David Sterritt

It's no accident that this movie is named after both the filmmaker and his subject. It stands with the most thoughtful releases of recent months, and will linger in memory.

Such understated storytelling, sensitive directing, and avoidance of easy filmmaking tricks are all too rare in American movies. This is truly one from the heart.

Van Sant gives no pat or easy answers. Instead he makes us squirm, worry, and think. That's why Elephant is a must-see movie.

Superbly acted.

Among the picture's many surprises is a superb robbery scene filmed in a near-total silence that contrasts exhilaratingly with the noisy flamboyance of more recent films in this venerable genre.

Pinter's screenplay offers an exciting mixture of psychological suspense and storytelling surprise, and the lead performances are close to flawless.

This documentary strives to fill the gap, and the result is memorable; viewing is mandatory.

Less a biography than an essay on theatrical illusion and the changing nature of comedy. Love it or hate it, you've never seen anything quite like it.

Riveting documentary about the early California cable outlet and its ingenious programmer, Jerry Harvey, whose unsettled life and tragic death provide a dramatic framework for the account.

On the screen, Burton turns out to BE the ideal filmmaker for this deliciously bizarre yarn. He's given free rein to his fantasies in past movies, but rarely as wittily and consistently as he does here.

The suspense isn't exactly breathtaking, but there are some mighty fine laughs in this clever Claymation cartoon.Family fun for all.

While this isn't a masterpiece on the level of his great "Chunhyang," it packs a sophisticated cinematic punch.

Like most of Sokurov's movies, this oblique parable is mysterious, elliptical, irresistible.

Morris's unique blend of realism and surrealism gives the film great resonance as a portrait of one eccentric individual and, more important, a study of the morbid proclivities that run beneath the surface of our supposedly civilized society.

Excellent acting, intelligent screenwriting, and dynamic filmmaking give this Mexican production a forceful emotional and intellectual charge.

Chilling and instructive.

Contains amazingly candid views of warriors behind the scenes of battle.

Three short documentaries about photography made by one of France's finest directors.

This masterpiece of poetic realism features one of Gabin's most renowned performances, a smart subtext about French colonialism, and enough exotic atmosphere to keep your head in the clouds long after the final scene.

The movie should fascinate anyone interested in politics, publishing, and the uneasy marriage between big money and mass communication.

It's dark, funny, ferocious, and vintage Wilder all the way.

Avoiding the clichés and condescension that characterize many films on religious figures, the movie is at once a compelling drama and a thoughtful look at faith-related issues on personal, social, and cultural levels.

Directed by Ulu Grosbard, who has never done a better job of filling the screen with superb acting, and shows great ingenuity at interweaving music with other aspects of the story.

At its best, A Home at the End of the World has great emotional strength. But it's not the towering achievement it might have been if Cunningham had stayed truer to his original inspiration.

Visually ravishing -- an exquisite movie.

Subtle filmmaking and true-as-life acting make this an acute psychological drama with an engrossing sociological subtext. It stands with Doillon's best work.

A fact-filled study that's also a full-fledged work of cinema art. [2 Sept 1988]

Provides an intelligent, deeply personal view of social and political issues that are longstanding and complex but not, she insists, intractable.

Revealing and harrowing.

The legendary Mifune leads a superb cast, and Kurosawa's kinetic camera keeps the adventure sizzling with energy and wit from start to finish.

Movies don't come more original, inventive, or outlandishly entertaining.

Writer/director Peter Duncan's first film is darkly humorous, with dashes of slapstick, brilliant, and original material.

It's great, fantastical fun.

Blurring all the lines between fiction and documentary, this gentle and amusing movie blends real, unrehearsed material with delightful storytelling scenes.

Junge's testimony is a salutary reminder that Hitler was like other people in ways, and that the evil he manifested could visit us again if more civilized humans don't remain watchful.

Thai filmmaking continues its renaissance with this moody, offbeat drama.

Fascinating.

Dumont's cinematic style is aggressively physical and philosophical at the same time. It irritates as many viewers as it inspires, but it prompts more thought than ordinary movies ever do.

Filmed and acted to near perfection, it's one of the year's most innovative and exciting pictures.

John Schlesinger's rollicking version of Stella Gibbons's novel is acted with the highest of spirits by Kate Beckinsale, Joanna Lumley, Eileen Atkins, Ian McKellen, Freddie Jones, and many others.

It takes time to grow accustomed to the docu- drama's stylized approach, influenced by Bertolt Brecht and Jean-Luc Godard. But this nearly six-hour movie is generous with time.

This superbly acted, expressively filmed story offers a rare blend of compelling drama, ethical awareness, and sheer human emotion.

One of the best pictures so far this year, marking a high point of Rudolph's career and reconfirming the extraordinary talent Mr. Campbell has shown in earlier films. Dentistry will never seem the same.

Rollicking documentary that will have your toes tapping and your ears sizzling whether you're a die-hard Motown fan or not.

The result is a lively, insightful look at multiple levels of self-delusion among people who truly believe their Halloween funhouse is making our fallen world a better place.

Pungent, opinionated, outspoken.

Bruce Willis is bruisingly good as the hero and Brad Pitt is suitably zany as the activist who dogs his trail.

His readings of his own work are especially thoughtful, moving, and provocative in the best possible ways.

Frequently funny, sometimes sad, often electrifying.

Deeply personal, morally alert, and highly entertaining.

Miller shows terrific talent as a director with a sharp eye for images, a keen ear for dialogue, and a refreshing willingness to take storytelling risks.

Chabrol's filmmaking has rarely seemed more assured, elegant, and intelligent.

Scott has the courage to let the imaginative story unfold at its own leisurely pace, and it's not surprising that the acting is excellent, considering that he's among the very best American screen actors.

Stunningly smart, genuinely disturbing film.

When he's good, Mr. Mamet is very good indeed, and Spartan stands with the best work he's done. It's fast-moving, unpredictable, and as tautly, tightly wound as thrillers get.

Leaving aside Huston's bland acting and a few other flaws, Sayles's politically charged drama raises a rousing number of issues and ideas, inviting us to ponder them and draw our own conclusions.

Illuminating and alarming.

The film's approach is highly instructive, deeply moving, and geared to deploring the racism that breeds violence rather than reactivating old hatreds.

Traveling from the tragic to the comic, this multifaceted film is richly acted and imaginatively directed.

The movie is woven with care and complexity, again confirming von Trotta's place as one of the world's greatest female filmmakers.

Dustin Hoffman gives the inspired performance that launched his movie career, and director Mike Nichols shows a gift for social satire that has never glistened quite so brightly since. [Review of re-release]

Superbly acted, stunningly photographed, and edited with a rhythmic pungency that makes it irresistibly watchable even when the plot turns dark and scary.

Faucher's filmmaking is exquisite, Naymark's acting is luminous, and superb use of music lends a crowning touch.

At once dreamily surreal, acutely intelligent, and strikingly tough-minded, this pitch-dark dramatic comedy recalls David Lynch and "Donnie Darko" while remaining fresh and original to its core. A stunning directorial debut.

A deliciously weirded-out picture by Guy Maddin, a deliciously weirded-out Canadian filmmaker.

Wit, joy, imagination, and sensational mid-'60s music.

This movie equivalent of Robert Rauschenberg's artwork "Erased de Kooning" is funny, ornery, and ultimately inspiring.

As a nonagenarian, de Oliveira is the world's oldest working filmmaker, and still one of the best. This is a lovely, lively, timely treat for the eyes and mind.

One thing few will disagree on is the quality of the film's acting, especially by Gael García Bernal as Guevara and Rodrigo de la Serna as his friend. Both effortlessly embody the footloose, sometimes feckless quality of this "On the Road"-style adventure.

Witty, contemplative, and sublimely beautiful.

Like many Altman movies, this is less a dramatic story to follow than an atmospheric environment to visit.

Gilliam has rarely been more inventive, energetic, or just plain funny.

Indelible images and brilliant use of unconventional music make this a nonfiction film that must be seen – and heard – to be believed.

A riveting new documentary about the Arab-run Al Jazeera network, reminds us that news programming can vary so widely from place to place that journalistic myths of "objectivity" and "impartiality" seem more naive than ever.

This is a rip-roaring adventure combining edge-of-your-seat battle scenes with vivid historical details and more fascinating characters than most action movies dream of. Add heartfelt acting and Russell Boyd's atmospheric camera work, and you have the adventure movie of the year.

Supercharged with an energy and ingenuity that "Run Lola Run" once had a patent on.

What counts isn't the convoluted plot or exotic characters -- it's the brilliance of Suzuki's cinematic style, articulating the action with eye-boggling color and split-second editing effects.

A compulsively watchable movie that's also a provocative inquiry into the ability of the criminal-justice system to determine culpability and truth.

Payami's gentle comedy captures a subtle range of human feelings through a quietly inventive visual style that embodies the best life-affirming tendencies of modern Iranian film.

One of the great Bertolucci's most acclaimed films...Trintignant gives a legendary performance.

A skeptical view of George W. Bush's chief political strategist, Karl Rove, using argumentative strategies common to agenda-driven documentaries.

Filmed to perfection by the great Christopher Doyle and others.

In short, they don't make 'em like this one anymore. Viewing it is like taking a time machine to a movie age that was more naive than our own in some ways, more sophisticated and ambitious in others.

The movie is flawed by implausible psychology and moments of weak acting. But it's more than redeemed by Lee's passionate ideas about America today.

The visual style is at once deliberately archaic and slyly postmodernist, slinky and sensuous from first frame to last.

Understated acting and brilliant use of wide-screen black-and-white cinematography.

Tsai's cinematic style is unique: He unfolds his stories in long, static shots that let you discover their surprises and mysteries on your own. And that's great fun. What Time Is It There? is perky, entertaining, and one of a kind.

Suspenseful, surprising, and psychologically rich.

A plan for a perfect murder goes wildly wrong in this 1958 melodrama by one of France's great filmmakers.

In the Mirror of Maya Deren, creatively written and directed by Martina Kudlacek, is an eloquent memorial to her unique accomplishments -- and an excellent introduction for those who have yet to discover them.

Kidman, Moore, and Streep do some of their best work, backed by a first-rank supporting cast.

With its ingenious camera style, keenly dramatic music score, and brash yet indomitable humor, Do the Right Thing is the richest and most thought-provoking portrait of underclass experience that Hollywood has ever given us.

The acting is superb, the filmmaking is imaginative, and the story never goes quite where you expect.

You may become a cinemaniac yourself after sitting through this beauty.

A riveting re-creation of three world-changing collapses: those of the Nazi party, of militarized Germany as a whole, and of the Führer who guided them into self-destructive ruin.

I find it the most adventurous and imaginative American film I've seen this year - and also the weirdest.

Tender Mercies builds a marvelous flow of suspense and surprise precisely by refusing to ''pay off'' on situations that would plunge toward sensationalism in any conventional picture. Add another stunning portrayal by the brilliant Duvall - who even does his own singing! - and a splendid supporting cast, and you have a movie to treasure for a very long time to come. [10 Mar 1983, p.18]

As the uptight banker, Robbins does some of his subtlest acting to date. As his hardened but resilient friend, Freeman is simply miraculous, giving the role so much depth, dignity, and good humor that you feel that you've known this man forever. [27 Sept 1994]