Elizabeth Weitzman

Sorrentino’s dazzling tribute to Roman indulgence is a bittersweet, slightly surreal epic.

To call it a difficult watch would be an understatement; it often feels, in its stark honesty, like a horror film.

Assayas and his cast hit so many perfect notes, you'll swear you've seen these characters and heard these conversations before - not in Chekhov's thematically similar "Cherry Orchard," which was an obvious influence, but in your own life.

It's not unusual for a Henry Jaglom film to fall into a black hole of narcissism, but he has outdone himself with his latest, a satire on Hollywood's unshakable self-absorption.

Consistently compelling and required viewing for anyone remotely interested in pop culture.

Hou intends to celebrate the classic 1956 children's film "The Red Balloon," and he has done a beautiful job. In fact, he may well have created a future classic of his own.

An exhausting combination of generic thriller, political tract and sentimental weepie.

Bursting with so much amped-up energy, you may need to rest once it's finally done.

It's wonderful. Epic and heartbreaking and just as grand as it needs to be.

Nichols approaches his subject with thoughtful empathy, and while his themes are enormous - he's addressing no less than the state of our nation - he wisely underplays even the most important moments.

First-time filmmaker Edet Belzberg may be the first person to assign any value to the lives of the homeless Romanian youngsters featured in her harrowing documentary.

It's a rare thrill -- in this cinematically hollow year.

Along the way, the movie documents a movement while deftly skewering a cynical media and ever-gullible public. So whether we're being had or just enlightened, Banksy's definitely found a new medium in which to create his own works of art.

Arnaud Desplechin's sprawling drama exudes a go-for-broke determination that is frustrating and exhilarating.

Director Jafar Panahi has long been an eloquent and passionate representative for Iranian women. But judging by this deeply poignant comedy, they may not need a mouthpiece much longer.

A raucous, riveting account of the greatest party you were never invited to.

Where Kim's best-known movie, "The Isle," was a stomach-churner, this beautifully composed canvas is the sort of film one falls into, resurfacing at the end with great reluctance.

Even those who adored Alec Guinness as the small-screen George Smiley will appreciate Gary Oldman's perfectly attuned turn as a Cold War spy drawn back from forced retirement.

We can, thanks to movies like this one, continue to bear witness. But we will never truly know the reality he tries so hard to unearth, and that remains our burden to hold.

Dropping in amusing anecdotes and tender memories, a deeply reflective Young revisits - and often reinterprets - both his recent and classic work.

The title might as well refer to the viewer who tags along on Louis' often-silent journey from solitude to some tentative form of family. Some will consider the experience insurmountably frustrating; others will find it exhilarating.

The Past is not as nuanced as its predecessor — and not as impactful, either. But this is still far more complex than most family dramas.

Bong's primary point is dead-on: Battling bureaucracy, from dishonest government leaders to indifferent civil servants, is the biggest horror of all.

The beginning is awkwardly earnest, but the play matures considerably while retaining its youthful energy and enthusiasm

It's not sharp or ironic, but drab and downbeat. Unfortunately, it's also going to feel utterly familiar to those who've seen their share of independent dramas in the last 15 years.

In this visually and emotionally severe landscape, Reichardt has created the sort of film that will inspire grad students to write passionate thesis papers - and casual moviegoers to feel as lost as her would-be settlers.

The performances are impeccable, but while director Joachim Lafosse carefully creates an atmosphere of suffocating dread, he could have let a little more air into this simmering hothouse.

The plot makes absolutely no sense.