The First Time

May 14, 2018 — A fable, a social critique, and a frontrunner for the top prize.

May 12, 2018 — The five-part essay film is “infused in equal measures by despair and aspiration.”

Nov 8, 2024 — This week offers revivals of overlooked films by Antonioni and Alan Rudolph and conversations with Garrett Bradley and Paulo Branco.

Jan 7, 2018 — The updates to the entry on Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread are still rolling in, and one of the most recent ones links to Sheila O'Malley’s cover article for the new issue of Film Comment. “Unlike other clichéd Great Men...

Dec 15, 2017 — First up, as Kristopher Tapley reports for Variety, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has narrowed the list of contenders for the best foreign language film Oscar to nine: A Fantastic Woman, directed by Sebastián Lelio, ChileIn the...

Jul 25, 2017 — The Toronto International Film Festival has announced a first round of films lined up for its 2017 edition, running from September 7 through 17. In all, fourteen Gala and thirty-three Special Presentations—so far. Here’s the rundown; each of the titles...

In the midsixties, a new generation of directors rose to prominence, both within and outside of the studio system, leading to a renaissance that transformed American filmmaking.

Oct 22, 2009 — Sheila Heti of the Believer had a chance to talk to Agnès Varda during the Toronto International Film Festival—or rather, a chance to be one of a group of reporters whom Varda, at the festival with her film The Beaches...

Oct 2, 2018 — Performances There’s an irreducible reserve about Kristen Stewart, an appearance of not doing much on-screen, that I mistook for lack of talent when I first saw her mumbling into her shirt in the Twilight franchise. Still, playing Bella Swan, chastity...

Jun 17, 2010 — How do you make a comedy about something as serious as the Nazi threat of world domination—particularly as it is happening? Perhaps there’s something in the English character that allows them to see humor in disaster. Some sort of survival...