Taking on the art world is notoriously difficult—it’s already too ridiculous, and so the heightening of reality necessary for proper satire doesn’t work. There’s nowhere to go. But we need bold artists, ones that harness their inner Tobias Fünke and ponder: “But it might work for us.” And so Cathy Yan gets ample credit for […]
The post Sundance Review: The Gallerist Is Too Referential to Properly Satirize the Art World first appeared on The Film Stage.
Working with her sister Anna—a 38-year-old Korean adoptee with a developmental disability—director Liz Sargent’s sensitive drama Take Me Home is both witty and heartbreaking. It serves as an indictment of a system that would force a father to abandon his adopted daughter just to secure the care they both need, all while ending on an […]
The post Sundance Review: Take Me Home is a Heartbreaking Indictment of a Failing Social Safety Net first appeared on The Film Stage.
In a stray moment during Charlotte Zhang’s Tycoon, a young man says he stopped complaining to his landlord about the cockroaches invading his L.A. flat lest the whole building should be condemned—the same fate that’s felled countless others around the city, sealed and palmed off to rapacious property developers. Tycoon is set in the future: […]
The post Rotterdam Review: Tycoon is a Staggering Portrait of a City on Fire first appeared on The Film Stage.
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. BAMMichael Almereyda’s vampire film Nadja debuts in a long-overdue 4K restoration that plays daily. Watch an exclusive clip below: Museum of Modern ArtSeoul After Dark highlights lesser-known Korean cinema, with films by Bong Joon-ho and Im Kwon-taek also included. Film ForumFilms by Coppola, Scorsese, King […]
The post NYC Weekend Watch: Nadja, Seoul After Dark, Tenement Stories & More first appeared on The Film Stage.
In dance, you have to lead with confidence. Your partner looks to you for guidance, and they require you to look back at them responsively, to move instinctually without faltering. There’s need for surefootedness, consistency, and impeccable timing. Luckily for us, Josef Kubota Wladyka’s fun and deceptively frothy third feature Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! has […]
The post Sundance Review: Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! Will Sweep You Off Your Feet first appeared on The Film Stage.
A familair presence on the indie film scene in Strawberry Mansion, Booger, The Heirloom, Measures for a Funeral, Honey Bunch, and more, Canadian actress and filmmaker Grace Glowicki’s second directorial feature Dead Lover will now get a release this spring following a festival tour that includes Sundance, TIFF, IFFR, SXSW, and more. Ahead of a […]
The post Love Conquers Death in First Trailer for Grace Glowicki’s Dead Lover first appeared on The Film Stage.
Mario, Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter aren’t the only videogame adaptations hittting theaters this year. Genki Kawamura’s Exit 8, based on the hit game, premiered at Cannes Film Festival last year and went on to play at Toronto, Sitges, Busan, and more. Now set for an April 10 release from NEON, the U.S. […]
The post Exit 8 Trailer: Genki Kawamura’s Acclaimed Videogame Adaptation Arrives in April first appeared on The Film Stage.
Looking for what to see in theaters? Our feature, updated weekly, highlights our top recommendations for films currently in theaters, from new releases to restorations receiving a proper theatrical run. While we already provide extensive monthly new-release recommendations and weekly streaming recommendations, as distributors’ roll-outs can vary, this is a one-stop list to share the […]
The post The Best Movies Now Playing in Theaters first appeared on The Film Stage.
Note: This interview was originally published in 2025. Sirat opens on February 6, 2026. As music thumps across the desert landscape of Morocco’s Atlas Mountains and ravers give themselves over to the endless bass, whispers of World War III echo in the margins. In Sirāt, Oliver Laxe’s fourth feature, pinning down exactly what the extraneous […]
The post “Images Are Dead”: Oliver Laxe on Sirāt and Spirituality first appeared on The Film Stage.
Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2025 Cannes coverage. Pillion opens in theaters on February 6. It wouldn’t be Cannes without a good scandal film. For 2025, British director Harry Lighton’s feature debut Pillion may be the one that sends the most people clutching their pearls. Centered on a dom-sub relationship […]
The post Pillion Review: A Provocative, Funny, and Touching Anti-Romance first appeared on The Film Stage.
