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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![](BechdelWallace.jpg)
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 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 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 (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Shadow of Fire『ほかげ』(Hokage) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Between Revolutions (Între revoluții) (hybrid) (Kudos to epistolary writer Lavinia Braniște) (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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 Music Box Films release)
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)
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)
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 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)
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)
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)
BEST PANDEMIC-LIKE RELATIONSHIPS AND 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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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
BEST NEO-NOIRS
Sleeping Dogs (courtesy of The Avenue)
Limbo (courtesy of Music Box Films)
Boss (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
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)
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)
Stud Country (short) (in “Moving the Spotlight” at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
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)
BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
In The Shadow of the Cypress (short) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Nowhere Special (courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
Some Rain Must Fall (Kudos to YU Aier) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Kyrie 『キリエのうた』(Kyrie no Uta) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
All the Long Nights『夜明のすべて』(Yoake no Subete) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Runners-Up: BEST COMING TO TERMS
The Shadowless Tower (Bai ta zhi guang) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The Featherweight (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
The Promised Land (Bastarden) (Kudos to Mads Mikkelsen) (courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
One Life (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Bleecker Street)
The Fox (Der Fuchs) (courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
June Zero (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival/ courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
Kidnapped (Rapito) (courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
Lubo (Kudos to Franz Rogowski) (at 2024 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Shadow Distribution)
Under the Grey Sky (Pod szarym niebem) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Treasure (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Bleecker Street Films)
Young Woman and the Sea (courtesy of Disney+)
BEST SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY:
Driving Madeleine (Une belle course) (courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
Accidental Texan (courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
BEST CINEMA OF THE ABSURD:
Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World (Nu Aștepta Prea Mult De La Sfârșitul Lumii) (courtesy of MUBI)
Terrestrial Verses (Ayeh haye zamini) (courtesy of Kim Stim)
Dilli Dark (at 2024 New York African Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ African Film Festival, Inc.)
A Family Guide to Hunting (short) (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Family Therapy (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Box Man 『箱男』(Hako Otoko) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
BEST DOCUMENTARY RE-ENACTMENTS/DOCU-DRAMA/FICTION HYBRIDS
Solaris Mon Amour (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Samsara (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ Bendita Film Sales release at Metrograph)
Otro Sol (Kudos to the Atacama scenery) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Oceans Are The Real Continents (Los Océanos Son Los Verdaderos Continentes) (at 2024 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Film Movement)
BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ 2024 theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
Queendom (at 2023 New York LGBTQ Film Festival of NewFest/ 2024 theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
Vishniac (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Abramorama Films)
Crossing The River (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of the filmmakers)
A Message from the Future: Bosnia Greets Ukraine (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Centropa)
Giado: Holocaust in the Desert (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Go2Films)
Generation 1.5 (courtesy of Go2Films)
Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World (courtesy of Fiore Media Group)
On the (Sur l’) Adamant (at 2024 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Gwetto (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Magic Mountain (Jadosnuri Mta) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
What Did You Dream Last Night, Parajanov? (Was Hast Du Gestern Geträumt, Parajanov?) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Behind Closed Doors (A Portas Fechadas) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Limitation (ვადაგასული საქმე) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story (preview at 2022 DOC NYC/ 2024 theatrical release by All Is Well Pictures)
Occasional Spies (Spioni de ocazie) (at 2024 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Intercepted (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Cosmos Films)
Scale (Meezan) (at 2024 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA
Resistance: They Fought Back (courtesy of Abramorama)
MK: Mandela’s Secret Army (l’armée secrète de Mandela) (uMkhonto we Sizwe/Spearhead of the Nation) (at 2024 New York African Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ African Film Festival, Inc.)
Hacking Hate (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Checkpoint Zoo (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Searching for Amani (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Dust to Dust: Yuima Nakazato (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
Sabbath Queen (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Making of a Japanese 『小学校~それは小さな社会~』(Shogakko ~Sore wa Chisana Shakai~) (in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Golda’s War Diaries (at 2024 Jewish film festivals/ courtesy of Go2Films)
The Clinic (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Threat Assessment (short) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Much Ado About Dying (courtesy of First Run Features)
Pirópolis (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
Your Fat Friend (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2024 Athena Film Festival)
How To Come Alive…With Norman Mailer (at 2023 DOC NYC/ Showtime/ 2024 theatrical release via Zeitgeist Films)
Flying Lessons (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
A Revolution On Canvas (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ HBO Max)
Who Is Stan Smith? (at 2022 DOC NYC/ 2024 theatrical release via Monkey Wrench Films)
Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws:
Gumbo Coalition (at 2022 DOC NYC/ 2024 Workers Unite Film Festival)
The Books He Didn’t Burn (Die Bücher, Die Hitler Nicht Verbrannte) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Cargo Film & Releasing)
James Joyce’s Ulysses (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Arena on BBC Four)
Fioretta (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of 7th Art Releasing)
Spinoza: Six Reasons for the Excommunication of the Philosopher (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Go2 Films)
Periphery (short) (at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of ”No Silence On Race Project”)
God + Country (courtesy of Oscilloscope)
Transition (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ streaming release by AGC Unwritten, Our Time Projects and Gravitas Ventures)
Lyd (courtesy of Icarus Films)
Following Harry (at 2024 Tribeca Film Festival)
BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINEPHILES:
Lateral (short) (preview 2024 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Jim Henson Idea Man (courtesy of Disney+)
BEST REVIVALS/RESTORATIONS IN NEW PRINTS especially of films I hadn’t seen before
Henry Lynn’s Mothers of Today (Hayntige Mames) (1939) (U.S. Premiere of 35mm film restoration by the National Center for Jewish Film at 2024 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Ivan Sen’s Toomelah (2011) (Amazon Prime)
Ariane Lorrain & Shahab Mihandoust’s Zagros (2018) by VUCAVU/F3M (on Vimeo)
Shinji Somai’s Moving 『お引越し』(Ohikkoshi) (1993) (East Coast Premiere of 4K restoration in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society via Cinema Guild)
Toshiharu Ikeda’s Mermaid Legend『人魚伝説』(Ningyo Densetsu) (1984) (40th Anniversary in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Gakuryu “Sogo” Ishii’s August in the Water『水の中の八月』(Mizu no Naka no Hachigatsu) (1995) (Imported 35mm print in 2024 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
MY BEST FILMS of 2023 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
Let It Be Morning (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival/ theatrical release by Cohen Media)
Labyrinth of Peace (Frieden) (mini-series) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum/ Menemsha Films release/ streams on ChaiFlicks)
R.M.N. (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival/ courtesy of IFC Films)
Concerned Citizen (Ezrah Mudag) (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival/ theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
200 Meters (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings/ in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center/ 2023 “Contemporary Arab Cinema” at BAM)
The Owners (Vlastníci)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Kudos to Lily Gladstone) (courtesy of Apple+)
American Fiction (courtesy of Orion Pictures/MGM Studios)
The Zone of Interest (courtesy of A24)
Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Bruiser (courtesy of Hulu)
Bread and Salt (Chleb i sól) (at 2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Persian Lessons (Kudos to ensemble, cinematography, and use of languages) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ Cohen Media Group release)
Oppenheimer (IMAX courtesy of Universal Pictures) then see the documentary A Compassionate Spy (via Magnolia Pictures)
Dirty Difficult Dangerous (in 2023 “Contemporary Arab Cinema” at BAM)
BEST FEMALE POV
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and of Nora Ephron Award winners.
Fiction
Alice, Darling (courtesy of Lionsgate)
Cinema Sabaya (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival/ at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ theatrical release by Kino Lorber)
Alegría (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ shown at 2022 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Castles in the Sky (short) (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum)
Charlotte Salomon: Life and the Maiden (La Jeune Fille et La Vie) (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum)
Saint Omer (courtesy of Neon and Super Ltd.)
Cherry (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ Entertainment Squad theatrical release)
Full Time (À plein temps) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Music Box Films)
Baby Ruby (Kudos to writer/director Bess Wohl) (courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
You Left Me Alone (short) (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Emily (courtesy of Bleecker Street Films)
Other People’s Children (Les Enfants des autres) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Music Box Films)
Paris Memories (Revoir Paris) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Music Box Films)
The Worst Ones (Les Pires) (Coming of Ager) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Mother and Son (Un petit frère) (Coming of Ager) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Rodeo (Kudos to Julie Ledru) (courtesy of Music Box Films at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Line (La Ligne) (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. (Lionsgate/Starz)
A Thousand and One (Kudos to Teyana Taylor) (courtesy of Focus Features)
Immaculate (Imaculat) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Family Time (Mummola) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
The Kidnapping of the Bride (El secuestro de la novia) (short) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Chile ‘76 (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Trenque Lauquen (at 2022 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Cinema Guild)
Precious Ivie (Ivie wie Ivie) (streamed through German Film Office)
Clare (Chiara) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Like Turtles (Come Le Tartarughe) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Blue Jean (Kudos to writer/director Georgia Oakley and star Rosy McEwen) (courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Scarlet (L’envol) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
The Other Widow (Pilegesh) (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival)
The Good Person (Ha'Nefesh Ha'Tova) (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival)
The Future (Ha’Atid) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2023 Other Israel Film Festival/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Je’vida (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Smoking Tigers (Coming of Ager) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Boca Chica (Coming of Ager) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Marinette (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Let Liv (short at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Fish Out of Water (short at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Queens (Malikates) (at 2023 “Contemporary Arab Cinema” at BAM)
The Beasts (As Bestas) (Kudos to co-writer Isabel Peña) (courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Amiko (こちらあみ子) (Coming of Age) (“Next Generation” in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
When Morning Comes, I Feel Empty (朝がくるとむなしくなる) (“Next Generation” in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)