Tag: film

Iraq 2025, 105 min, Drama
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Director: Hasan Hadi

Arabic with English subtitles

What is billed by her teacher as an honor for nine-year-old Lamia turns into a supreme challenge when she draws the unlucky number requiring her to make a cake for her class in celebration of Saddam Hussein’s birthday.

Lamia lives with her grandmother, Bibi, in the Mesopotamian Marshes, and together—along with Lamia’s pet rooster—they go to Baghdad to procure the ingredients for the cake, which they can ill afford. There Lamia discovers that Bibi feels she can no longer care for her and plans to turn her over to a foster family. Lamia then runs away and meets up with her friend Saeed, and together they embark on a series of misadventures while trying to gather the ingredients for making the cake.

This poignant story of life in 1990’s Iraq under Saddam’s iron-fisted rule and the hardship of Western sanctions is based on the childhood recollections of director Hasan Hadi in his directorial debut.

Iraq 2025, 105 min, Drama
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Director: Hasan Hadi

Arabic with English subtitles

What is billed by her teacher as an honor for nine-year-old Lamia turns into a supreme challenge when she draws the unlucky number requiring her to make a cake for her class in celebration of Saddam Hussein’s birthday.

Lamia lives with her grandmother, Bibi, in the Mesopotamian Marshes, and together—along with Lamia’s pet rooster—they go to Baghdad to procure the ingredients for the cake, which they can ill afford. There Lamia discovers that Bibi feels she can no longer care for her and plans to turn her over to a foster family. Lamia then runs away and meets up with her friend Saeed, and together they embark on a series of misadventures while trying to gather the ingredients for making the cake.

This poignant story of life in 1990’s Iraq under Saddam’s iron-fisted rule and the hardship of Western sanctions is based on the childhood recollections of director Hasan Hadi in his directorial debut.

UK 2025, 113 min, Drama
Starring: Taylor Uttley, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Fairn
Director: Nicholas Hytner

Against the backdrop of World War I, a Yorkshire town attempts to keep alive its annual Choral concert, in spite of the fact that many of the town’s men are off fighting—and many are not coming back.

The new Choral maestro, Dr. Henry Guthrie (masterfully played by Ralph Fiennes) must try to put together a group of singers with varying degrees of talent, while battling the prejudices of some of the townspeople, particularly the men on the Choral committee. With anti-German sentiment rampant, Guthrie is castigated for, among other things, his previous work in Germany, his love of German music and literature, and his atheism. The film is rounded out by a cast of engaging characters who are all struggling with the challenges of wartime living and dying. In the end, what elevates the film and the town’s characters are the transcendent powers of music and of human interactions.

UK 2025, 113 min, Drama
Starring: Taylor Uttley, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Fairn
Director: Nicholas Hytner

Against the backdrop of World War I, a Yorkshire town attempts to keep alive its annual Choral concert, in spite of the fact that many of the town’s men are off fighting—and many are not coming back.

The new Choral maestro, Dr. Henry Guthrie (masterfully played by Ralph Fiennes) must try to put together a group of singers with varying degrees of talent, while battling the prejudices of some of the townspeople, particularly the men on the Choral committee. With anti-German sentiment rampant, Guthrie is castigated for, among other things, his previous work in Germany, his love of German music and literature, and his atheism. The film is rounded out by a cast of engaging characters who are all struggling with the challenges of wartime living and dying. In the end, what elevates the film and the town’s characters are the transcendent powers of music and of human interactions.

France 2025, 107 min, Drama
Starring: Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski

English and French with English subtitles

Was it murder and who is the murderer? Those are the central questions haunting Dr. Lillian Steiner, an American psychiatrist practicing in Paris, deftly portrayed by Jodi Foster. When Paula, one of her patients, is found dead, Lillian begins to believe that she was murdered by her husband Simon, who faults Lillian for prescribing the medication that contributed to Paula’s death.

What follows is a somewhat bizarre quest by Lillian to unravel the mystery, taking her on a journey into hypnotherapy, nightmares, a road chase, and the vandalism of her office and car. Along the way she enlists the help of her former husband Gabriel and attempts to mend her strained relationship with her son Julien. Suspicious characters and plot twists add to the appeal of this film noir as Lillian ultimately finds the truth about Paula’s death and finds a measure of peace, both personally and professionally.

France 2025, 107 min, Drama
Starring: Jodie Foster, Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski

English and French with English subtitles

Was it murder and who is the murderer? Those are the central questions haunting Dr. Lillian Steiner, an American psychiatrist practicing in Paris, deftly portrayed by Jodi Foster. When Paula, one of her patients, is found dead, Lillian begins to believe that she was murdered by her husband Simon, who faults Lillian for prescribing the medication that contributed to Paula’s death.

What follows is a somewhat bizarre quest by Lillian to unravel the mystery, taking her on a journey into hypnotherapy, nightmares, a road chase, and the vandalism of her office and car. Along the way she enlists the help of her former husband Gabriel and attempts to mend her strained relationship with her son Julien. Suspicious characters and plot twists add to the appeal of this film noir as Lillian ultimately finds the truth about Paula’s death and finds a measure of peace, both personally and professionally.

Russia 2025, 90 min, Documentary
Directors: David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin

Russian with English subtitles

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, President Putin undertakes a series of extreme measures to control not only the media but also what is being taught to children in Russian schools. Pavel “Pasha” Talankin is an event coordinator and videographer in the school he earlier attended in the town of Karabash, known as the most toxic place on earth due to the town’s copper smelter. As the school curriculum becomes more autocratic—children are made to march in lockstep, wave flags, and recite government propaganda—Pasha becomes more and more troubled and boldly begins to video some of the proceedings.

As a teacher, he is saddened by the events unfolding at the school and fearful for the lives of the students and staff. He reaches out to filmmakers in Europe, who eventually help him defect and smuggle his work out of Russia. This compelling film won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Russia 2025, 90 min, Documentary
Directors: David Borenstein, Pavel Talankin

Russian with English subtitles

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, President Putin undertakes a series of extreme measures to control not only the media but also what is being taught to children in Russian schools. Pavel “Pasha” Talankin is an event coordinator and videographer in the school he earlier attended in the town of Karabash, known as the most toxic place on earth due to the town’s copper smelter. As the school curriculum becomes more autocratic—children are made to march in lockstep, wave flags, and recite government propaganda—Pasha becomes more and more troubled and boldly begins to video some of the proceedings.

As a teacher, he is saddened by the events unfolding at the school and fearful for the lives of the students and staff. He reaches out to filmmakers in Europe, who eventually help him defect and smuggle his work out of Russia. This compelling film won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Canada 2025, 87 min, Drama
Starring: Ellyn Jade, Star Slade, Shawn Doyle
Director: Eva Thomas

Nika and Madison are cousins who have chosen very different paths. Nika has remained on the reservation while Madison has gone off to university in Toronto. When Madison comes home on a visit, she is arrested in a bar after a fight breaks out. When a white RCMP officer says he is driving her home but instead takes her to a deserted place and sexually assaults her, she is rescued by Nika, who injures the officer seriously enough to send him to hospital and into a coma.

The subsequent investigation forces the young women to flee, first into the bush and then into the city. Eventually they are captured and must face justice. This crime thriller is also a story of family and friendship, of the tragic treatment of First Nations people in the hands of government authorities, of the powerful bonds within the families and the band, and the consequences we must face from the choices we make.

UK 2025, 100 min, Drama
Starring: Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen, Jessica Gunning
Director: Steven Soderbergh

Julian Sklar, a once-popular London artist nearing the end of his life, is convinced by his son and daughter to hire Lori Butler as his personal assistant. However, the siblings, played by James Corden and Jessica Gunning, have an ulterior motive in demanding that Lori, an accomplished artist with a gift for artistic mimicry, “finish” Julian’s series, the Christophers, so they can profit from the sale of the paintings after their father’s death.

Aside from the monetary aspect, Lori seeks some revenge for a bad review Julian had given her years before. As their relationship develops, so does a kind of friendship and mutual respect, with both providing some entertaining plot twists. Director Steven Soderberg delivers an engaging story with fine portrayals by Ian McKellan as Julian and Michaela Coel as Lori. Roger Ebert describes their respective performances as “stunningly good” and “mesmerizing.”