Natalie Erika James’ “Apartment 7A” is at once a prequel to “Rosemary’s Baby” — the book by Ira Levin and the film by Roman Polanski — and the latest entry in Hollywood’s new wave of pregnancy horror, born in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s 2022 repealing. Other examples from this year include “Immaculate” and […]

“I, the Executioner,” Ryoo Seung-wan’s sequel to his 2015 action-comedy “Veteran,” scales back on its predecessor’s laughs in order to focus more closely on — as well as to examine — the violence of its police protagonists. Although undoubtedly entertaining, Ryoo’s follow-up is also highly introspective, weaving a serial killer mystery that makes for a […]

A political exploration gift-wrapped in a coming-of-age drama, Lakshmipriya Devi’s debut feature “Boong” follows its lively titular schoolboy on an adventure along India’s militarized eastern border. In search of his missing father, Boong (a firecracker Gugun Kipgen) helps paint a portrait of modern Manipur, the isolated Indian state neighboring Myanmar, at a time when violent […]

A visually striking period drama from Woo Min-ho, “Harbin” follows Korean independence activist Ahn Jung-geun (Hyun Bin) as he plans the assassination of Japan’s Prime Minister in 1909, shortly after Korea’s annexation. The ploy involves numerous trains and several moving parts, resulting in a gripping last act that makes for a wonderful historical imagining. En […]

In the culture-clash comedy “Meet the Barbarians,” actor-director Julie Delpy lays bare a number of Western hypocrisies. The film follows several townspeople in the struggling French commune of Paimpont, who vote to welcome a handful of Ukrainian refugees, but are caught by surprise when a Syrian family shows up instead. The ensuing response runs the […]

The confines of gothic horror meet the sprawling American Dust Bowl in “Hold Your Breath,” the feature debut of directing duo Karrie Crouse and Will Joines. The film often does too much, reaching for too many different sources for its attempted thrills and chills, which results in a mostly scattered experience. However, it has a […]

Following a group of small-town, DIY Indian filmmakers, Reema Kagti’s “Superboys of Malegaon” is a moving crowd-pleaser that constantly reaffirms its importance through its central theme. Although the film, which is based on real events, often tries to cover too much ground, it continually circles back to the idea that people must see themselves reflected […]

Kenichi Ugana’s “The Gesuidouz” is a delightful deadpan oddity about a Japanese punk group, whose 26-year-old lead singer Hanako (Natsuko) is convinced she’ll be dead at 27, the same age as Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain. The quartet’s sardonic musical energy translates visually at every turn, with bright, subdued visual affectations that find humor in […]

In his directorial debut “Perfumed With Mint,” Emmy-winning Egyptian cinematographer Muhammed Hamdy crafts a visually engrossing but narratively languid work of surrealism that captures generational discontent. Sandwiched between the striking images of its opening and closing salvos is a plateauing of meaning and form, lasting for extended periods — which is unfortunate, even though this […]

Whether or not it means to be, Boss Kuno’s “The Paradise of Thorns” is a delightfully macabre soap opera of betrayal and family secrets; it also just happens to double as political affirmation for same-sex marriage in Thailand. The law legalizing gay unions was approved in June, but is still pending royal approval, making this […]

A sense of financial and personal stagnation permeates “Saba,” the Bangladeshi social drama from first-time director Maksud Hossain. A strong (if stylistically straightforward) debut, it follows 25-year-old Saba (Mehazabien Chowdhury), who struggles to make ends meet while looking after her ailing, paraplegic single mother Shirin (Rokeya Prachy), whose own frustrations often explode in Saba’s direction. […]

In spite of clocking in at just 103 minutes, Dito Montiel’s family crime comedy “Riff Raff” is exceptionally long. Its all-star cast performs admirably, in a film that takes its time to get going, reveals and confronts little once it does, and uses none of its story swerves to build on its dramatic themes, or […]

A brutally violent directorial debut, Christopher Andrews’ rural Irish drama “Bring Them Down” veers between pitch-black humor and pervading melancholy. A tale of fathers, sons, and mutilated sheep, it toys with narrative point of view in “Rashomon”-like fashion, but keeps pressing questions of masculinity and cycles of sadness hovering just out of view. Fittingly, like […]

Midway through its runtime, Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck” introduces a mantra of sorts, via a line of dialogue pulled from Stephen King’s eponymous story: “Would answers make a good thing better?” The implication therein is an emphatic “No,” which suits “The Haunting of Bly Manor” creator’s esoteric (and esoterically structured) drama on embracing […]

By now, boxing movies are such an overplayed genre, it’s tough for any filmmaker to innovate how the sport appears on screen. Sean Ellis’ “The Cut” finds a way around that problem by focusing on physical and psychological struggles outside the ring, especially the grueling battle to make weight. The film tries several things at […]

From Palestinian filmmaker Scandar Copti, the Israel-set “Happy Holidays” is a piercing, realistic family drama, the inflection points of which reveal deep cultural and political dimensions surrounding gender and ethnicity. Like his Oscar-nominated crime drama “Ajami” (which he co-directed with Yaron Shani), Copti’s second feature follows an ensemble of characters — Arab and Jewish alike […]

Shot over several years, “Youth (Homecoming)” rounds out Wang Bing’s meticulous documentary trilogy about the shape of China’s youth. At two-and-a-half hours in length, it’s the project’s shortest and most focused entry, offering a look at what happens once the rattle of sewing machines finally ceases, followed by a stark and surprising look at what […]

“Anywhere Anytime” is, quite overtly and unapologetically, a re-tread of the beloved classic “Bicycle Thieves.” However, in modernizing Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist landmark, Iranian-born director Milad Tangshir imbues his version with both contemporary cultural nuances and a unique perspective as an immigrant to Italy, resulting in a remake that stands apart. The film follows Issa […]

Shahab Fotouhi’s debut feature “Boomerang” is a delightful, surprising portrait of modern Iran, but its biggest surprise is that Fotouhi is in his forties. His voice is the kind that feels not only fresh, but under-heard. He paints metropolitan Tehran with youthful verve, capturing — through loosely connected stories, a few non-sequiturs and even a […]