A weaker work in Miyazaki’s oeuvre that while operating efficiently on plot and characterisation doesn’t quite do anything substantial thematically as a young witch travels to a new town to find work as a rite-of-passage.
One of Zanussi’s most radical and playful offerings as his protagonist, a physicist, attempts to put faith in science to explain human existence and matters of life and death.
A wuxia classic that pushed the genre to more brutal and grittier ends, as a martial artist must master a new fighting style after inexplicably losing an arm.
This Locarno Golden Leopard winner with some fascinating use of sound and camera is boldly conceived if occasionally uneven, shot clandestinely in Tehran as a driver heavily reliant on GPS finds existential purpose in healing people with drugs.
Another showcase of the acting powerhouse that is Gena Rowlands with Cassevetes exploring the theatre milieu as the lead actress of a highly-anticipated play becomes bugged by existential guilt and disenchantment.
A young man is forced to escape from the oppressive Tartars and into the doors of a Shaolin temple in this exceptional high point of ‘70s HK kung-fu cinema that is as entertaining and cathartic as they come.
This moody piece detailing the state-of-mind of several members of the French Resistance during WWII is arguably Melville’s greatest work and one of the finest films ever made about the subject.
In what could be a surprise package for the 2024 Oscars, Payne’s new work features some of the most finely-tuned performances of the year as a cranky old teacher is forced to take care of a problematic student on a remote campus over the Christmas holidays.
Diop’s well-intentioned documentary centering on people living in the Parisian suburbs is surprisingly monotonous, unstimulating, and goes on for far too long.
Bonello’s unclassifiable attempt at a David Lynch-meets-‘The Fountain’ sci-fi mashup is mysterious, meandering, alluring and confounding all at once, as it explores the nature of love, fear and memory as mediated by the threat of artificial intelligence.
