Because I Love You

Aug 17, 2010 — In his defiantly maverick directing career, which yielded only ten features in thirty-five years, Maurice Pialat (1925–2003) was a stimulant and irritant, agitating the cozy pool of French cinema. His first effort, the lyrically bitter short essay film L’amour existe...

Apr 27, 2009 — Stephen Frears’s gangland drama subverts its genre by removing its villains to an alternate mythic universe, that of the western, as its protagonists traverse the roads that snake through Spain’s arid hills and plains.

Nov 23, 2008 — The possession of a real voice is always a marvel, an almost religious thing.

Jul 24, 2006 — Powell and Pressberger’s poignant work captures the fulfillment and absolute sameness of the everyday and the sacred.

Sep 29, 2003 — In May 1981, in the midst of shooting Lola, Rainer Werner Fassbinder sketched out his next film project: Sybille Schmitz. On the cover, he had written, “Story for a Feature Film*.” The asterisk pointed to this footnote: “It is possible...

Nov 14, 1988 — It is sometimes as important to be in touch with the truths of your own time as it is to be in touch with its metaphors. 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the most influential films ever made, constructed a...

Dec 1, 2023 — The best-of-2023 listing begins, plus: Abel Gance, Elisabeth Subrin, Pedro Costa, and Park Chan-wook.

Sep 2, 2022 — Spend the holiday weekend with Hugo Fregonese, Serge Daney, Bertolt Brecht, Michael Schultz, and Todd Haynes.

Apr 30, 2021 — The British New Wave, Eric Rohmer, and the late Monte Hellman figure among this week’s highlights. Also, it turns out there’s still a lot to say about Nomadland.

Feb 18, 2019 — The Swiss actor will be remembered for a range of characters spanning from heaven to hell.