Steppenwolf: a stodgy and soporific adaptation of a cult counter-culture novel
Fred Haines, “Steppenwolf” (1974) There was a period in the 1960s when this 1927 novel
Formulaic coming-of-age heroic fantasy blends with Thai Buddhist beliefs in “The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra”
Pongsa Kornsri, Gun Phansuwon, Nat Yoswatananont, “The Legend of Muay Thai: 9 Satra” (2018) Not
5 Centimetres per Second: an insubstantial trilogy on the fleeting nature of youthful love, hope and desire
Makoto Shinkai, “5 Centimetres per Second” (2007) As with his “Your Name”, Makoto Shinkai’s earlier
Chinese and Chinese-language Films
The World: a slow and meandering narrative reveals a rich world of hope, pain and tragedy behind superficial capitalist glamour
Jia Zhangke, “The World” (2004) In future years, this film, long and meandering though it
No Date, No Signature: a traffic collision leads to an investigation of class conflict and an unsympathetic bureaucracy in a gritty realist drama
Vahid Jalilvand, “No Date, No Signature” (2017) A chance encounter between two characters who would
French and French-language Films
Back to Burgundy: a family melodrama beset by cliches and stereotypes blessed by a celebration of viticulture
Cedric Klapisch, “Back to Burgundy / Ce qui nous lie” (2017) An otherwise rather ho-hum
Your Name: teenage romance comedy drama comes with an unexpected twist sending it into disaster sci-fi fantasy
Makoto Shinkai, “Your Name” (2016) At first this teenage romance drama seems to be just
Foxtrot: a meditation on loss, grief and the circularity of indifference, suffering and brutality
Samuel Maoz, “Foxtrot” (2017) Divided into three parts, with the first and third parts dominated
NYC to Donetsk & back: an American visitor discovers a new nation in the making in eastern Ukraine
Alexander Korobko, “NYC to Donetsk & back” (Russian Hour, 2018) Made in 2017 or 2018,
Rams: a minimal but insubstantial film on the fragility of family and community ties and traditions against the outside world
Grimur Hakonarson, “Rams / Hrutar” (2015 Forty years ago, a family rift led to two