Review
Foreigners Fighting Foreigners
In some ways related to American films about U.S. emigres escaping violence in a strange foreign country, “Once Upon a Time in the Middle East” portrays Chinese expats as facilitators of peace and genuine intercultural understanding, while hinting at a more objectionable, paternalistic side to China’s global engagement.
Two Films About Gaza
The documentary film “NAZA” and the satirical drama “Yes!,” both by Israeli directors, hold up mirrors to Israeli society that most find too difficult to see.
50 Years of Yousra
The actor has spent five decades crossing genres and generations, making her one of Egyptian cinema’s rare constants.
The Darkness That Drives Djokovic
A new documentary portrays the most successful tennis champion in history as fueled by his detractors and profoundly shaped by his childhood experience of war.
The Many Versions of JD Vance
JD Vance’s new book, “Communion,” is at odds with both his public persona and the Vance of his bestselling “Hillbilly Elegy.” Behind the contradictions, one senses the vice president laying the foundations of a future bid for power.
A Truth-Teller for All 10 Villages
In his show “Olu Deniz” (“Dead Sea”), Deniz Göktaş skewered the audience, lampooned the state and took jabs at sacred cows of Turkish culture. Then the rising satirist was arrested.
How Syria’s Revolution Was Misunderstood, by Its Rulers and the World
Syria’s revolution was first crushed, and then misread. Five recent books on the long uprising and its surprising aftermath show how elites, ideologues and foreign observers alike failed to see the people at its heart.