David Lewis

This is a movie that you will admire both for its courage and its creativity.

This beautifully shot film (kudos to cinematographer Paul Yee) could have easily been an incoherent mess, but Holmer keeps her lyrical movie under control at all times.

The quietly stirring, exquisitely photographed Columbus is an art-house gem that beautifully illuminates not only the architecture of a small Indiana town, but also the characters that inhabit it.

Aquarius has a lot of things on its mind, and sometimes the plot machinations in the last third seem a tad heavy-handed, almost as if they’re being piled upon a delicate character sketch.

A mesmerizing documentary.

Hypnotic and intense throughout, the brilliantly executed Hereditary taps into the ghosts within all of us — the insidious roots of family dysfunction — and turn them upside down and all around. It’s an audacious supernatural thriller where the psychological fallout is just as disturbing as the apparitions that come chillingly to life.

This is formidable filmmaking, and Heineman has become one of our most daring, and interesting, documentarians.

This is a clever comedy about working-class women, and a sly, entertaining commentary on the insidious effects of gender inequality.

Ross doesn’t gloss over the challenges facing the rural black county, but he finds a strong spirit there, even as the storm clouds hover.

A stirring romance between an emotionally stifled sheep farmer and an irrepressible Romanian migrant worker, isn’t shy about paying homage to the classic “Brokeback Mountain,” but in many ways, this British film turns out better.

The Departure is an excellent example of a filmmaker finding a perfect wavelength with her main character.

This is a fascinating portrait of an artist.

In the riveting, masterfully executed Harmonium, bad karma pays a visit to a family — and overstays its welcome. It’s a bleak film, no doubt, yet it remains engrossing throughout with its genuinely surprising twists and outstanding acting.

Its slow-boiling brew of dread turns out to be more tepid than terrifying.

The Ground Beneath My Feet consistently serves as a powerful showcase for the talented Pachner, who manages a performance that is both distant and achingly vulnerable.

Ixcanul provides a window into a culture that we rarely see. But it’s not just an anthropological study — it has a powerful story to tell, too.

The impressive film not only underscores the clash between traditional and modern values, but also provides inspiration for deciding your own fate, even when the world seemingly doesn’t give you a choice.

Even if it’s a film that will challenge any viewer, it benefits from a strong premise, a story line that more or less holds up, and three knockout performances. Rarely has the acting process been explored in such a cinematically provocative way.

This is a film that would never work without brilliant casting of the child actors, and it’s a marvel to watch the interplay between the young girls, who don’t deliver a false note.

In the end, the whole enterprise comes off as too clever for its own good, a social satire without a clear target. It’s a movie that you admire more than you like.

Nowar keeps the exposition to a minimum; there is barely a mention of the geopolitical events surrounding Theeb. Instead, this film is a cautionary tale about survival — and keeping one’s enemies in their place.

Unmistakable political overtones populate the documentary Monrovia, Indiana, an examination of day-to-day life in a small, red-state town.

It’s a rousing, feel-good story about overcoming barriers, even when the challenges — poverty, lack of medical access — are inherently bleak.

It’s a lovely film that’s poetic, erotic and bittersweet.

The exquisitely shot Demon is not gory or particularly scary, but it has its fair share of chills.

A highly effective, psychological horror thriller.

Raw, provocative, sometimes humorous and always humane, Kokomo City is an engrossing documentary about four Black trans sex workers who constantly disarm with their outrageous anecdotes and their palpable fears of living in a world that’s often hostile to them.

An engaging, revelatory slice of life.