Sister (2012)

If you fell in love with blue-haired Léa Seydoux in this year's Blue Is the Warmest Color, or if you recognized her from her appearances in American films (Inglourious Basterds, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol), or if you just like a good arthouse movie, then you'll enjoy Ursula Meier's Sister. read more...

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Embrace of the Serpent (2016)

One of the 2015 nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award, Ciro Guerre's Embrace of the Serpent — from Colombia — never stood a chance of winning, but it's a beautiful, stirring, and thoughtful film, well worth seeing. It's set during two time periods, both of which feature the character Karamakate, a shaman in the Amazon jungle, the last of his people. In 1909, young Karamakate (Nilbio Torres) reluctantly agrees to help a sick white man, German explorer Theo (Jan Bijvoet) and his faithful guide Manduca (Miguel Dionisio Ramos), find a special flower that could heal him. Years later, an elderly, and forgetful Karamakate (Antonio Bolivar) meets another white man, an English botanist, Evans (Brionne Davis), who is also in search of the plant. Shot in black-and-white, the mesmerizing movie could easily have fallen into peaching or relied on liberal guilt, but instead it builds a complex character out of Karamakate, who is wise and righteous as well as outraged and untrusting. It's a respectful, poetic movie, and highly recommended. read more...

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• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating

The Past (2013)

There has been a lot of talk about Asghar Farhadi being a "master" filmmaker. I thought I would take a moment here and discuss why this idea troubles me. Firstly, I was lucky enough to work as a movie reviewer during what can be considered the "Iranian New Wave." This began around 1997 with the American release of Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Gabbeh, the first -- to the best of my knowledge -- Iranian film to play in American cinemas. read more...

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• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please

A Separation (2011)

Longtime and loyal readers know that I am a fan of Iranian cinema. I saw my first Iranian film, Gabbeh, back in 1997 and I have been seen some 50 of them since then; in a culture of repression and censorship, certain filmmakers have found amazing ways to express personal and poetic visions. I'm always happy when one of these films goes beyond a small circle of cinephiles. For example, the great director Abbas Kiarostami's latest film, Certified Copy, recently won the Best Foreign Language Film award from my group, the San Francisco Film Critic's Circle. (Although, to be fair, it was not made in Iran.) read more...

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Barbara (2013)

Christian Petzold's Barbara manages to depict horror and heroism in the East Germany of the early 1980s, without resorting to hysterics or preaching. This is a remarkably subtle movie, spending most of its energy zeroing in on the clenched face of its heroine, looking for cracks. read more...

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