glory days through training a promising young athlete, played by Roland Lesaffre. The…

When it comes to cinematic wunderkinder, few have had a career as impressive as Xavier Dolan, whose initial success came from the fact that he directed his first feature film at the young age of only twenty, an achievement that is all the more impressive considering his directorial debut wasn’t an amateur production, but rather…

There is nothing particularly remarkable about King Richard, the biographical drama that recounts the formative years of Venus and Serena Williams, as filtered through the perspective of Richard, their hard-working father who did everything he could to make sure that his plans to raise a couple of the greatest tennis players came to fruition. The…

There are two major schools of literature that explore the post-war experience – the first are those that look at the literal destruction caused by conflict, whether it be physical in the form of cities ravaged by warfare, or the more long-lasting kind, which focuses on the social and economic changes. The second category contains…

As far as unconventional cultural icons go, there are few more legendary than the woman who carried the surnames Bakker and Messner at different points in her life, but is most lovingly known by the name Tammy Faye. Starting out as the obedient, god-fearing wife of a hedonistic televangelist, and eventually turning into something of…

If there is something literature has taught us, it’s not to cross a man and his beloved pet – and in the instance of Pig, doing so can have long-lasting consequences on anyone daring enough to get in the way of a beloved companion. The directorial debut of Michael Sarnoski is one of the year’s…

Motherhood is difficult, especially when you’re taking care of other people’s children. This strange assertion is the most simple way to describe Ilo Ilo (Chinese: 爸媽不在家), the ambitious directorial debut of Anthony Chen, who handcrafts a delicate and meaningful ode to the human condition, specifically the many countless women who have taken it upon themselves…