Lady

Pico Iyer is the author of fifteen books, including The Lady and the Monk, about his first year in Japan, and twinned books, Autumn Light and A Beginner’s Guide to Japan, about his thirty-first.

Dec 8, 2023 — Roy Waller (Nicolas Cage), the jittery protagonist of Ridley Scott’s 2003 crime comedy Matchstick Men, doesn’t like to think of himself as a common crook. “I’m a con artist,” he insists, and—in a frenzy of self-justification—further explains: “They give me...

Nov 16, 2017 — Preston Sturges’s screwball masterpiece, about a glamorous con artist who fleeces a naïve millionaire, screens in Baltimore this week.

Feb 9, 2017 — Repertory PicksStarting tomorrow, New York’s Japan Society will host a weekend-long celebration of actor Meiko Kaji, whose vigorous performances as outlaw women made her one of Japan’s biggest stars in the sixties and seventies. On Saturday, you can see her...

Nov 11, 2016 — This week’s Friday Night Double Feature on the Criterion Channel demonstrates how much suspense a superb director can wring from an intriguing premise without resorting to yelling “boo!” or splashing gore.

Aug 13, 2016 — On the occasion of what would have been the Master of Suspense’s 117th birthday, we’re looking back on a selection of essays and videos that explore his inexhaustible oeuvre.

Nov 12, 2015 — The Writers Guild of America has just assembled a list of the “101 Funniest Screenplays” of all time, which pays tribute to comedy classics ranging from Buster Keaton's The General to James L. Brooks’s Broadcast News.

Oct 9, 2012 — British wartime audiences ate up these rule-breaking costume pictures—entertainments for a populace seeking escapism.

Aug 11, 2026 — Known for her work with Ozu, Mizoguchi, and Kurosawa, Kagawa takes the spotlight in a series that opens with Naruse’s Little Peach.

Jun 22, 2026 — A quiet highlight of last fall’s festival season, Milagros Mumenthaler’s third feature tours theaters through July.