I followed the Ukraine War religiously for months but even a news addict like me had to pace myself since it has dragged on for so long. This harrowing documentary takes us back to the earliest days of the war, focusing on one journalist’s perspective in the ill-fated city of Mariupol. Its narrow focus means that it makes no attempt to explain the broader context of the conflict. But being able to see the invasion of the city on a day-to-day basis gives it an authenticity and emotive impact like no other.

This turned to be a more commercial film than the titles that usually end up in my to watch list. I suppose I was misled by its sky high Rotten Tomatoes rating and the fact that actress Noémie Merlant who so impressed the world in Portrait of a Lady on Fire won a César Award for her performance here. In the end this is an entertaining, well-balanced crime comedy but it’s a little old-fashioned and not particularly artistic.

This film is most often described as psychological horror but it really defies genres. It’s also hard to categorize in other ways as well, being an English-language film made by a Polish director that is set in Germany and features mostly European performers. One thing that’s certain is that it’s a genuinely horrifying film, if only due to Isabelle Adjani pushing her performance to extreme lengths. Critics have been struggling since it was made to make sense of it and I think it’s not really possible to nail it down to some particular intent on the part of the director but watching it is certainly an engrossing and disturbing experience.

So this is a documentary that is full of imagery of naked female bodies, yet none of it is sexually titillating in the least. The intent seems to be to show that women’s bodies are just bodies, in all shapes, sizes and of all ages. The smoke sauna is apparently a part of the culture of Estonia and this film shows a group of women enjoying the experience in each other’s company while exchanging personal stories. There are no names and no other narration. The images, both of the women and the natural setting of the sauna, are beautiful, the stories are affecting, and that’s enough to make this a wonderful film.

Once again, Mikio Naruse falls just outside of the most celebrated Japanese directors of his era. Yet I’ve also found that this allows him to do things that are ever so slightly not Japanese. This must be one of the most unorthodox romances I’ve seen and like the other Naruse films is willing to present a seedier, grimier view of the society for the camera. With the understated passion of the two leads and dynamic camera work that takes readily to the outdoors, there are times when it feels positively European. The ending kind of has it peter out but that’s an acceptable tradeoff for what is otherwise a perfect film.

Ne Zha 2 is indisputably the cinematic phenomenon of the year, breaking all box office records. When I first wrote about the first film, I called it China’s answer to the MCU. Well, this sequel is now head and shoulders above the current state of the MCU. Thematically it’s just more of the same so that’s not too impressive. But its visuals, action choreography, humor and sheer scale are all just off the charts. The pace is unrelenting as it just never stops throwing more things onto the screen for you to look at. This would actually have been better if it had just a little less fighting but it’s as good as action movie as anyone could want.

Why does it seem like running a clever scam is a running theme in Argentinean films? This one starts with a straightforward heist but at its core is the quest for freedom that perhaps money can buy. Of course there is more than one kind of freedom and there’s a whiff of Don Quixote in the main character’s dream of it. This is a long film however and it might even leave you wondering at the end what’s the point of it all. But I believe in between the subtle black humor, beautiful shots of both the city of Buenos Aires and the remote countryside of Alpa Corral, and its myriad distractions, this is more than worth watching.