Mandel Maven's Nest Reel Life: Flick 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.
TV Recommendations

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.
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 2022 (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 Good Boss (El buen patrón) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
A Hero (Ghahreman) (preview courtesy of Amazon)
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)
Reflection (Vidblysk) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Hit The Road (Jaddeh Khaki) (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
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)
Delicious (Délicieux) (Samuel Goldwyn Films release)
Întregalde (courtesy of Film Forum and Grasshopper Film)
Once Upon A Time In Calcutta (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
The Wedding Day (Wesele) (Kudos to the editing) (at 2022 Toronto Jewish Film Festival/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
BEST FEMALE POV
Fiction
The Shepherdess and The Seven Songs (Kudos to music and cinematography) (at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ Grasshopper release)
Shapeless (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Rose (kudos to writer/director/composer/singer Aurélie Saada and star Françoise Fabian) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ Cohen Media Group release)
Here Before (Kudos to writer/director Stacey Gregg, DP Chloë Thomson, and star Andrea Riseborough) (Saban Films release)
Affairs of the Art (short) (In “Best of Annecy 2021: Spotlight on Women Directors” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française/ The New Yorker ”Screening Room”)
How to Be at Home (short) (In “Best of Annecy 2021: Spotlight on Women Directors” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française/ in National Film Board’s The Curve series)
The World Within (Le Monde en soi) (In “New French Shorts” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Self Scratch (Je me Gratte) (In “New French Shorts” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Boobs (Lolos) (In “New French Shorts” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
The Crossing (La Traversée) (at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Princesse Dragon (at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Soumaya (courtesy of IndiePix Films)
We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (Coming of Age) (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA) (theatrical/VOD release by Utopia, then HBO Max)
Queen of Glory (Kudos to Nana Mensah) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ Film Movement theatrical release)
Secret Name (La Place d'une autre) (preview at 2022 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Zero Fucks Given (Rien à foutre) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Limits of Vision (animated short) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Beans (Coming of Age) (at 2022 DC Environmental Film Festival)
Turning Red (Kudos to director/co-writer Domee Shi and female production team leaders) (animation) (Disney+)
Poppy (Kudos to Libby Hunsdale) (Coming of Age) (at 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Dos Estaciones (Kudos to Teresa Sánchez and Cinematographer Gerardo Guerra) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Rehana (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA) (courtesy of Grasshopper Films)
Happening (L’événement) (Kudos to Anamaria Vartolomei) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of IFC Films)
You Resemble Me (Tu Me Ressembles) (brief review at FF2 Media) (Kudos to director Dina Amer and ensemble) (previewed in 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Nico (streamed through German Film Office)
Documentary
The Conductor (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Raymonde El Bidaouia (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Untitled (Tania Project) (short) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
It Rains (Llueve) (short) (In “Best of Annecy 2021: Spotlight on Women Directors” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Liberated! (Libres!) (docu-shorts series) (at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Penelope My Love (Pénélope mon amour) (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Petite Maman (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ Neon)
My Two Voices (Mis dos Voces) (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Children of the Mist (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Midwives (brief review at FF2 Media) (previewed in 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The New Greatness Case (brief review at FF2 Media) (previewed in 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Up To G-Cup (previewed in 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction
Mazel Tov (short) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Anaïs In Love (Les amours d'Anaïs) (at 2022 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
What Resonates in Silence (Ce qui résonne dans le silence) (short) (In “Best of Annecy 2021: Spotlight on Women Directors” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Deadly Cuts (preview courtesy of Level 33 Entertainment)
Murina (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Husek (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Beatrix (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Other Tom (El Otro Tom) (at 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Robe of Gems (Manto De Gemas) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA) (courtesy of Visit Films)
Haute Couture (at 2022 Toronto Jewish Film Festival/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Documentary
Alone Together (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
AA (short) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Cow (at 2021 DOC NYC Festival/ IFC Films release)
Above Water (Marcher Sur L'eau) (at 2022 DC Environmental Film Festival)
Clarissa’s Battle: Growth of A Movement (previewed in 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
Fiction
Warsha (short) (at Sundance Film Festival)
Documentary
A Cops and Robbers Story (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival/ Greenwich Entertainment release)
We Were the Others (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Bunker (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight/ at Science On Screen of Museum of the Moving Image)
What We Leave Behind (Lo que dejamos atrás) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
BEST PANDEMIC ROMANCES AND LIFE
The End of Love (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
7 Days (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
BEST ROMANCES
Compartment No 6 (Hytti nro 6) (Sony Classics release)
Air Doll (Kûki Ningyô) (2009) (Dekanalog release)
Great Freedom (Grosse Freiheit) (courtesy of MUBI)
The/L’Horizon (preview at 2022 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
The White Fortress (Tabija) (Courtesy of Game Theory Films)
Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Sin La Habana (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
The Sky Is Everywhere (Apple TV+)
BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSE
Catch The Fair One (Kudos to Kali Reis) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release via IFC Films)
Free Country (Freies Land) (re-make of Marshland (La isla mínima)) (streamed through German Film Office)
The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic (Sokea Mies Joka El Halunnut Nähdä Titanicia) (Kudos to Petri Poikolainen) (at 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Onoda - 10,000 Nights in the Jungle (Kudos to Yûya Endô and Kanji Tsuda) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Plan A (courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Ghosts Of The Ozarks (XYZ Films release)
BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC
Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC I Recommend Despite My Gripes
The Innocents (De Uskyldige) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of IFC Films)
BEST NEO-NOIRS
Madeleine Collins (preview at 2022 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Pilgrims (Piligrimai) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA
Runners-Up: NEO NOIRS I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Sundown (Bleecker Street release)
BEST COMING OF AGERS
The Whaler Boy (Kitoboy) (Film Movement release)
The Zone (Faritra) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Scenes From The Glittering World (at 2022 DC Environmental Film Festival)
The Cathedral (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA) (courtesy of Visit Films)
BEST COMING TO TERMS
Phantom of the Open (courtesy of Sony Classics)
Africa (courtesy of Strand Releasing)
White Building (Bodeng Sar) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA) (courtesy of KimStim)
BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries):
Firestarter - The Story of Bangarra (at Dance on Camera Festival of
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
The Moment Remains (An Kalir) (at Dance on Camera Festival of
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Eileen (short) (at Dance on Camera Festival of
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
The Nangiarkoothu Artist (short) (at Dance on Camera Festival of
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Junior (short) (in “Remaking The World” at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Annea Lockwood: A Film About Listening (short) (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Song Searcher: The Times and Toils of Moyshe Beregovsky
Take Me To The River New Orleans (courtesy of 360) and Jazz Fest : A New Orleans Story (courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Cyrano (kudos to Peter Dinklage and production design)
A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Beregovsky #136 (short) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Creation Stories (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ RLJE Films release)
Mahålang: A Love Letter to Guam (short) (at Dance on Camera Festival of
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
You Who Never Arrived (short) (at Dance on Camera Festival of
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Firebird Rising (short) (at Dance on Camera Festival of
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Places, Please (short) (at Dance on Camera Festival of
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
A Body in Fukushima (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Other, Like Me: The Oral History of COUM Transmissions and Throbbing Gristle (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Imperfect (at 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Bernie Krause, A Life with The Great Animal Orchestra (at CinéSalon for the Climate of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Sheryl (Showtime)
BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
A Kaddish for Selim (short) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Home (short) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
The Violin Upstairs (short) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Belle (GKids release)
My Neighbors' Neighbors (Les voisins de mes voisins sont mes voisins) (at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
The Bears' Famous Invasion of Sicily (La Fameuse invasion de ours en Sicile) (at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Maalbeek (In “New French Shorts” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
The Mysteries of Paris (Les Mystères de Paris) (2020) (40-shorts serial) (Kudos to narration à la serial novelist Eugène Sue) (at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Petit Vampire (Little Vampire) (at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française/ on Amazon)
Runners-Up: Animation I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Me To Play (Use of Animation - Coming to Terms) (at 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
Neighbours (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
A New Old Play (Jiao Ma Tang Hui) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ courtesy of Icarus/dGenerate Films)
BEST FOR THE CINEMATOGRAPHY/STYLE/SOUND or PRODUCTION DESIGN:
Ahed's Knee (Ha'berech) (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ seen at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
Last and First Men (Metrograph Pictures release)
BEST OF THE CINEMA OF THE ABSURD:
Brighton 4th (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Petrov’s Flu (Petrovy v grippe) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Feathers (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ courtesy of Grasshopper Film)
Semiotic Plastic (short) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image
BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES better than their movies:
Manny Perez in La Soga: Salvation (Screen Media release)
Birthe Neumann in The Pact (Pagten) (Juno Films release)
BEST DOCUMENTARY RE-ENACTMENTS/DOCU-DRAMA HYBRIDS
107 Mothers (Cenzorka) (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Donbass (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ Film Movement theatrical and digital release)
Day After…(Anyadin) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Camouflage (Camuflaje) (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Plains (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
The City and the City (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Blue Island (憂鬱之島) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ courtesy of Icarus Films The dGenerate Films Collection)
Runners-Up: Documentary Re-Enactments/Docu-Drama Hybrids I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Afterwater (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
The Jump (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival/ Topic release)
We Need to Talk About Cosby (docu-series on Showtime)
The Automat (at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
I Had a Dream (Bir Rüya Gördüm) (streamed in 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
The Healer Stones of Kapaemahu (streamed in 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Spirit to Soar (Mashkawi-Manidoo Bimaadiziwin) (streamed in 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Where Are We Headed (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
1970 (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Mariner of the Mountains (Marinheiro das motanhas) (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Myanmar Diaries (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
The Earth Is Blue As An Orange (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight/ Film Movement theatrical and digital release)
Babi Yar. Context (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Mr. Landsbergis (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Balcony Movie (Film Balkonowy) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Night (short) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Attention All Passengers (Cestujúcim do pozornosti) and In Shallow Water (V plytkej vode) (shorts) in “Two by Marek Moučka” (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Pushed Up the Mountain (at 2022 DC Environmental Film Festival)
Fire of Love (at 2022 DC Environmental Film Festival and at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)Singing In The Wilderness (旷野歌声) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Dangerous (Delikado) (previewed in 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
No Straight Lines: The Rise Of Queer Comics (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ Compadre Media Group release)
Shtetlers (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ Film Movement release)
So Late So Soon (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Chuj Boys of Summer (short) (streamed in “Survivance” at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
First Time Home (short) (streamed in “Survivance” at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
The Still Side (El Lado quieto) (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
The United States of America (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
A Thousand Fires (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Wild Romania (România Sălbatică) (at 2022 DC Environmental Film Festival)
The Crab Season (La Saison des Tourteaux) (at 2022 DC Environmental Film Festival)
Any Given Day (at 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
No U-Turn (previewed in 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
Coral Ghosts (at 2022 DC Environmental Film Festival)
EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws):
Expedition Content (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival/ Cinema Guild theatrical release)
Who We Are: A Chronicle Of Racism In America (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival/ at 2022 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival/ seen courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Breaking Bread (Kudos to the music) (My commentary on the Jewish woman participant) (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival/ Cohen Media Group release)
Xueta Island (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum and shown at 2022 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival/ Menemsha Films release)
Futura (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ Grasshopper Film release)
Ex Aequo! (docu-series) (shorts at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
The Return (Tian) (short) (streamed in “Survivance” at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Memoryland (Miền ký ức) (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Constant (short) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Listen to the Beat of Our Images (Écoutez le battement de nos images) (short) (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Only I Can Hear (at 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Here. Is. Better. (at 2022 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Polar Bear (DisneyNature on Disney+)
Rebellion (previewed in 2022 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINEPHILES:
Claydream (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ Oscilloscope release)
The Lost Film of Nuremberg (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum) (supplements Nuremberg (My additional notes.)
From Where They Stood (À pas aveugles) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Omar Amiralay: Sorrow, Time, Silence. (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Nazarbazi (short) (streamed at MoMA’s 2022 Documentary Fortnight)
Jane by/par Charlotte (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ Utopia)
A Man and A Camera (at 2022 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Veteran (El Veterano) (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Train Again (short) (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Footnote (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Fiddler’s Journey To The Big Screen (courtesy of Zeitgeist Kino Lorber)
BEST REVIVALS/RESTORATIONS IN NEW PRINTS especially of films I hadn’t seen before
Steve Brand’s Kaddish (1984/2022 restoration in 4K) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
James Blue’s The Olive Trees Of Justice (Les oliviers de la justice) (1962/2020 restoration in 4K) (courtesy of Kino Lorber release)
”Spotlight on Florence Miailhe” at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française: Shorts: Hammam (1991); Les oiseaux blancs, les oiseaux noirs (2003); Meanders (Méandres) (2013); Urban Tale (Conte de quartier) (2015); 25, Passage des oiseaux (2016); and, A Summer Night Rendez-vous (Au premier dimanche d'août) (2020)
Laurène Braibant’s The Ogre (L'ogre) (2017) and Bastien Dubois’s Madagascar, a Journey Diary (Madagascar, carnet de voyage) (2012) in “Pictanovo Presents” especially, among eight 2009 – 2021 shorts at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française
The NEF Animation International Residency at the Royal Abbey of “Fontevraud Presents” six 2019 – 2020 shorts at 2022 Animation First Festival of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Kristóf Deák’s Captives (Foglyok) (2019) (streamed via Liszt Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center, New York)
Mariona Lloreta’s The Moon Never Dies (A lua nunca more ) (2018, short) (in “Centering Women’s Voice” at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Arun Wolf’s The Cloth of the Mother Goddess (2015, short) and The Making of Creation (2015, short (in “Remaking The World” at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Shawara Maxakali and Charles Bicalho’s Mãtãnãg, a Encantada (2019, animated short) (in “Remaking The World” at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Maria Lino’s Ancestral Rhythms (Ritmos Ancestrales) (2014, short) (in “Remaking The World” at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Aleksei Vakhrushev’s The Book of the Sea (Книга моря) (2018) (at 2022 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Daniel Gamburg and Benjamin Goldman’s Eight Nights (2020, New Yorker short)
Vitaly Mansky’s Close Relations (2016) (streaming in ”Stand With Ukraine Film Series” of Camden International Film Festival)
Sergey Loznitsa’s Maidan (2014) (streaming in ”Stand With Ukraine Film Series” of Camden International Film Festival)
Helena Maksyom and Adrian Pirvu’s Everything Will Not Be Fine (2020) (streaming in ”Stand With Ukraine Film Series” of Camden International Film Festival)
Alina Gorlova’s No Obvious Signs (2018) and This Rain Will Never Stop (2020) (streaming in ”Stand With Ukraine Film Series” of Camden International Film Festival)
Vadym Ilkov’s My Father Is My Mother's Brother (2018) (streaming in ”Stand With Ukraine Film Series” of Camden International Film Festival)
Oleksandr Techynskyi, Aleksey Solodunov, and Dmitry Stoykov’s All Things Ablaze (2014) (streaming in ”Stand With Ukraine Film Series” of Camden International Film Festival)
“A War Begins: The WW2 Documentaries of Herbert Kline”: Crisis: A Film of the Nazi Way (1939) and Lights Out In Europe (1940) (streamed from Museum of Modern Art collection)
Roman Bondarchuk’s Ukrainian Sheriffs (2015) (streamed from Taskovski Films to Support Ukrainian Filmmakers)
István Szabó’s Age of Illusions (Álmodozások kora) (1965/restored 2018) in “The 60s in Hungarian New Wave Cinema” (streamed via Liszt Institute - Hungarian Cultural Center, New York)
Alice Diop’s On Call (La Permanence) (2016) and Towards Tenderness (Vers la tendresse) (short) (2016) (at 2022 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Luc Jacquet’s Ice and the Sky (La Glace et le ciel) (2014) (at CinéSalon for the Climate of French Institute/Alliance Française)
Samy Szlingerbaum’s Brussels Transit (Bruxelles-transit) (1980/restored 1991 by Cinematek – Royal Film Archive of Belgium)
MY BEST FILMS of 2021 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
Night of the Kings (La nuit des rois) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Minari
200 Meters (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings/ in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Never Gonna Snow Again (Sniegu juz nigdy nie bedzie) (Kino Lorber)
Atlantis (Kudos to writer/director/cinematographer Valentyn Vasyanovych) (at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ preview courtesy of Grasshopper Film)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Kudos to Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield) (HBO Max)
Limbo (preview courtesy of Focus Features)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Kudos to Welket Bungué) (preview courtesy of Kino Lorber)
High Ground (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Luzzo (streamed at 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ Kino Lorber release)
There Is No Evil (Sheytan vojud nadarad) (seen courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Charlatan (Šarlatán) (seen courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Stories from the Chestnut Woods (Zgodbe Iz Kostanjevih Gozdov) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Killing Of Kenneth Chamberlain (Kudos to Frankie Faison) (HBO)
Let It Be Morning (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
A Son (Un Fils/Bik Eneich) (preview courtesy of ArtMattan Films)
Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Broken Keys (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
The White Tiger (Netflix)
The Mauritanian (preview courtesy of STX Entertainment)
The Father (preview courtesy of Sony Classics)
The Sign Painter (Pilsēta pie upes) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Final Set (Cinquième set) (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Big Hit (Un Triomphe) (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Looking For A Lady With Fangs and A Moustache (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release Abramorama)
About Endlessness (Om det oändliga) (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Mass (seen courtesy of Bleecker Street)
BEST FEMALE POV
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2021 New York Film Festival
Fiction
Beginning (Dasatskisi) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Nomadland (Kudos to Frances McDormand and cinematography by Joshua James Richards) (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Herself (Kudos to star/co-writer Clare Dunne) (Amazon)
Buladó (Coming of Age Division) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares) (seen courtesy of Kino Lorber at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Two of Us (Deux) (Kudos to Barbara Sukowa) (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Skater Girl (Netflix)
My Little Sister (Schwesterlein) (Kudos to Nina Hoss) (preview courtesy of Film Movement
The Mad Women's Ball (Le bal des folles) (Kudos to writer/director/star Mélanie Laurent) (Amazon)
And Tomorrow The Entire World (Und morgen die ganze Welt) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Tove (streamed with 2021 Nordic Women in Film/
Juno Films)
Land (Kudos to star/director Robin Wright, cinematographer Bobby Bukowski, and score) (preview courtesy of Focus Features)
Test Pattern (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Hope (Håp) (Kudos to Andrea Bræin Hovig) (preview courtesy of KimStim)
My Zoe (Kudos to writer/director/star Julie Delpy) (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment and Museum of Moving Image)
And Breathe Normally (Andið eðlilega) (Netflix) (with 2021 Nordic Women in Film)
Kuessipan ("to you" in the Innu language) (seen at 2020 Athena Film Festival /streamed in virtual cinema)
Spring Blossom (Seize printemps) (Kudos to writer/director/star Suzanne Lindon) (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center courtesy of KimStim Films)
My Wonderful Wanda (Wanda, mein Wunder) (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ seen courtesy of Zeitgeist Films)
The Perfect Candidate (courtesy of Music Box Films)
Bipolar (只是一次偶然的旅行) (Kudos to the editing) (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Gull (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler Das Rosa Kaninchen Stahl) (Coming of Age) (at 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Gipsy Queen (Kudos to Alina Seban) (streamed courtesy of Goethe Institute Pop-Up Houston/KINO! Germany NOW! 2021 Discover New Talent)
The Justice of Bunny King (Kudos to Essie Davis) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Souad (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Novice (Kudos to Isabelle Fuhrman) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ IFC Films)
Perfume De Gardenias (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Ballad of a White Cow (Kudos to Maryam Moghaddam) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Our Own (Les Nôtres) (courtesy of Oscilloscope Films)
Holler (courtesy of IFC Films)
Mama Weed (La Daronne) (Caper Division) (preview courtesy of Music Box Films)
Cinema Sabaya (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival/ at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Passing (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ Netflix)
Lost Daughter (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ Netflix)
Spencer (courtesy of Neon)
Prayers for the Stolen (Noche de Fuego) (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ Netflix)
Hive (Zgjoi) (courtesy of Zeitgeist Films)
Freeland (Kudos to Krisha Fairchild) (courtesy of Dark Star Pictures)
Giraffe (seen through German Film Office/ at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Margrete: Queen Of The North (Den Første) (courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Pictures)
Documentary
A Woman's Work: The NFL's Cheerleader Problem (PBS’s Independent Lens) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Her Socialist Smile (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (seen courtesy of director John Gianvito and Grasshopper Film)
Purple Sea (Das Purpurmeer) (streamed in German Film Office/ Anthology Film Archives 2021German Documentary Showcase)
A Portrait in Red (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Ecstasy (Êxtase) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)