LIVE ACTION
The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (Croatia)
4 stars out of 5
It’s 1993 in Eastern Europe and military personnel have stopped and boarded a passenger train, demanding to see everyone’s papers. Tension builds as the officers get closer and closer to the compartment we’ve become familiar with, including a family and one young man without papers. Will the father stand up for the young man, and possibly risk his family’s well-being? Trump’s asinine “plan” for Gaza has brought ethnic cleansing back into the headlines, giving this film added urgency.
Anuja (India)
3.5 stars out of 5
Young Anuja and her older sister work in sweat-shop conditions in a textile plant. A local teacher is aware of Anuja’s mathematical skills and wants her to take an entrance exam for boarding school. Is she willing to leave the life she’s known, and possibly risk her sister’s livelihood, for a chance to better herself? The young non-actress really makes you feel like you’re there in the crowded streets, rooting for her.
I’m Not a Robot (Netherlands/Belgium)
3 stars out of 5
A cute sci-fi dark comedy based on website CAPTCHAs that make sure you’re human. It’s a clever conceit but doesn’t have much more to say.
A Lien (USA)
4.5 stars out of 5
We follow a young family rushing to the dad’s green-card hearing in the all-too-real current immigration control chaos. The frenetic camera work adds action-movie intensity to the proceedings, and the wife/mom actress conveys the terror of possibly having her family torn apart. A waiting-room TV showing Trump at a rally is a nice touch. The film really rattled me.
DOCUMENTARY
Instruments of a Beating Heart (Japan)
4.5 stars out of 5
It’s the end of the school year in Japan and first graders are forming an orchestra to play Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” to welcome next year’s first-grade class. In this simple, achingly sweet story, we learn so much about human nature, friendship, empathy, compassion, tough love, Japanese culture, student/teacher dynamics, victory, defeat, resilience, etc. This was filmed in 2022 and the kids’ little covid masks add just another tug to the heart.
Incident (USA)
4 stars out of 5
A harrowing film constructed fully from surveillance-camera and police body-cam footage. It shows — in a Chicago neighborhood already reeling from another recent case — the shooting of a civilian by an officer and the immediate aftermath. It’s thrilling and frightening to witness the scene “live.”
I Am Ready, Warden (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
Out of appeals, John Henry Ramirez faces execution for the brutal murder of a stranger. Through interviews with Ramirez, the victim’s son, the new district attorney, Ramirez’s “surrogate mom,” etc., the film examines the morality of death sentences, the possibility of prison rehabilitation, contrition, forgiveness, Texas death-row culture, and more, slowly unfolding to an emotional conclusion.
The Only Girl in the Orchestra (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
Director Molly O’Brien presents this joyous, triumphant profile of her aunt, double bassist Orin O’Brien, who in 1966 became the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic. Though Leonard Bernstein was an early champion, not everyone was so supportive. We see how Orin overcame the challenges with a smile on her face and an unceasing dedication to her artistry.
Death by Numbers (USA)
3.5 stars out of 5
We meet Samantha Fuentes, who was shot during the 2018 Parkland high school massacre. She generously shares her journals with filmmakers, and the text serves as narration throughout. As difficult as her physical recovery was, the film zeroes in on her emotional and psychological recovery as Samantha prepares to confront the shooter in court.
ANIMATION
Magic Candies (Japan)
3.5 stars out of 5
Young Dong-Dong (!) is a loner who happens upon some candies. Trying the first one, the sofa starts talking to him (shades of Pee-wee). Each candy leads to another unexpected conversation. It’s cute but didn’t have the emotional resonance I was hoping for.
In the Shadow of the Cypress (Iran)
4 stars out of 5
In the Shadow of the Cypress Lies the Seed of the Sacred Fig, Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire… starting with the title, I must admit I didn’t totally understand this film. We have an older man and younger woman who I first thought were husband and wife, then realized were father and daughter. He’s violent and so she leaves their humble seaside home. But she’s stopped in her tracks by a beached whale just outside. This whale is a metaphor. Through flashbacks we learn Dad was a seafarer who experienced trauma. The whale is the trauma, and they’re trying to set it free? The animation is beautiful, anyway.
Yuck! (France)
4 stars out of 5
Diverse families are at a summer camp site and kids are hanging out together, getting grossed out when they spy older people kissing. And why do their lips start glowing? So disgusting… well, until two of the kids have glowy lips too. This is a sweet little movie whose simple animation nods to South Park. And there’s a sweet, simple message too: We can’t stop human attraction; it wants what it wants, who it wants, when it wants, where it wants.
Wander to Wonder (Netherlands/Belgium/France)
4.5 stars out of 5
This was the weirdest entry and, of course, my favorite. A kindly old host and maker of a kids’ TV show has dropped dead at home. His miniature stars live on, continuing to make new episodes that no one is seeing. As time passes and they run out of resources, their situation gets more desperate. Recommended for fans of dark comedy.
Beautiful Men (Belgium/France/Netherlands)
4 stars out of 5
Another dark animated comedy from Belgium, France, and the Netherlands — what’s going on over there? Three middle-aged brothers travel to Istanbul (not Constantinople) for hair transplants. While they wait in the hotel, their sibling rivalries and insecurities take center stage.
Jack Silbert, curator