Mandel Maven's Nest Reel Life: Flicks Pix
Nora Lee Mandel is a member of New York Film Critics Online. Her reviews are counted in the Rotten Tomatoes TomatoMeter:
Complete Index to Nora Lee Mandel's Movie Reviews and Commentaries
My reviews have appeared on: Film-Forward; FF2 Media; Lilith, FilmFestivalTraveler; and, Alliance of Women Film Journalists and for Jewish film festivals. Shorter versions of my older reviews are at IMDb's comments, where non-English-language films are listed by their native titles.
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As of mid-2014, I am marking my own stricter application than others to fiction features of the Bechdel-Wallace Test
Originally suggested by Allison Bechdel, as inspired by her friend Liz Wallace (so her name was added to the symbol as of 2016), in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985 to note a film that features (1) at least two named female characters; (2) who talk to each other; (3) about something besides a man. Symbol first designed by the Swedish chapter of Women in Film and Television; thanks to The Hot Pink Pen for the updated image. But my own criteria consider a substantive interaction about substance and gender for when a film features more than female relationships.
TV Recommendations
My Best Films of 2025
My Best Films of 2024
My Best Films of 2023
My Best Films of 2022
My Best Films of 2021
My Best Films of 2020
My Best Films of 2019
My Best Films of 2018
My Best Films of 2017
My Best Films of 2016
My Best Films of 2015
My Best Films of 2014
My Best Films of 2013
My Best Films of 2012
My Best Films of 2011
My Best Films of 2010
My Best Films of 2009
My Best Films of 2008
My Best Films of 2007
My Best Films of 2006
My Best Films of 2005
My Best Films of 2004
My Best Films of 2003
My Best Films of 2002
My Best Films of 2001
Reviews by Nora Lee Mandel in my idiosyncratic categories of how I think of of flicks:
CHICK FLICKS
IF YOU’RE JONESING FOR SOMETHING LIKE THE WIRE
IMPACT OF 9/11 ON NYC THROUGH MOVIES
IMAGES OF DENTISTS AND PREVENTIVE TOOTH CARE IN MOVIES (carrying on the work of Dr. Irwin D. Mandel z”l)
JEWISH WOMEN IN (and missing from) THE FLICKS
MASTERPIECE THEATER: MOVIES AS MEDICINE
For the MIDDLE-AGED AT HEART: HURRAH FOR GROWN-UPS!
For the MUSIC (and/or the dancing)
NEW YORK NEW YORK: IT'S A HELLUVA TOWN
NOIR NIGHT OUT
OGLING TEENS AND '20SOMETHINGS
POPCORN EATERS
ROMEO AND JULIET (and friends) ACROSS THE ETHNIC DIVIDE
SCI-FI and FANTASY from A DISTAFF POV
And then there's RUSSELL CROWE (with commentary on the actor)
Friends don't let friends watch bad movies! -- John Ridley
It is not enough to like a film. You must like it for the right reasons. -- Pierre Rissient
Mothers of America/let your kids go to the movies! -- Frank O’Hara, Ave Maria
MY BEST FILMS of 2025 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
MY BEST FILMS of 2024 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
The Legionnaire (Il legionario) (preview at 2022 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center/ Film Movement Plus)
About Dry Grasses (Kuru Otlar Üstüne) (courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)
Achilles (Ashil) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ courtesy of Visit Films)
Green Border (Kudos director Agnieszka Holland and ensemble) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Sing Sing (courtesy of A24)
Shadow of Fire『ほかげ』(Hokage) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Summerlight… And Then Comes The Night (Sumarljós og svo kemur nóttin) (Kudos to ensemble, cinematographer David Williamsson, and Icelandic landscape) (courtesy of Juno Films)
Small Things Like These (Kudos to Cillian Murphy) (courtesy of Lionsgate)
The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Kudos to Mohammad Rasoulof, cast and crew) (courtesy of Neon)
The Brutalist (courtesy of A24)
Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Yana Mara (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Queer (courtesy of A24)
Nickel Boys (courtesy of Amazon MGM Studos)
BEST FEMALE POV
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival
Fiction
Tótem (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Sideshow Janus Films)
Shayda (2023 premiere courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Talking About The Weather (Alle Reden Übers Wetter) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of German Film Office)
The Peasants (Chlopi) (Kudos to writer/director DK - Dorota Kobiela- Welchman and score by Lukasz Rostowski) (oil painting animation) (2023 premiere courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics/ 2024 on Netflix)
Earth Mama (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ 2024 Athena Film Festival/ courtesy of A24)
Fancy Dance (Kudos to co-writer-director Erica Tremblay [Seneca-Cayuga], co-writer [Tlingit] Miciana Alise, and star Lily Gladstone [Blackfeet/Nez Perce]) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ 2024 Athena Film Festival/ 2024 theatrical/streaming release by AppleTV+)
The Persian Version (2024 Athena Film Festival/ 2023 preview courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Inshallah A Boy (Kudos to director/co-writer Amjad Al Rasheed and co-writers Rula Nasser & Delphine Agut) (courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Sisterhood (HLM Pussy) (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Banel & Adama (Kudos to Khady Mane) (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release by Kino Lorber)
Tendaberry (hybrid) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Arthur&Diana (hybrid) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Voice of Others (La Voix Des Autres) (short) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Foremost By Night (Sobre Todo De Noche (Kudos Lola Dueñas) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Alpha Violet)
Malu (hybrid) (Kudos Yara de Novaes) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Blackbird Blackbird Blackberry (Shashvi shashvi maq'vali) (Kudos Eka Chavleishvili) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Totem Films)
Good One (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Metrograph Pictures)
My Love Affair with Marriage (hand-drawn animation) (Kudos to writer/director/animator/designer/co-editor Signe Baumane; animator Yajun Shi; composer Kristian Sensini; and voice cast (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2024 theatrical & streaming release by MVD Entertainment/ streams on OVID as of 12/20)
The Beautiful Summer (La bella estate) (at 2024 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Film Movement)
Come Closer (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Darkest Miriam (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Devil’s Bath (Das Teufels Bad) (Kudos to star/composer Anja F Plaschg) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of IFC Films/Shudder)
Don’t You Let Me Go (Agarrame fuerte) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Cinema Tropical)
Bikechess (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Samia (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Arzé (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
In The Summers (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical & streaming release by Music Box Films)
Ebb & Flow (short) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bloomed in the Water (short) (in “Moving the Spotlight” at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
When Everything Burns (Cuando Todo Arde) (short) (in “Moving the Spotlight” at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Jazzy (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Sisi & I (Sisi & Ich) (courtesy of Film Movement)
Performing KAORU’s Funeral『カオルの葬式』(KAORU no Soushiki) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Following the Sound『彼方のうた』(Kanata no Uta) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
The Punishment (El Castigo) (Kudos to writer Coral Cruz, actress Antonia Zegers, director Matias Bize, cinematographer Gabriel Diaz) (at Latin & Spanish Film Showcase of Outsider Pictures)
Lullaby (Cinco Lobitos) (Kudos to writer/director Alauda Ruiz de Azua) (at Latin & Spanish Film Showcase of Outsider Pictures)
Sica (Coming of Ager) (Kudos as a film shot with a majority of women heading the crews) (at Latin & Spanish Film Showcase of Outsider Pictures)
Chuck Chuck Baby (Kudos to writer/director Janis Pugh for karaoke musical) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ 2024 theatrical release via Dark Star Pictures)
Winner (courtesy of Vertical) (see with the documentary Reality Winner (aka United States Vs.) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at 2021 DOC NYC/ theatrical release by Codebreaker Films)
Lee (Kudos to Kate Winslet) (courtesy of Roadside Attractions and Vertical)
Hold Your Breath (Kudos to writer/co-director Karrie Crouse, cinematographer Zoë White, and Sarah Paulson) (courtesy of Hulu)
What A Feeling (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
The Queen of My Dreams (at 2024 “Pride Encore” in New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Nikah (courtesy of Icarus Films/dGenerate Films Collection)
In Her Place (El lugar de la otra) (Netflix)
Janet Planet (courtesy of A24)
All We Imagine As Light (courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)
Girl with the Needle (Pigen med nålen) (co-writer Line Langebek Knudsen) (Kudos score/sound design) (courtesy of MUBI)
The Room Next Door (courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Vermiglio (courtesy of Sideshow/Janus Films)
Santosh (Kudos to writer/director Sandhya Suri, stars Shahana Goswami and Sunita Rajwar) (courtesy of Metrograph Pictures)
Babygirl (Kudos to the music) (courtesy of A24)
The Last Showgirl (Kudos Pamela Anderson and Jamie Lee Curtis) (courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
Someday We'll Tell Each Other Everything (Irgendwann werden wir uns alles erzählen) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Documentary
Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ theatrical release by Oscilloscope)
A Place Of Our Own (Ek Jagah Apni) (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Queen of the Deuce (at 2022 DOC NYC/ 2024 theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
Bye Bye Tiberias/ Tibériade (at 2023 DOC NYC/ theatrical release via Women Make Movies)
Apolonia, Apolonia (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2024 release by Grasshopper Film)
999: The Forgotten Girls (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of the filmmaker)
The Disappearance of Shere Hite (“Short List” at 2023 DOC NYC/ 2024 Athena Film Festival/ courtesy of IFC Films)
Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ 2024 Athena Film Festival/ HBO Documentary)
Q (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2024 Athena Film Festival)
How To Make Challah (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of the filmmaker)
Anyuka (Mother) (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of the filmmaker)
Self-Portrait: 47 KM 2020 (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
1489 (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Echo (El Eco) (hybrid) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Break The Game (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2024 theatrical release)
Frida (Kudos to director Carla Gutiérrez’ research and use of animation) (courtesy of Deadline Hollywood’s “For the Love of Docs”/ Amazon MGM/ “Short List” at 2024 DOC NYC)
Between Revolutions (Între revoluții) (hybrid) (Kudos to epistolary writer Lavinia Braniște) (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
COPA 71 (courtesy of Deadline Hollywood’s “For the Love of Docs” and Greenwich Entertainment)
Missing From Fire Trail Road (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Made In Ethiopia (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Satisfied (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
1-800-On-Her-Own (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Shunga: The Lost Japanese Erotica (春の画Shunga』(Haru no e Shunga) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Kadono Eiko's Colorful Life: Finding the Magic Within『カラフルな魔女 ～角野栄子の物語が生まれる暮らし～』(Karafuru na Majo ～Kadono Eiko no Monogatari ga Umareru Kurashi～) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa (DOC NYC Selects Summer 2024/ Netflix)
The Mother of All Lies (Kadib Abyad) (“Short List” at 2023 DOC NYC/ 2024 theatrical release via Outsider Pictures)
Maya and the Wave (Opening Night at 2022 DOC NYC/ 2024 theatrical self-release)
Sweetheart Deal (courtesy of Abramorama)
Mediha (at 2023 DOC NYC/ 2024 theatrical release by Together Films)
Fanatical: The Catfishing Of Tegan And Sara (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ courtesy of Hulu)
Lesvia (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
I'm Not Everything I Want to Be (Ještě nejsem, kým chci být) (Kudos to Libuše Jarcovjáková’s archive) (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Black Box Diaries (Kudos to Shiori Ito) (courtesy of Deadline Hollywood’s “For the Love of Docs”/ MTV Documentary Films/ “Short List” at 2024 DOC NYC)
The World According To Allee Willis (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
The Taste of Mango (courtesy of the filmmaker at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ 2024 theatrical release by Oscilloscope)
Blue Road - The Edna O'Brien Story (at 2024 DOC NYC)
There Was, There Was Not (at 2024 DOC NYC)
A Photographic Memory (Kudos to Sheila Turner-Seed) (at 2024 DOC NYC/ theatrical release at DCTV NY)
Never Look Away (courtesy of Deadline Hollywood’s “For the Love of Docs”/ Greenwich Entertainment)
Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction
Irena’s Vow
Shimmering Bodies (Corpos Cintilantes) (short) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Kill 'Em All (Mátalos A Todos) (short) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Last Summer (L’été dernier) (courtesy of Sideshow/Janus)
Adult Best Friends (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Ice Cream Fever『アイスクリームフィーバー』(Aisukurimu Fiba) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Hail Mary 『マリアに幸あれ』(Maria ni Sachiare) (short) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Wife’s Power Outage 『妻の電池切れ』(Tsuma no Denchigire) (short) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Creature (Creatura) (in 2024 “Latin & Spanish Film Showcase” of Outsider Pictures)
Paradise Is Burning (Paradiset brinner) (courtesy of Room 8 Films)
All Eyes Off Me (Mishehu Yohav Mishehu) (courtesy of Film Movement Plus premiere)
The Outrun (courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Nightbitch (courtesy of /Walt Disney Company)
Documentary
Breaking The News (at 2023 Athena Film Festival)
Driver (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Debutantes (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Cranes Call (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Politics Is A Mother, Raising Hell Is Part Of The Job (at 2024 Montclair Film Festival)
Stolen Time
Standing Above the Clouds (at 2024 DOC NYC)
Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr (“Short List Shorts: Justice and Democracy” at 2024 DOC NYC)
BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
A Cautionary Tale (Cum să fiu mort, dacă-s viu?) (documentary) (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
The Lionheart (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ HBO Max)
A Journey in Spring (Chun Xing) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Being Film and Art Co., LTD)
The Space Race (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ National Geographic Channel)
Mountains (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2024 theatrical release by Music Box Films)
Daddio (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Hunters on a White Field (Jakt) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bitterroot (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Deep Into The Forest (short) (Kudos to orienteering) (in “Moving the Spotlight” at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Leading Man (short) (in “Moving the Spotlight” at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Keba, Interrupted (short) (in “Moving the Spotlight” at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Kudos to Jim Broadbent, Director Hettie Macdonald, Writer Rachel Joyce, Cinematographer Kate McCullough, and the English landscape) (courtesy of Quiver Distribution)
Alok (short) (Kudos to the earrings) (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Caribbean Queen (short) (in “Caribbean Pride Power” at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Zari (short) (in “Women’s Night Out” at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Until He’s Back (“Short List: Shorts Justice and Democracy” at 2024 DOC NYC)
A Swim Lesson (“Short List: Shorts Human Spirit” at 2024 DOC NYC)
Planetwalker (short) (“Films That Move” via The Redford Center)
BEST ROMANCES
The Breaking Ice (Ran Dong) (Kudos to Heaven Lake) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The Taste of Things (La passion de Dodin-Bouffant) (2023 preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Here (Kudos to moss) (courtesy of Cinema Guild)
Slow (Tu man nieko neprimeni) (Kudos writer/director Marija Kavtaradze, stars Greta Grinevičiūtė & Kęstutis Cicėnas, and songs by Irya Gmeyner) (courtesy of KimStim Films)
The Dead Don’t Hurt (courtesy of Shout! Studios)
The Freshly Cut Grass (El aroma del pasto recién cortado) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Ripe! (Kudos to the songs) (short) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Challengers (courtesy of MGM Amazon Studios)
America (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ 2023 Israel Film Center Festival/ courtesy of and 2024 theatrical release by Menemsha Films)
Rei 『莉の対』(Rei no Tsui) (Kudos to director/writer/editor/star Toshihiko Tanaka) (in 2024 “New Generation” Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
I’ll Be Your Mirror (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Gondola (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Anora (courtesy of Neon)
Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
The Day I Met You (O Dia que te Conheci) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
The Mattachine Family (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ 2024 digital release Giant Pictures)
Aisha (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
The Young Wife (courtesy of Paramount Movies)
The Everything Pot (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Beast (La bête) (courtesy of Sideshow/Janus)
Between The Temples (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
High Tide (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ courtesy of Strand Releasing)
BEST PANDEMIC-LIKE RELATIONSHIPS AND POST-LIFE
MMXX (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
A Good Place (Ein Schöner Ort) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Stress Positions (Closing Night at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Neon)
Nuked (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Coup! (courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
The Secret Art of Human Flight (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ On Demand 2024 Level 33 Entertainment)
And Mrs. (Kudos ensemble especially Billie Lourd, Dame Harriet Walter, and Susan Wokoma) (courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/SPIRITUAL/APOCALYPTIC
Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell (Bên trong vo kén vàng) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
I.S.S. (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Bleecker Street)
The Animal Kingdom (Le Règne animal) (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
Handling the Undead (Håndtering Av Undøde) (courtesy of Neon)
A Different Man (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of A24)
I Saw The TV Glow (Kudos to the music) (courtesy of A24)
Six Singing Women 『唄う六人の女』(Utau Rokunin no Onna) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Motion Picture: Choke 『映画(窒息)』(Eiga Chissoku) (Kudos to Misa Wada) (in 2024 “New Generation” Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Dune 2 (HBO)
The Substance (courtesy of MUBI)
Nosferatu (Kudos to cinematographer Jarin Blaschke and production design) (courtesy of Focus Features)
Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPSE I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Under the Hanging Tree (at 2024 New York African Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ African Film Festival, Inc.)
Evil Does Not Exist (courtesy of Sideshow Janus Films)
The Weekend (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Wait (La Espera) (Kudos to Zeltia Montes’ ominous score) (courtesy of Film Movement Plus)
Meanwhile On Earth (Pendant Ce Temps Sur Terre Clapin) (Kudos to use of animation) (courtesy of Metrograph Picture )
BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSERS
Io Capitano (Kudos to Seydou Sarr) (courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
The Temple Woods Gang (Le gang des Bois du Temple) (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Farewell, Mr. Haffmann (Adieu Monsieur Haffman) (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Libertate (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Asphalt City
Blaga’s Lessons (Urotcite Na Blaga) (Kudos Eli Skorcheva) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Heretic Films)
Force of Nature: The Dry 2 (courtesy of IFC Films)
Beacon (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Kubi 『首』 (Kudos Takeshi Kitano) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Rhinegold (Rheingold) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The Arctic Convoy (Konvoi) (courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
The Silent Forest (Schweigend Steht Der Wald) (in German Film Office’s 2024 Der Wald: An Online Film Series about the Forest/ VOD release via Blue Fox Entertainment)
The Silent Hour (Kudos to Sandra Mae Frank #deaftalent) (courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
Juror #2 (courtesy of Warner Brothers)
The Count of Monte Cristo (Kudos to Pierre Niney, ensemble, mise en scène, and adaptation) (courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Disco Boy (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ theatrical release by Big World Pictures)
Horizon: American Saga – Chapter 1 (Max)
Duchess (courtesy of Saban Films)
Conclave (courtesy of Focus Features)
BEST NEO-NOIRS
American Star (courtesy of IFC Films)
Sleeping Dogs (courtesy of The Avenue)
Limbo (courtesy of Music Box Films)
Boss (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Love Lies Bleeding (courtesy of A24)
Restless (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Whale Bones 『鯨の骨』(Kujira no Hone) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Detained (courtesy of Quiver Distribution)
BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries)
They Shot the Piano Player (animation) (2023 preview courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
The Klezmer Project (Adentro Mío Estoy Bailando) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Hazel (dual) (short) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Adiós Buenos Aires (Kudos to the tango music) (courtesy of Outsider Pictures)
Funmi! (short) (at 2024 New York African Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ African Film Festival, Inc.)
The Beach Boys (Disney+)
New Wave (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Luther: Never Too Much (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by Giant Pictures)
Stud Country (short) (in “Moving the Spotlight” at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Dusty & Stones (Kudos to Gazi Simelane and Linda Msibi) (preview at 2022 DOC NYC/ 2024 theatrical release by First Run Features)
Other People (Inni ludzie) (courtesy of streaming premiere on Film Movement Plus)
Dalton’s Dream (at 2023 DOC NYC/ at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Dandelion (Kudos to Kiki Layne, songs by Aaron & Bryce Dessner, writer/director Nicole Riegel) (courtesy of IFC Films)
Kneecap (courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
This Is Ballroom (Salão de Baile) (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Teaches of Peaches (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Billy Preston: That's The Way God Planned It (at 2024 DOC NYC)
Emilia Pérez (courtesy of Netflix)
Wicked (courtesy of Universal Pictures)
Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Lost Soulz (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by Kino Lorber)
Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Soldiers of Song (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Greatest Night in Pop (Netflix)
Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision (courtesy of Abramorama)
BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
In The Shadow of the Cypress (short) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Permanent Picture (La Imatge Permanent) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA
Bottle George『ボトルジョージ』(Botoru Jo-Ji) (short) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Nezumikozo Jirokichi『山中貞雄に捧げる漫画映画「鼠小僧次郎吉」 (short) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Not for Money, Not for Love, Not for Nothing (short) (New York Times Op-Doc)
Brim Broome Boulevard (short) (in “Queer Teen Moxie” at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Inside Out 2 (courtesy of Disney)
Memoir of a Snail (courtesy of IFC Films)
Piece By Piece (Kudos to use of music) (courtesy of Focus Features)
Porcelain War (Kudos to BluBlu Studios animation of art by Anya Stasenko and Slava Leontyev) (courtesy of Picturehouse)
Flow (courtesy of Sideshow Janus Films)
Runners-Up: BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Robot Dreams (courtesy of Neon)
Budō (short) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Wild Robot (courtesy of Universal)
Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (courtesy of Netflix)
BEST COMING OF AGERS
Sujo (Kudos to Co-Writers/Directors Astrid Rondero & Fernanda Valadez, Cinematographer Ximena Amann) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Grace (Blazh) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ 2024 theatrical release by sThe Forge)
After The Long Rains (Baada Ya Masika) (at 2024 New York African Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ African Film Festival, Inc.)
An Endless Sunday (Una sterminata domenica) (at 2024 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Sayonara, Girls 少女は卒業しない』(Shojo wa Sotsugyo Shinai) (in 2024 “New Generation” Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Dìdi (弟弟) (Kudos to Joan Chen) (courtesy of Focus Features)
Bird (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ courtesy of MUBI)
Grace, Saturday Ritual, Scrap Fabric (Retaso), Blue Boy, and We Met at Camp (shorts) (in “Queer Teen Moxie” at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
Out of My Mind (courtesy of Disney+)
Runners-Up: COMING OF AGERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Delegation (Ha’Mishlahat) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
All, or Nothing at All (A/B) (Suo You You Shang De Nian Qing Ren) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Retreat (Réduit) (courtesy of Film Movement Plus)
Pine Ridge Reservation section of Lisandro Alonso’s Eureka triptych (courtesy of Film Movement)
Out (Kudos to Thomas van der Gronde’s cinematography) (at 2024 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest)
BEST COMING TO TERMS
Golden Years (Die goldenen Jahra) (via Music Box Films)
Permanent Picture (La Imatge Permanent) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Cu Li Never Cries (Cu Li Không Bao Gio Khóc) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Dreaming & Dying (Hao jiu bu jian) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Lights on Film)
Omen (Augure) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Utopia)
All Will Be Well (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
sThe Old Oak (Kudos Ken Loach’s valediction) (courtesy of Zeitgeist Films/Kino Lorber)