The “Best Reviewed” Film of the Year?
So, Why Hadn’t I Heard of It?

Have you heard about it?

It’s called All We Imagine as Light.

And look at what the critics have been saying:

* “Flat-out wonderful, one of the finest of the year…. It’s shockingly beautiful.” – Manohla Dargis, The New York Times (Critic’s Pick)

* “One of the year’s great movies, in any form, style, or language.” – Justin Chang, The New Yorker

* “Astonishing. An extraordinary drama.” – Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times

* “This is sublime work. With a deceptively light touch, Kapadia’s film is a genuine ‘city symphony’ ode to tantalizing, heartbreaking Mumbai. It casts a spell.” – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

* “The surprise masterpiece of 2024.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone

Plus, it was a winner at the…

* Cannes Film Festival (Grand Prix)
* Gotham Awards (Best International Feature)
* National Society of Film Critics (Best Director and Best Non-English-Language Film)

I’m not 100% sold, but given the accolades and prizes All We Imagine as Light has already garnered, I’m going to watch it and review it next month. Meanwhile, you can watch the trailer here.

Check Out This Year’s 
Oscar-Nominated Short Films 

Besides making an effort to watch all the Best Picture Academy Award nominees each year, K and I try to find a free afternoon to watch the nominees for Best Short Films – particularly the animated movies and documentaries.

In some very anal corner of my brain, short films have an advantage over feature films: In terms of ARTS (Aesthetic Return on Time Spent), they are almost guaranteed to yield high value ratios.

If you’d like to preview some (or all) of this year’s short film nominees before Oscar night (March 2), here’s your chance. I’ve assembled them below with links to their respective trailers (and in two cases, links to the films themselves).

And if you’d like to watch them on the big screen, they are typically released en bloc to select theaters across the country beginning mid-month.

The Animated Films 

Magic Candies
Click here.

Yuck! 
Click here.

In the Shadows of the Cypress
Click here.

Beautiful Men
Click here.

Wander to Wonder
Click here.

The Documentaries 

Death by Numbers
Click here.

I Am Ready, Warden
Click here.

Incident
No trailer available, but you can watch the whole thing here.

Instruments of a Beating Heart
No trailer available, but you can watch the whole thing here.

The Only Girl in the Orchestra 
Click here.