From the East

May 19, 2026 — “Last night, I was in the Kingdom of Shadows,” proclaimed Maxim Gorky, writing about an 1896 projection of films by Auguste and Louis Lumière in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod. “Suddenly a strange flicker passes through the screen and...

Jul 19, 2012 — I want to start with my favorite story about Carole Lombard. She began her career in Hollywood in her teens and, as we know, was very attractive. She found herself hounded by the wolves of Tinseltown but came up with...

May 5, 1998 — Borrowing inspiration from doom-laden French crime movies like Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le samouraï and ancient Chinese chronicles of patriotic assassins, John Woo’s film is a passionate cinematic upheaval.

Sep 30, 2025 — Made with a formal control unparalleled in modern American cinema, the films of this utterly distinctive auteur seek to contain and understand an uncontainable, unknowable world.

May 9, 2025 — Voices come in pairs this week: Jia Zhangke and Zhao Tao, Daney and Rivette, Patrick Bateman and his fans.

Jan 24, 2023 — The German contingent is strong: Margarethe von Trotta, Christian Petzold, Angela Schanelec, Christoph Hochhäusler, and Emily Atef.

May 24, 2022 — While some critics expected more gore, others see a wryly wise reflection on our biological future.

Nov 2, 2021 — As Denis Villeneuve prepares Dune: Part Two, writers delve into the religious and political ideas that inform the new franchise.

Jul 26, 2021 — The main competition boasts new work from Jane Campion, Pedro Almodóvar, Ana Lily Amirpour, and Pablo Larraín.

Oct 30, 2019 — The frontrunners for this year’s British Independent Film Awards include The Personal History of David Copperfield and The Souvenir.