Reviews

A Jewish family's hidden shame

Claude Miller's wrenching "A Secret" distills the French nation's Nazi-era guilt into one family's incredible-but-true wartime story.

By Andrew O'Hehir September 5, 2008

Indie film's new, globalized realism

Do low-budget American films like "The Pool" (made in Hindi) and "August Evening" (made in Spanish) signal a new wave of cultural exploration, or just hipster tourism?

By Andrew O'Hehir September 4, 2008

I married a Nazi -- the comedy

Czech master Jirí Menzel's black comedy about a lovable innocent turned Nazi collaborator is a work of nettlesome genius. Will anybody notice?

By Andrew O'Hehir August 29, 2008

The ultimate Japanese Shakespeare spaghetti western!

Takashi Miike's "Sukiyaki Western Django" offers a spectacular mashup of Kurosawa, Sergio Leone, Tarantino and the Bard -- and it's weirder than that sounds.

By Andrew O'Hehir August 28, 2008

Before Bergman and "The Crucible"

Carl Dreyer's erotic witch-hunt drama "Day of Wrath," made in Nazi-occupied Denmark, resurfaces with shattering clarity after a digital restoration.

By Andrew O'Hehir August 26, 2008

One devastating home movie

As the floodwaters rose in New Orleans, "street hustler" Kim Roberts turned on her camera -- and captured a story more thrilling than any Hollywood blockbuster.

By Andrew O'Hehir August 21, 2008

Portrait of the artist as a fallen angel

Indie hero Azazel Jacobs talks about casting his own parents -- and their eccentric, amazing New York apartment -- in his entrancing breakthrough film "Momma's Man."

By Andrew O'Hehir August 20, 2008

A French master's farewell to love

Eric Rohmer's pastoral Renaissance fantasy, "The Romance of Astrea and Celadon," couldn't be a weirder, or lovelier, way to say goodbye.

By Andrew O'Hehir August 15, 2008

Scarlett and Penélope do Barcelona

Can a sapphic love scene between Scarlett Johansson and Penélope Cruz make Woody Allen seem relevant again?

By Andrew O'Hehir August 15, 2008

An actress cut in two

French sex symbol Ludivine Sagnier on passion, perversion and her new film "A Girl Cut in Two." (Please, don't call it a porn movie.)

By Andrew O'Hehir August 14, 2008

Is torture an Olympic event?

After 33 years of abuse and imprisonment, one Tibetan monk says no to the Beijing Olympics -- and to the Dalai Lama's accommodation with tyranny.

By Andrew O'Hehir August 11, 2008

"Elegy" for a topless bombshell

Penélope Cruz gets art-history naked and Ben Kingsley is diamond-brilliant in an overly pretty film adaptation of Philip Roth's "Dying Animal."

By Andrew O'Hehir August 8, 2008

The art world's Pepsi Generation

"Beautiful Losers" chronicles the art rebels of the '90s, fueled by punk, skateboarding, graffiti and trash culture. Now brought to you by Nike!

By Andrew O'Hehir August 7, 2008

Jesus died for somebody's sins ... but not hers

A dazzling, dizzying documentary captures rock pioneer Patti Smith during her comeback years, surrounded by death and life.

By Andrew O'Hehir August 6, 2008

It all started with the Germs

A loving, low-budget film tries to revive the undead spirit of Darby Crash and L.A.'s most anarchic punk pioneers. But some things aren't easy to resurrect.

By Andrew O'Hehir August 5, 2008

The stolen election of 2004: Chapter 53

"Stealing America" airs out the same old questions (and conspiracy theories) about the murky Bush-Kerry election. But it avoids the really scary stuff.

By Andrew O'Hehir August 1, 2008

Up all night with a psycho blonde

Screwed-up strangers hook up for a last-minute New Year's date in the profane and delightful "In Search of a Midnight Kiss."

By Andrew O'Hehir July 31, 2008

Double-wide dreams

Courtney Hunt on her Sundance-acclaimed, slo-mo rural thriller "Frozen River" and making an indie film even action-movie fans can love (interview/podcast).

By Andrew O'Hehir July 30, 2008

Walking on air

Twin towers wire-walker Philippe Petit and "Man on Wire" director James Marsh talk about taking risks and making magic in troubled times.

By Andrew O'Hehir July 26, 2008

Black and white in color

An arch, acute and haunting documentary about the segregated Mardi Gras traditions of Mobile, Ala., "The Order of Myths" might be the nonfiction film of the year.

By Andrew O'Hehir July 25, 2008