Film & Documentary

October 15, 2021 • View in browser

Film Reels Dredged from the Sea Become an Eerie Meditation on Mortality

Bill Morrison’s new documentary The Village Detective: A Song Cycle is an eerie meditation on mortality made from forgotten parts of cinema history. | Dan Schindel

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The Velvet Underground Brings the New York of the ’60s Back to Life

With dense split-screen use of period artifacts and a killer Velvets soundtrack, Todd Haynes’s documentary is a loving tribute to his favorite band. | Forrest Cardamenis

The Forgotten Indie Film That Recreated Manhattan’s Old Jewish Enclave

Like much of director Joan Micklin Silver’s work, 1975's Hester Street has been unjustly overlooked. But you now have the perfect opportunity to discover it. | Charles Bramesco

New Anthony Fauci Documentary Shows Why His Hero Image Is Flawed

Fauci is not quite a hagiography of “America’s doctor,” but it comes close. It ignores or twists the flaws in his responses to both AIDS and COVID-19. | Dan Schindel

Good Madam Is a South African Horror Film Haunted by Whiteness

Jenna Cato Bass’s film is a reckoning both for her and all the clueless white children who never thought about the Black women who served them. | Jourdain Searles

As a Mockumentary About Celebrity, Nowhere Inn Just Bores

In this film about stardom, the viewer has nowhere to appreciate and connect with the characters and concepts. | Eileen G'Sell

What is the Point of HBO’s Remake of Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage?

This update brings the star power of Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac, but can’t match the emotional intensity of the original. | Forrest Cardamenis

OPENING SOON

Wes Anderson’s Latest Conjures a Confectionary Vision of France

The infamously elaborate director’s new film takes us to Ennui-Sur-Blasé, where employees of a US newspaper get into whimsical capers. | Sophie Monks Kaufman

Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Cinematic Visions of Youth and Optimism

The prolific and innovative Japanese director passed away earlier this year. Now, JAPAN CUTS is celebrating him with a series of conversations and his final film. | Ryan Swen