Review
Science Fiction in MENA Cinema
In Sofia Alaoui’s apocalypse, we regard tomorrow as we regard a child: the end of our existence but the beginning and continuation of something in which we have played a hand; a new unity that beckons all of us toward a vision of possibility.
Iran's 'Holy Spider' Spins a Deadly Web
The film's ending reveals its primary theme: that reality is structured by a fiction, which is the condition of the possibility for misogyny to exist. The underlying structure of the society being depicted is one of absurdity, allowing contradictions to abound.
A Ukrainian Garden Tells the Story of a Violated Country
What happens when the war in Ukraine is finally over? Grass will grow over the ruined houses, the dead will be found and reburied, the houses will be rebuilt, the devastated landscape will be transformed into spring, as flowers will bloom again and, come summer, the wheat and barley will blow in the wind ready to be reaped.
The Moral Affirmations of Louis Armstrong
Many of Louis Armstrong’s contemporaries derided his performance antics and clowning as a creepy form of Uncle Tomism. But what if the most effective way to be political without creating a disturbance is to pretend you have no politics at all?
‘You People’: Race, Culture and Religious Differences Are False Flags
While the underlying glue of the movie is class and affluence, “You People” touches on attempts to embrace diversity, equity and inclusion: diametrically opposed beliefs are not easily bridged in the real world, where deep-seated prejudices inform cultural and racial identity.
Netflix Satire Puts French Universalism to the Test
Netflix's "Represent" tells the story of Stéphane Blé, an affable Black 30-something youth worker in the notorious banlieues of Paris who, thanks to a social media fluke, unexpectedly finds himself running for president. A furious battle for what kind of France is possible ensues.
Under the Radar, Between the Cracks
We’re still living with the 1970s and the 1980s. It’s just that much of what might still matter to us about that period lives in the rapidly receding memories and archives of the ones who were there: under the radar, between the cracks.