24 Films to See in April
While this April lacks the big-budget tentpoles that are typical of the season, it makes up for it with a diverse array of promising films, ranging from a Ben Affleck crowd-pleaser to festival hits to intriguing new titles from Ari Aster, Kelly Reichardt, Cristian Mungiu, David Lowery, and more. Oh, and did we mention that there's even a good new Nicolas Cage film? And a good Evil Dead sequel?
In the gallery on this page, our editors have selected the most interesting films debuting in North American theaters this month, listed in alphabetical order.
Additional content by Jason Dietz
Drama | Directed by Cristian Mungiu
Opens in theaters April 28
Watch trailer
The latest from Romanian writer-director Cristian Mungiu (4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Beyond the Hills, Graduation) didn’t take home any awards from its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last year, but this portrait of ethnic and economic resentments coming to a head in a small mountain town still earned very good reviews. Based on a 2020 event in the village of Ditrău, the film features a 17-minute unbroken shot at a community meeting, revealing the deep fissures within the village, the home of Matthias (Marin Grigore), who returns after quitting his job in Germany. He has an ailing father who needs a brain scan (the title of the film is the Romanian acronym for an MRI), a son who has recently been scared silent by something in the woods, and an old flame who is dealing with backlash from hiring foreign workers at her bread factory. It’s an intense examination of deep-seeded xenophobia, complex economic forces, and community.