Pieces of Her 

First episode Mar. 4, 2022

Produced by Toni Collette

Created by Charlotte Stoudt

Based on the 2018 novel by Karin Slaughter

Starring Toni Collette, Bella Heathcote, and Omari Hardwick

Available on Netflix

Plot: A woman pieces together her mother’s dark past after a violent attack in their small town brings hidden threats and deadly secrets to light.

Why I Started Watching It 

I was drawn into it by the trailer. It took me in completely. In fact, I can’t remember when I’ve seen a better one.

You can watch it here.

Why I’ve Kept Watching 

Episode 1 did not disappoint. It includes a bicycle-riding scene the equal of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a diner scene as good as Natural Born Killers, and a toilet scene equal to my own film, Across the Rails.

What I Like About It 

* Title: tight, inviting

* Music: additive, restrained, and emotionally appropriate

* Sound effects: crisp and effective

* Cinematography: appropriate throughout

* Editing: particularly the close-ups and the cuts

* Set designs and lighting: effective

* Believable girl power

What I Don’t Like 

Nothing so far.

Critical Reception 

* “Pieces of Her is a thriller with an outstanding, can’t-take-your-eyes-away performance in the main role.” (John Doyle, IndieWire)

* “[A] relatively modest (in this case, eight-episode) commitment. Pieces of Her proves reasonably compelling on that level and those terms, but as such series go, still feels as if it adds up to less than the sum of its parts.” (Brian Lowry, CNN)

* “The series coasts on several genuinely shocking and well-executed twists, which do indeed puncture the haze of passive-watching we’re so used to. And maybe that adrenaline hit is enough.” (Annabel Nugent, Independent, UK)

Sound of Metal 

Released in theaters Nov. 20, 2020

Directed by Marius Marder

Starring Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke

Available on Amazon Prime

I came across this movie while surfing last week. I recognized the title – perhaps because it had been nominated in 2021 for several Academy Awards. The title led me to believe it was a documentary about the heavy metal music industry. But the description indicated otherwise.

Grim. Stark. And depressing. “Any time I see a movie described in those terms, I know I’m going to like it.” That’s what my old friend Ken Danz used to say. (RIP, Ken. His ashes sit beside a stack of reference books in my office.) He would have liked Sound of Metal.

And he wouldn’t have been alone. There are plenty of people that liked it when it was released in 2020.

For me, Sound of Metal was difficult to watch. So difficult, I watched it in three 45-minute segments.

What Was Difficult About It 

* The subject matter: Addiction and disability.

* The plot: A recovering heroin addict finds salvation as a drummer in a heavy metal band, only to lose his hearing.

* The cinematography: It emphasized the grimness of the mood and starkness of the opportunities.

What I Liked About Sound of Metal 

* It did not sugar-coat either of the issues: addiction or disability.

* The principal actor: He was mesmerizing.

* The actor that plays the head of the recovery center.

Interesting 

* Along with CODA and  Drive My Car, this is the third movie I’ve watched this year with deaf characters. Aside from Children of a Lesser God (1986), I can’t even remember seeing another movie that had anything to do with the deaf community.

* Sound of Metal, Marder’s feature debut, took more than a decade to produce. It was based on an unfinished documentary by Derek Cianfrance – Metalhead – about a heavy metal drummer with ruptured eardrums.

Critical Reception 

* “A drama that’s as visceral and hard-hitting as its protagonist’s drum solos.” (Tara Grady, Irish Times)

* “A film that deserves to be seen by the widest possible audience, reminding us of cinema’s unique ability to challenge, entertain, uplift, and unite.” (Mark Kermode, Observer, UK)

* “The movie may be stylized, but it’s not ostentatious. Its universe feels lived in and authentic.” (Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine)

* “For the most part, the heavy lifting of the film is left to Ahmed, and he handles it effortlessly, in a moving and unforced turn that, while characterized by moments of rage and destruction, is ultimately a journey of acceptance.” (Michael O’Sullivan, Washington Post)

 You can watch the trailer here.

Drive My Car 

Released Nov. 24, 2021

Co-written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Primarily based on Haruki Murakami’s short story of the same name

Starring Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, and Reika Kirishima

Available to rent or buy on various streaming services, including Amazon Prime

Drive My Car is long (about three hours) and challenging. But it is worth your time.

The Plot 

Two years after his wife’s unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku, a renowned actor and director, receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya at a theater festival. There, he meets Misaki Watari, a young woman assigned by the festival to chauffeur him. As the production’s premiere approaches, tensions mount amongst the cast and crew. Most compelling is the tension  between Yusuke and a handsome TV star who had a brief affair with Yusuke’s late wife. Forced to confront painful truths from his past, Yusuke begins – with the help of his driver – to face the haunting mysteries his wife left behind.

What I Liked About Drive My Car 

* The lead character was good and charismatic.

* The photography.

* It was clever on several levels. Like Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there is a story played within this story: Chekov’s Uncle Vanya. But the story that surrounds it, the script of the movie itself, was Chekhovian too.

Interesting 

Another movie where sign language is involved. There were at least three in 2021, including CODA. Click here for my review of that one.

Critical Reception 

 Drive My Car had its world premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it won three awards, including Best Screenplay. It received widespread critical acclaim, with many declaring it one of the best films of 2021. It earned four nominations at the 2021 Academy Awards: Best Picture (a first for a Japanese film), Best Director, Best International Feature Film, and Best Adapted Screenplay. And it won Best Foreign Language Film at the 79th Golden Globes.

* “A quiet masterpiece from the Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car is a story about grief, love, and work as well as the soul-sustaining, life-shaping power of art.” (The New York Times)

* “Hamaguchi’s film overflows with surprising references to its literary source materials.” (The New Yorker)

* “Hamaguchi has been one of the most exciting new talents in world cinema for a few years now…. It’s a rare filmmaker who can take the theatrical stage or the inside of a car – and turn them both into spaces of profound human connection.” (NPR)

You can watch the trailer here.

Margin Call 

Release date (US): Oct. 21, 2011

Written and directed by J.C. Chandor

Starring Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Mary McDonnell, Demi Moore, and Stanley Tucci

Available to rent or buy on various streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime

Margin Call is a tightly scripted, dramatic movie about the 2008 financial meltdown. The story takes place over a 24-hour period at a big Wall Street investment firm in the early stages of the crisis.

What I Liked About It 

* The ambition of the concept – showing a massive and complex worldwide crisis in the context of a single place during a single day. (This is actually a thing the Ancient Greek dramatists did, if I’m not mistaken.)

* The script: I’ve been around brokers and bankers tangentially for many years. Often, I find the Hollywood characterization of them to be artificial at best. (Think Gordon Gecko.) That includes the way they speak. That wasn’t the case with Margin Call. On the contrary, both the characters and the script felt authentic. (There is an understandable reason for this: The writer/director’s family was immersed in this world.) Because of that authenticity and because of the way the plot developed, I had the sense that I was being given a sophisticated inside look at investment banking.

* Kevin Spacey – always one of my favorite actors – and the rest of the ensemble cast.

* The plot was strong: tense and dramatic throughout.

What I Didn’t Like So Much 

Despite the authenticity of the characters and the dialog, the classical dramatic framework – one day in one place – made Margin Call feel more like a play than a movie. This isn’t meant to be a major criticism. It’s a limitation purposely imposed by the film’s creators to enhance the theatrical aspects of the story. But that meant forgoing the kind of emotional intensity that movies can provide by moving quickly through time and space. (You can see what I mean by comparingMargin Call to another movie on the same topic: The Big Short.)

Critical Reception 

* “Easily the best Wall Street movie ever made.” (David Denby, The New Yorker)

* “Margin Call employs an excellent cast who can make financial talk into compelling dialogue.” (RogerEbert.com)

* “It is hard to believe that Margin Call is Mr. Chandor’s first feature. His formal command – his ability to imply far more than he shows or says and to orchestrate a large, complex drama out of whispers, glances, and snippets of jargon – is downright awe inspiring.” (A.O. Scott, The New York Times)

Interesting: 

* The title of the film is a financial term. A margin call occurs when the value of securities in a brokerage account falls below a certain level (the maintenance margin), requiring the account holder to deposit additional cash or securities to meet the margin requirements.

* Although the film does not depict any real Wall Street firm, and the fictional firm is never named, my ex-wall Street friends tell me it’s based on two companies: Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.

About J.C. Chandor

Jeffrey McDonald Chandor, better known as J.C. Chandor, was born and raised in New Jersey. His father was/is an investment banker. And Chandor himself was partially involved in NYC real estate before the financial crash. Margin Call (2011) was his first feature-length film. Prior to that, he directed commercials. In addition to Margin Call, he has written/directed All Is Lost (2013), A Most Violent Year (2014), and Triple Frontier (2019).

King Richard 

Release date: Nov. 19, 2021

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green

Starring Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, John Bernthal, and Saniyya Sidney

Currently available to rent or buy on various streaming services, including Amazon Prime

Before I saw the film, all I knew of Richard Williams was the character the media portrayed him to be: fanatical, egotistical, and abusive. The story told here, which was approved by Venus and Serena, showed evidence of the former two traits but none of the last. On the contrary, the Richard we see is a loving and devoted father, doing his best to raise five healthy, successful daughters.

I haven’t done any research to determine the veracity of this portrayal. If it’s good enough for Serena and Venus, it’s good enough for me. What’s impressive is the enormous drive Williams showed in overcoming the obstacles that stood in his (and his daughters’) way.

What I Liked About King Richard 

* The acting. Will Smith above all, but a great performance by Aunjanue Ellis as Oracene Williams, and Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton as Venus and Serena. I also liked Jon Berthal as Rick Macci. And Tony Goldwyn as Paul Cohen. Heck, the entire cast was very good.

* The treatment of racism. Kudos to everyone involved for resisting the cheap, anti-White-Man cliches. The scenes where racism came into play were mostly played out in Richard’s mind. The actual mean stuff is Black-on-Black.

* It’s a feel-good movie, pure and simple.

Critical Reception 

* “This is a dream role for Will Smith and he attacks it with gusto. Williams is a larger-than-life-character who just happens to be real, and Smith embodies his underdog, combative, indefatigable spirit to perfection.” (Max Weiss, Baltimore Magazine)

* “It is one of those crowd-pleasing movies that doesn’t make you feel embarrassed to be part of the crowd – you feel buoyed rather than talked down to.” (Stephanie Zacharek, TIME Magazine)

* “There is a tension between the film King Richard wants to be and the film it actually is. The film it wants to be is a tribute to a boot-strapping sports dad who had a plan for his daughters and executed it…. The film it actually is casts Richard in a less flattering light than the filmmakers seem to intend.” (Scott Tobias, The New York Times)

* “The movie’s brightest burning idea, and it is sincerely moving, is that Richard, for all his flaws, does what he does on behalf of the young Black women he’s raising. This rings true in real life and fiction.” (K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone)

You can watch the trailer here.

West Side Story 

Release date: Dec. 10, 2021

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Starring Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno, Rachel Zegler

Currently available on Disney+ and HBO Max

The Plot 

Love at first sight strikes when young Tony spots Maria at a high school dance in 1957 New York City. Their burgeoning romance helps to fuel the fire between the warring Jets and Sharks – two rival gangs vying for control of the streets.

What I Liked About This Remake of West Side Story

* All the original stuff they didn’t mess with – the music, the book, the lyrics

* All the visual elements – the setting, the costumes, the camera work, the editing, and, of course, the directing

* Ansel Elgort’s looks and voice

* Rachel Zegler’s looks and voice

* That Rita Moreno was in it

What I Didn’t Like 

That Tony kills Maria’s brother and Maria is okay with it. This is just impossible to believe. (It didn’t happen in Romeo and Juliet.)

Critical Reception 

* “There’s so much beauty in this West Side Story. It merges things that have truly shaped pop culture, from the graceful precision of Spielberg – who has always had a musical director’s eye in terms of how he choreographs his scenes – to the masterful songwriting of Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein to the brilliant writing of Tony Kushner to the immigrant experience in this country. It grabs you from the very beginning and takes you there. Somehow, someday, somewhere.” (Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com)

* “A rich and famous artist spends a hundred million dollars to revive a corpse with the blood of young people. The creature is still alive, but barely, and the infusion leaves it deader than when it started.” (Richard Brody, The New Yorker)

* “It’s a dazzling display of filmmaking craft that also feels raw, unsettled, and alive. Rather than embalming a classic with homage or aggressively reinventing it, Spielberg, Kushner, Peck, and their collaborators… have rediscovered its breathing, thrilling essence.” (A.O. Scott, The New York Times)

 Interesting

* The film was very expensive to make ($300 million) and had a weak start, grossing only $10.6 million in its first week. It will be interesting to see if it can break even.

* Elgort did not attend the Academy Awards. Possible reason: After the movie was in the can, he was accused of some sort sexual misconduct by a young woman with whom he purportedly had an affair. He may have decided to keep a low profile for a while.

You can watch the trailer here.

Licorice Pizza 

Release date: Nov. 26, 2021

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman

Currently available to rent or buy on various streaming services

Licorice Pizza is another unique creation of Paul Thomas Anderson and a subtly rich and irresistibly enjoyable film.

There’s not much plot to it, but it manages to tell, simultaneously and harmoniously, at least three wonderful stories. At one level, it is, undeniably, a falling-in-love story. At another, more engaging, level it presents two independent coming-of-age narratives. And at still another level, it is an evocative memoir of California’s San Fernando Valley in the 1970s.

On top of that, Licorice Pizza is a showcase for mesmerizing performances by two novice actors. Cooper Hoffman (son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) plays Gary Valentine, a chunky, pimply-faced teenager quo childhood actor, with vexing credibility. And Alana Haim, (one-third of Haim, the pop band she’s in with her sisters) as Alana Kane, his very ordinary looking but visually riveting 20-something love interest.

What I Liked About Licorice Pizza 

* All the key components of the movie: the direction, the cinematography, the editing, the lighting, the set design, the costuming, the soundtrack, and, of course, the acting.

* The film is full of cameos, including appearances by Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Maya Rudolph (Anderson’s long-time partner), and George DiCaprio (Leonardo’s father).

* An intimacy of character created by the direction and camerawork that reminded me of The Florida Project.

* I read, from some critic, that I was supposed to be offended by a bit depicting an American owner of a Japanese restaurant who speaks to his Japanese wife in a fake-Japanese broken patter. To be sure, it’s juvenile and politically incorrect. But I loved it.

What I Didn’t Like So Much 

There were a few moments during the film that felt almost too intimate, that made me feel oddly and vaguely voyeuristic.

Critical Reception 

Licorice Pizza was nominated for many awards, including three Oscars (one for “Best Picture). It won a BAFTA for “Best Original Screenplay” and was cited by the New York Film Critics as one of the “Top Films of the Year.”

 “This is lighter and sunnier than previous Anderson pictures; subtract the porn and indeed the sex from Boogie Nights and you have something like it; remove the metaphysical anxiety from Inherent Vice and that comes reasonably close, too. It’s such a delectable film: I’ll be cutting myself another slice very soon.” (Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)

 “Licorice Pizza meanders in the best possible way: You never know where it’s going but you can’t wait to find out where it’ll end up, and when it’s over, you won’t want it to end. Once the credits finished rolling, I had no desire to get up from my seat and leave the theater, I was so wrapped up in the film’s cozy, wistful spell.” (Christy LeMire, RoberEbert.com)

You can watch the trailer here.

Interesting 

* The characters of Haim’s family – her parents and her sisters – are played by her actual parents and sisters.

* Anderson says that Gary’s character is based partly on former child actor Gary Goetzman, and partly on a kid he remembers from high school that he watched trying to chat up an older woman.

About Paul Thomas Anderson 

In 1996, at the age of 26, Paul Thomas Anderson made his first movie: Hard Eight. Since then, he’s been writing, directing, and producing almost nothing but good-to-great films. Here are some of them:

* Boogie Nights (1977)

* Magnolia (1999)

* Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

* There Will Be Blood (2007)

* Inherent Vice (2014)

Citizen Kane 

Release date: 1941

Directed by Orson Welles

Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, and Agnes Moorehead

Available on several streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime

Citizen Kane is revered by many critics. And yet, it was not a big hit with the public. Even from a P&L perspective, it was a flop.

Still, if any movie deserves to be considered an auteur film, it’s Citizen Kane. Orson Welles not only starred in it, but produced it, directed it, cast it, and co-wrote the screenplay.

The movie was heralded as revolutionary in many ways, including the cinematography, the lighting, and the staging. But many of the innovations were, according to Welles, a product of his ignorance. Being new to the movie business, he had no idea of what “could not be done.” And thanks to his stature as an actor, instead of telling him that certain things couldn’t be done, his crew went ahead and figured out how to do them.

Other lauded “innovations” – in terms of mood and music – were simply homages to the techniques of little-known European directors, in particular, the German expressionists that Welles admired.

What I Liked About Citizen Kane 

* The ambition of the story: The tragic portrayal of a larger-than-life man, and a depiction of America during a key era of its history.

* The ambition of its genre: It attempts to be a classic tragedy, and mostly succeeds.

* Its thematic dimensions: It explores both the culture of the times and the psychology of the man.

* The set design: Theatrically impressive. Even breathtaking at times.

* The photography: Disturbing at times, unsettling often, but always engaging.

* The acting – especially Welles’s charismatic interpretation of Kane.

What I Didn’t Like So Much 

* The flashback structure didn’t quite work for me. Flashbacks are commonplace now. And when done well, they enhance the plot. But in Citizen Kane, they seemed, at times, artificial.

* From a horizontal perspective, Citizen Kane is very good. It gave me a good sense of so many elements of US society back then. From a vertical perspective, however, it was unsatisfying. It gave me only a superficial sense of who this character really was, what motivated him, etc.

Interesting 

* Orson Welles got credit for writing the screenplay, but he had employed a script writer, Herman J. Mankiewicz, to shape his voluminous notes. The screenplay won an Academy Award that was shared by both men, but not before Mankiewicz had to threaten Welles with a lawsuit in order to get him to agree to giving him co-credit. (A Netflix movie – Mank – was made about this recently.)

* Although it was a critical success, Citizen Kane failed to recoup its costs at the box office. The film faded from view after its release, but returned to public attention when it was praised by French critics and re-released in 1956.

* Charles Foster Kane, the protagonist, was a composite character based mainly on media tycoon William Randolph Hearst. Hearst hated the movie and tried to shut it down. He was particularly angry about the movie’s depiction of a character based on his mistress, Marion Davies, a former showgirl whom he had tried to make into a Hollywood star.

* Rosebud was the trade name of the cheap little sled that Kane was playing with on the day he was taken away from his home and his mother. It is believed that it was also a reference to Hearst’s pet name for Davies: “tender button.”

* Hearst Castle, the main residence of an estate in San Simeon, California, that originally belonged to Hearst, was the inspiration for the “Xanadu” mansion in Citizen Kane. However, the estate was not used as a location for the film.

* Historically speaking, Xanadu, the first capital of the Mongol Empire, was established by Kublai Khan (1260-1294), the first emperor of China’s Yuan dynasty. Famous for its palaces, gardens, and waterways, it has come to stand for an idealized place of magnificence and beauty.

Critical Reception 

For 50 consecutive years, Citizen Kane stood at number one in the British Film Institute’s poll of critics. It was number one in the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 best American movies in 1998, as well as its 2007 update.

* “Citizen Kane is far and away the most surprising and cinematically exciting motion picture to be seen here in many a moon… it comes close to being the most sensational film ever made in Hollywood.” (Bosley Crowther, NYT)

* “Citizen Kane is a film possessing the sure dollar mark, which distinguishes every daring entertainment venture that is created by a workman who is a master of the technique and mechanics of his medium. It is a two-hour show, filled to the last minute with brilliant incident unreeled in method and effects that sparkle with originality and invention. Within the trade, Kane will stimulate keener creative efforts by Hollywood’s top directors.” (John C. Flinn, Sr., Variety)

You can watch the trailer here.

Kill Your Darlings 

Release date: Oct. 16, 2013

Directed by John Krokidas

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHann, Elizabeth Olsen, Jack Huston, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Ben Foster

Available on several streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime

The title caught my attention. It’s a common catchphrase used by editors. (See “Interesting,” below.) I’ve used it many times myself. The description told me that it was about three of my favorite literary personalities: Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac.

The Story 

In 1944, young Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) has a rival for the affections of his charismatic classmate Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan). When the rival is found dead, Carr, Burroughs, and Kerouac are arrested for murder.

What I Liked About It 

* As I said, it was about Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac.

* The story itself is fascinating. It made me do some research to learn more.

* Compelling performances by all four principal actors.

 But… there are purportedly a number of inaccuracies in the depiction of the actual events. I read a bit about them. They didn’t bother me.

This is not a big movie. It’s not a film that will change your life. Its ambition is modest. Its scope is limited. It’s a small package that works.

Critical Reception

* “Krokidas’s romantic sense of the characters and the moment corresponds precisely to the way those young men saw themselves – at once closeted and defiant, making up the rules of art and sexuality as they went along.” (Amy Tobin, Film Comment Magazine)

* “Sexy and self-aware, with a 1940s-style Brat Pack feel.” (David Aldridge, Radio Times)

* “Foster is wonderful as the watchful, weak Burroughs, at ease only when drugged, with a mouth like a cat’s bum. But DeHaan is even better.” (Charlotte O’Sullivan, London Evening Standard)

You can watch the trailer here.

Interesting 

“Kill your darlings” is a popular piece of writing advice that is often attributed to William Faulkner, but can actually be traced back to the English writer Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944). It means that you have to get rid of all the unnecessary elements (words, side plots, characters, etc.) – no matter how hard you worked to “create” them – that get in the way of your story.

Cold War 

Released in the US Dec. 21, 2018

Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski

Starring Joanna Kulig, Tomasz Kot, Borys Szyc, Agata Kulesza, Cédric Kahn, and Jeanne Balibar

Streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime

I found this movie randomly, clicking through the Netflix menu. I hadn’t read a review of it, hadn’t even heard of it. But I was drawn to the black and white cinematography. I watched the trailer. That cemented my interest. The following evening, I watched the movie.

Cold War is very good. The best movie I’ve seen in many months. But be warned. It’s kind of artsy. And artsy can sometimes be pretentious. This was not. It was almost the opposite. It tells two stories – and both are heartbreaking: a love story during the Cold War, and the story of the Cold War itself.

The Plot 

It’s the 1950s at the height of the Cold War in Poland. Two people, a musician and a dancer, fall in love and begin an impossible romance.

What I Liked About It 

* As I said, the movie is two stories in one, both presented cleanly and sparsely, with a minimum of everything, including…

* The breathtaking cinematography, and…

* The music, dancing, and singing.

 What I Didn’t Like So Much 

Nothing. But because of how subtle this film is, you have to pay close attention to understand the entirety of the plot – which you must understand to really enjoy it.

Critical Reception 

* “Cold War is a near-perfect film, an artfully crafted, flawlessly acted meditation on love, memory, and invented history that’s both deeply personal and politically attuned.” (Ann Hornaday, Washington Post)

* “Joanna Kulig is a shining new star who rips across the screen like a comet. Forget the frosty title, there’s enough sizzling carnality here to singe the screen.” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)

* “Passionate, tempestuous, haunting and assured, this latest from writer-director Pawl Pawlikowski explores, as did his Oscar-winning Ida, Poland’s recent past, resulting in a potent emotional story with political overtones that plays impeccably today.” (Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times)

You can watch the trailer here.