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 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 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/ begins streaming on ChaiFlicks April 2023)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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/ 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)
Klondike (courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Simone: Woman of the Century (le voyage du siècle)
Scrapper (Coming of Ager) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
My Love Affair with Marriage (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/ theatrical release by 8 Above)
Beautiful, FL and Maxine (shorts in “Disney Launchpad”)
Nightsiren (Svetlonoc) (Fear of Supernatural Division) (Kudos to actress Natália Germáni, and director/co-writer Tereza Nvotová) (courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures)
Documentary
Bella (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release opens in L.A. by BAM Moves, LLC)
Transparent (short) (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Joanna d'Arc (short) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Taste of Mango (courtesy of the filmmaker at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Chalice. Of Sons and Daughters (O tahtai. Savendar tai seiandar) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Serafina (short) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Seven Winters in Tehran (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Big Sister (Koromousso) (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Anonymous Sister (at 2021 DOC NYC Festival/ theatrical release through Long Shot Factory)
Q (at 2023) Tribeca Film Festival)
The Gullspång Miracle (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Break The Game (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Black Birth (short) (in ”The Queen Collective Program” at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Breaking The News (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Invisible Beauty (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by Magnolia Pictures)
Bella! (including Liz Abzug’s protest posts) (PBS’s American Masters)
Reality Winner (aka United States Vs.) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at 2021 DOC NYC Festival/ theatrical release by Codebreaker Films)
Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction
Haute Couture (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Woman on the Roof (Kobieta na dachu) (seen at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Fucking Bornholm (2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Illusion (Iluzja) (2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Maid (Camarera De Piso) (short) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Lost King (courtesy of IFC Films)
Petrol (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
The Face of the Jellyfish (El rostro de la medusa) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Princess (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Silent (HaShtika) (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival)
Öte (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Silver Haze (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Am What I Am (そばかす) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Between Two Worlds (Ouistreham)
Remembering Every Night (Subete no Yoru wo Omoidasu) (courtesy of Kim Stim at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Documentary
In The Company Of Rose (previewed at 2022 DOC NYC Festival/ Greenwich Entertainment theatrical release)
BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
Fiction
Saturn Bowling (Bowling Saturne) (Noir) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release via Dark Star Pictures)
Shreds (Strzępy en) (2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Human Flowers of Flesh (courtesy of Cinema Guild)
The Eight Mountains (Le Otto Montagne) (courtesy of Janus Films Sideshow)
Mountains (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Lesson (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Bleecker Street Media)
Documentary
Call Me Dancer (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Little Richard: I Am Everything (courtesy of Magnolia Pictures/ CNN Films/ HBO Max)
Blue Box (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival/ DOC NYC Film Festival/ theatrical release by CinePhil at Film Forum)
26.2 To Life (at 2022 DOC NYC Film Festival/ theatrical release by San Quentin Marathon)
BEST ROMANCES
America (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ 2023 Israel Film Center Festival/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Three Nights a Week (Trois nuits par semaine) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
L’Innocent (courtesy of Janus Films at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Rye Lane (Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures on Hulu)
Joyland (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
The Hummingbird (Il Colibrì) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
J005311 (Bromance) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
The Legend & Butterfly (レジェンド&バタフライ) (1500’s era) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Wandering (流浪の月) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
My Sailor My Love (courtesy of Music Box Films)
Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Love Life (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Afire (Roter Himmel) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
BEST PANDEMIC RELATIONSHIPS AND LIFE
New Strains (Showcase Screening at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Human Nature (Natureza Humana) (short) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
A Strange Path (Estranho Caminho) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Secret Art of Human Flight (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Plastic (Kudos to music by Ide Kensuke) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSERS
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)
Kompromat (courtesy of Magnet Releasing/Magnolia Pictures)
Cairo Conspiracy (courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films/ at “Contemporary Arab Cinema” at BAM)
The Gravity (La Gravité) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Rhino (Nosorih) “Godfather of Ukraine” (courtesy of XYZ Films in 2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
To The North (Spre nord) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Once Upon A Time In Ukraine (courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Schächten—A Retribution (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Disco Boy (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
BEST NEO-NOIRS
The Night of the 12th (La Nuit du 12) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ Film Movement)
Ashkal: The Tunisian Investigation (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA via Yellow Veil Pictures)
Autobiography (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Delta (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
One Night With Adela (Una noche con Adela) (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Madeleine Collins (preview at 2022 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release by Greenwich Entertainment)
Runners-Up: NEO NOIRS I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Men of Deeds (Oameni de treabă) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival/ Dekanalog theatrical release)
BEST COMING OF AGERS
Close (courtesy of A24 Films)
The Quiet Girl (An Cailín Ciúin) (courtesy of Neon and Super Ltd.)
Burning Land (Adama Boeret) (courtesy of Seventh Art Releasing)
Tori and Lokita (courtesy of Janus Sideshow with 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
War Pony
Arnold Is a Model Student (Arnon pen nakrian tuayang) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Single8 (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
People Who Talk to Plushies Are Kind (ぬいぐるみとしゃべる人はやさい/ Nuigurumi to shaberuhito ha yasasii) (in 2023 “Next Generation” Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Sanka: Nomads of the Mountain (山歌) (in 2023 “Next Generation” Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
The Roof (short in “Disney Launchpad”)
Runners-Up: COMING OF AGERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Story Avenue (Kudos to Luis Guzmán) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
BEST COMING TO TERMS
Mars One (Marte Um) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings/ distributed by Array Releasing)
Nostalgia (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings/ VOD on Breaking Glass Pictures/ at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Rimini (Kudos to the original schlager songs) (courtesy of Big World Pictures)
Safe Place (Sigurno mjesto) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
48 Hours and Civic (shorts at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Everything Went Fine (Tout s'est bien passé) (courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
My Neighbor Adolf (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival/ courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
The Graduates (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Fish Tale (さかなのこ) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
White Building (Bodeng Sar) (at 2022 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA) (KimStim digital/VOD release)
BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC
Mami Wata (at 2023 First Look Festival of Museum of the Moving Image/ theatrical release via Dekanalog)
The Goat and Her Three Kids (Capra cu trei iezi) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
The Cow Who Sang A Song Into The Future (La Vaca Que Cantó Una Canción Hacia El Futuro) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Drought (Siccità) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Best Wishes To All (みなに幸あれ) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
From the End of the World (Sekai no owari kara/世界の終わりから) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPSE I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Huesera aka The Bone Woman (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by XYZ Films)
Thaw (short at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Three Sisters of Tenmasou Inn (天間荘の三姉妹) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries)
Moving Together (Kudos to the flamenco of Olivia Chacon and Isai Chacon, trumpet of Thaddeus Ford, and Boss Street Brass Band) (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Site-specific choreography shorts: Reminiscences (Réminiscences); I was waiting for the echo of a better day; and Mother Melancholia (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
I Thought the World of You (short) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Personality Crisis: One Night Only (Showtime)
Margins (Margini) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Let The Canary Sing (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Anthem (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ Hulu)
Taylor Mac’s 24 Decade History of Popular Music (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ HBO)
All Up in the Biz (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ Showtime)
The Elephant 6 Recording Co. (preview at 2022 DOC NYC Festival/ theatrical release via Greenwich Entertainment)
Roots of Fire (courtesy of First Run Features)
Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
This is National Wake (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum)
Top Nine: A Story of the B-Boy Crew (ДЕВЯТЬ ЛУЧШИХ. ИСТОРИЯ КОМАНДЫ Top Nine) (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Hans van Manen— Just Dance the Steps (at 2023 Dance on Camera Festival of Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center)
Uncharted (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lost Soulz (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
North Circular (courtesy of Madhouse Films)
Elis & Tom - It just had to be you (só tinha de ser com você) (courtesy of Outsider Pictures)
BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
Shirey Mara, The Waltz, and My Parent, Neal (shorts) (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Lamya’s Poem (courtesy of Freestyle Digital Media)
iMordecai
(courtesy of Femor Productions)
Deep Sea (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ Fortissimo Films theatrical release)
Nimona (Netflix)
Runners-Up: BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Elemental (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
March (Marzec) ’68 (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Shttl (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
The Forger (Der Passfälscher) (courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Forever Young (Les Amandiers) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
For My Country (Pour la France) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Les/Harkis (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Back Then (Zupa Nic) (2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
All Our Fears (Wszystkie nasze starchy) (Bio-Pic) (Kudos to Dawid Ogrodnik) (2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Those Who Remained (Akik maradtak) (at 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
The Strangeness (Las Stranezza) and Lord Of The Ants (Il signore delle Formiche) (preview at 2023 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
June Zero (at 2023 Israel Film Center Festival/ courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
Father of the Milky Way Railroad (銀河鉄道の父/ Ginga Tetsudo no Chichi) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Winny (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
Simone: Woman of the Century (le voyage du siècle)
BEST OF THE CINEMA OF THE ABSURD:
The Origin of Evil (L'Origine du mal) (at 2023 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster (Sanki Her Sey Biraz Felaket) and Have You Seen This Woman? (Da Li Ste Videli Ovu Ženu?) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Proof of Concept (short at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Mondays: See you “this” week! (このタイムループ、上司に気づかせないと終わらない) (in 2023 Japan Cuts: Festival of New Japanese Film at Japan Society)
The American (Amerikatski) (courtesy of Variance Films)
BEST DOCUMENTARY RE-ENACTMENTS/DOCU-DRAMA HYBRIDS
Exodus 91 (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum)
It’s What Each Person Needs (short) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
You Are Ceaușescu to Me (Pentru mine tu ești Ceaușescu) (in 2023 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema Festival)
Maputo Nakuzandza (Maputo [Mozambique], I Love You) with Scarce (Escasso) (mockumentary short) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Dry Ground Burning (Mato seco em chamas) (at BAM courtesy of Grasshopper Films)
Playland (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES Better Than Their Movies:
Laura Linney, Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith, and Agnes O'Casey in The Miracle Club (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
I Am Not (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum)
Art Talent Show (Zkouška umění) (courtesy of Film Movement at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The River Is Not A Border (Mayo wonaa keerol/Le fleuve ne’st pas une frontière) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Silent Love (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Away; Growing Up Absurd; Light Signal (shorts at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Three Women (Drei Frauen) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Sam Now (preview at 2022 DOC NYC Film Festival/ PBS Independent Lens)
The Etilaat Roz (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Razing Liberty Square (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Theatre of Violence (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Richland (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Between The Rains (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Exposing Parchman (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ A&E)
Lakota Nation vs. United States (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by IFC Films)
ElDorado: Everything The Nazis Hate (Eldorado - Alles, was die Nazis hassen) (Netflix)
20 Days In Mariupol (courtesy of PBS Distribution/Frontline/AP)
Fresh Water (short) (New York Times Op Doc)
Poisoned: The Dirty Truth About Your Food (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ Netflix)
BS High (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ HBO Max)
The League (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
When Spring Came To Bucha (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Carpet Cowboys (courtesy of Memory)
BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
Krzysztof Wodiczko: The Art of Un-War (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and The Jewish Museum)
The First Step (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Art of Silence (L’art du silence) (short version) (courtesy of Seventh Art Releasing)
Stan Lee (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of Disney+)
We Dare To Dream (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Your Fat Friend (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
Robert Irwin: A Desert Of Pure Feeling (at 2022 DOC NYC Film Festival/ theatrical release via Greenwich Entertainment)
BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINEPHILES:
Filmmakers For The Prosecution (aka The Lost Film of Nuremberg) (preview at 2022 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ Kino Lorber release) (supplements Nuremberg with my additional notes.)
I Like It Here (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
The Hamlet Syndrome (Syndrom Hamleta) (seen at 2022 DOC NYC Film Festival/ 2023 Kino Polska at BAM)
Jill, Uncredited (short) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival/ HBO)
EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws):
Yamna's Blessing (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Jews of the Wild West (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Who Cares About DC? The Case for Making DC the 51st State (at 2023 Workers Unite Film Festival)
The Narrow Bridge (at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum/ courtesy of Menemsha Films)
Herbaria (at 2022 Camden International Film Festival of Points North Institute/ at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Robb-ed (courtesy of director)
Letter to the Editor (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival/ 2023 DOC NYC selects)
A Common Sequence and Agrilogistics (short) (in “Science on Screen” at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Coconut Head Generation (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Center, Ring, Mall (short) (at 2023 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Slava Ukraini (courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
We Are Guardians (previewed in 2023 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Transition (at 2023 Tribeca Film Festival)
BEST REVIVALS/RESTORATIONS IN NEW PRINTS especially of films I hadn’t seen before
Joseph Green and Leon Trystand’s A Letter to Mother (A Brivele Der Mamen) (1939) (World Premiere of 35mm film restoration by the National Center for Jewish Film at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Shaul and Yitzhak Goskind’s Jewish Life In Lwow (1939) (short) (restoration by the National Center for Jewish Film at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
David Appleby, Allison Graham, and Steven John Ross’s At The River I Stand (1993) and Michael Honey and Errol Webber’s Love & Solidarity: Rev. James Lawson & Nonviolence in the Search for Workers’ Rights (short) (2016) (at 2023 Workers Unite Film Festival)
Oren Rudavsky and Menachem Daum’s A Life Apart: Hasidism in America (1997) (World Premiere of new 4K restoration celebrating 25th anniversary of the film at 2023 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Pamela Sporn’s Detroit 48202: Conversations Along A Postal Route (2018); Victorious DeCosta’s Digging for Weldon Irvine (2019); Alexander Johnston’s Dark Cell Harlem Farm (2022, short); Joel Fendelman’s Fireburn: The Documentary (2021, short); and, Sikivu Hutchinson’s Grinning Skull (2018, short) (“In Honor of Black History Month” 2023 at Workers Unite Film Festival)
Itzik Lerner’s God’s Messengers (Shlechei Ha El) (2015) and Charles Enderlin’s In the Name of the Temple (2014) (courtesy of Seventh Art Releasing)
Mohanad Yaqubi’s R 21 aka Restoring Solidarity (of 20 1964 – 1989 shorts) (at 2023 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Thomas Arslan’s Bright Nights (Helle Nächte) (2017); Leonie Krippendorf’s Cocoon (Kokon) (2020); Ilker Ҫatak’s I Was, I Am, I Will Be (Es Gilt Das Gesprochene Wort) (2019); Joya Thome’s Queen of (Konigin Von) Niendorf (2017); Tom Sommerlatte’s Summers Downstairs (Im Sommer wohnt er unten) (2015); Johannes Maria Schmitt’s Reconstruction (Neubau) (2021); Sven Taddicken’s The Most Beautiful Couple (Das Schönste Paar) (2018) (in German Film Office’s Sommerfilme)
Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road (2013) on Amazon Prime
Yui Kiyohara’s Our House (Watashitachi no ie) (2017) (from 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Donato Rotunno’s I Am Fine (Io Sto Bene) (2020) (courtesy of IndiePix Films)
George Sherman’s Sword in the Desert (1949) on TCM
Wolfgang Ettlich’s A German Journey: A Road Movie Between Yesterday and Today (Deutschlandreise: Ein Roadmovie zwischen Gestern und Heute) (2020) in ”Genrekino” of Goethe-Institut
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/ via Cohen Media in theaters)
A Hero (Ghahreman) (preview courtesy of Amazon)
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)
The Legionnaire (Il legionario) (preview at 2022 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Visitor (El Visitante) (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival)
EO (courtesy of Janus Films)
No Bears (Khers Nist)
The Banshees Of Inisherin (courtesy of Searchlight Pictures)
Broker (courtesy of Neon)
Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
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)
Paraclete (Paraclito), Desert Lights (Luces del desierto) and Fifth of June (Cinco de Junio) in “Latinx Shorts: Human Condition (Condicion Humana)” (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival)
Peace in the Valley (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival)
A Matter Of Trust (Ingen Kender Dagen) (at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Whale (courtesy of A24 Films)
The Fabelmans (courtesy of Universal)
BEST FEMALE POV
Coverage and Updates of Nora Ephron Award at 2022 Tribeca Film Festival
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