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…

Reality is often much stranger than fiction, which is an adage that no one seems to know better than Mia Hansen-Løve, who has steadily ascended to the status of being one of the most fascinating and essential voices in contemporary European cinema. Her English-language debut is Bergman Island, which (as the title suggests) takes place…

There are two ways to look at The Mule – the first is as one of the many forgettable dramas Clint Eastwood churns out every year, taking advantage of his ability to pull together a film in only a matter of months. The second is as one of the most unintentionally fascinating comedies of the…

We often see in the world of art, the most difficult periods in terms of social or cultural obstacles often serve to be the foundation for some of the most incredible works. The Harlem Renaissance was one such period, where many African-American artists used their experiences to push the boundaries of every conceivable medium, telling…