I expected this Macedonian language film about witches in the 19th century to be squarely in the horror genre but as my wife notes, it really isn’t horror at all. It’s actually a sort of fantasy drama with very strong humanistic themes. The core premise is sound and fits the setting well. Unfortunately it is let down by lackluster production values including a weak eye for cinematography and cheap visual effects. It’s solid work but it’s perhaps more ambitious than what director Goran Stolevski could actually pull off.

I’ve skipped all of the Star Wars shows after the second season of The Mandalorian. No point in sticking with shows after they’ve jumped the shark. This one however caught my attention due to its rave reviews and best of all, it’s a prequel that builds up to perhaps the best Star Wars film of all time, Rogue One. I can say without exaggeration that this show is amazing and adroitly captures what it means to build a resistance movement from the ground up. It’s also one of the darkest interpretations of the franchise I’ve yet seen, as the rebels can and do make moral sacrifices in the name of the greater good.

The last Steven Spielberg film I watched was Ready Player One and that was only because it was on a flight. The last one that I’d actually sought out to watch was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and we hated it. I was doubtful that I’d ever watch a Spielberg film again but then he made what is effectively his autobiography and of course it instantly becomes essential watching. At first, I was annoyed by how this film telegraphs every single thing that it wants to say so very obviously. Yet I found myself immersed all the same in the world of Spielberg’s childhood and its insights about the power of cinema. By the end, it’s impossible to deny the conclusion that this is a triumph both artistically and personally for Spielberg himself.

I don’t think this Western is that well known today but back in the day it seemed to have been successful enough to spawn a remake and other adaptations. It stars James Stewart and certainly makes for a different kind of Western as he plays a lawman who tries his best to be a pacifist. Together with the musical sequences featuring Marlene Dietrich, that makes this interesting enough and entertaining enough to be worth watching in my book.

This is an English language science-fiction film from Lithuania and I so love how different it is from work produced in the west. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic world which is normal enough except that biotechnology dominates and all that is left of civilization depends on it. The plot is mostly solid with good acting by its mainly British cast and the visuals of weird synthetic organisms are appropriately otherworldly and fantastic. My only complaint is that the setting is very grim, yet the main heroine is way too hopeful and nice a person for what she must have lived through.

Banned from making films in Iran and barred from leaving the country, director Jafar Panahi is up to his usual tricks again. Here he purports to be remotely directing a film that takes place in Turkey while being holed up in a small village near the border. It’s a brilliant premise that is clearly inspired by his real life troubles but it would be silly to believe that any of this were actually real. Panahi’s films are usually rather mild in tone even as they are rebuking the Iranian authorities. This one therefore marks a notable departure with how grim and dark it is, reflecting the worsening outlook for freedom in the country.

This feels more like a documentary or even an ethnographic study in video form than a film. Indeed this made was by director Charles Burnett as his masters’ thesis. It features music from some big names and since it never secured the rights to them until 2007, it wasn’t even legal to release this. It seems that many people still managed to watch this and in the intervening time, its reputation has grown until it is now considered one of the greatest films of all time. I’d say that this is certainly something special and the music it uses is absolutely essential to its identity. This is another one of those films that aim only to capture a specific place, time and people and it does nothing short of bringing them to life before your eyes.