What lingers after watching the film in its most complete form, however, is the fact that it’s so thoughtfully written, brilliantly constructed and (especially) beautifully acted. One imagines that breaking the film in two may have scuttled its chances of earning Uma Thurman a Best Actress nomination, but 20-plus years on, she deserves that recognition more than ever, conveying the character’s strength, resilience and determination, but also her incredible vulnerability.

A clarion call from across space and time, like a message in a bottle, its very existence is a wild gift.

It’s soulful, tender — an understated triumph. Song’s directing and writing is confident, bringing so much heart and nuance to a simple story that is inspiring, delicate, and evocative.

Blue Heron is the kind of movie that begs to be written about at length. For now, I'll have to be content with assuring you that this is one of the year's best movies. If it comes to a theater near you, don't miss it.

Ozu plays with the positives and negatives of being married and being single in postwar Japan, at a time when women began to have more agency in their lives.

Petite Maman is the kind of film that lays itself bare without ever being over-the-top, shaping itself into a story that lingers in one’s memory for a while after it’s over.

It’s the little moments and details that turn it into something more profound and lovely.

Watching Tár is akin to listening to a symphony orchestra — it's moving, passionate, and will leave one wanting more long after the lights come up.

The lull of Memoria would be non-existent without Swinton’s breathtaking presence, as she grounds and elevates the elusive drama with incredible nuance.

The Zone of Interest is one of the most unsettling movies of the 21st century, stunningly relevant, invasive by design, lodging itself in your head as an unforgettable cinematic experience.

Despite the film’s title, though, The Secret Agent isn’t your typical espionage thriller, but it’s all the better for how it plays with genre, tone, and expectations.

Drive My Car is an engaging film that tells an unconventional tale of kinship and self-discovery.

It’s a stunning achievement from the director, one that has sat with me since I saw it, growing in its effectiveness.

Viewers willing to give it the same, almost spellbound focus the protagonist gives this case will find it a compelling meditation on things as wide-ranging as racial otherness, fraught mother-daughter relationships, and the real-world slipperiness of concepts like truth and justice.

Greta Gerwig's Little Women weaves a stunningly heartfelt and achingly honest coming of age story with excellent performances from its entire cast.

It's a story about family and preservation, but more than that, Flee is a testament to the broken social systems that allow families to fall through the cracks, leaving them desperate — and as a result of that desperation, vulnerable.

Tótem's camera is always studying the actors, exploratory and intrusive in the manner of a child's perceptive gaze.

Anora is a lovable tale of rags to riches that comes exploding with chaos, hilarity, raunchiness, and a stupendous performance from Mikey Madison.

The Brutalist is a colossal achievement, balancing intimacy and scale at every level of craft. At 3 hours, 35 minutes, it asks a lot from its viewers. Every second is well spent.

The movie is so interested in archeology (the credits dedicate it "to all archeologists, custodians of every end") that it becomes an analogue for the viewing experience. Rohrwacher asks us to interpret La Chimera the way archaeologists interpret fragments of the past.

It's a rich story that forgoes a traditional format, challenging the conventions of the industry. It's progressive, it's unapologetically feminist, and it's unforgettable.

Shyne is less concerned with a unified story, instead dipping in and out of her subject’s lives and in the process giving us a much more involved experience of a fading subculture.

With a moving performance by Andrew Scott, the fantasy drama is compelling and captivating as it tackles grief, loneliness, and all that is lost to trauma and the inability to move on past loss.

Raw, powerful, and tonally balanced, The Souvenir Part II brings the fraught tale of a young, grieving artist to a wonderful, empowering finish.

I imagine that Sound of Falling will reward repeat viewings. There's almost too much to take in upon first glance, decades of life condensed into two and a half hours. Schilinski's vision is so confident and so bracing that it's hard not to be arrested by what's happening onscreen, even if you're not sure what's going on.

Whether it’s a big, emotional scene or something comparatively more low key, the animation always does a great job of capturing the humanity of the cast and story, making an already great story even better to go through.

Oppenheimer is a devastating portrait of man's hubris in the face of change, with some of the most startling & horrifying images of Nolan's career.

Sorry, Baby is the kind of movie that will linger and stick with you. It is far more than a story about trauma; it's also about friendship and growing up, concepts that will feel deeply relatable to anyone.