International: Europe Reviews
Venice 2026 Review: NO PARADISE IF YOU ARE KILLED BY A WOMAN Goes into Stealth Mode to Confront the Scars of War
Merging the exportable mechanics of a stealth-combat thriller with the political urgency of Kurdish resistance, Halkawt Mustafa delivers an ambitious Iraqi-Norwegian genre film.
Venice 2026 Review: DIANE IN THE LOOP Channels Inherited Generational Rage into a Whimsical Yet Touching Feminist Western
Belgian filmmakers Ann Sirot and Raphaël Balboni turn intergenerational trauma into an eccentric tale of revenge and rebirth, veiled as unexpected feminist Western fairy tale and family road movie.
Toronto 2026 Review: ALL OF A SUDDEN, Gently Drawing the Viewer Into More Difficult Realities
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's latest, All of a Sudden is a revelation. A meditation on the everyday lives of his characters and the weightier ideas orbiting them, the film transcends the experiences and ideas it presents. Considering that the film glides between...
Toronto 2026 Review: MINOTAUR, Russia As A Psychological-Visual Labyrinth
Andrey Zvyagintsev interrogates Russia in the same way 1990s era Zhang Yimou interrogated China: Methodically, metaphorically, and with an astutely savage eye for beautiful visuals to mask the criticism. There is a scene in his latest film, Minotaur, where the...
Toronto 2026 Review: FJORD, Palme D'Or Winner Finds Many Arthouse Audience Buttons to Push
Roger Ebert once described film as a “machine that generates empathy.” For writer-director Christian Mugiu, this is very much true. But what if that empathy was slyly and sharply weaponized into a provocation? Enter Fjord. In our increasingly globalized...
Locarno 2026 Review: ROMA ELASTICA Cannibalizes the Myth of the Movie Star in a Delirious Cinephile Phantasmagoria
Marion Cotillard stars in Bertrand Mandico's a surrealistic tribute to golden age actresses, celluloid cinema and Italian culture.
Locarno 2026 Review: BLOODY TENNIS Serves Up a Blood-Soaked Sports-Horror Satire
Nikias Chryssos serves up a blood-soaked, darkly funny sports horror in which an elite tennis academy trains its aspiring champions through ritualized brutality.
HOT SPOT Review: Memorable Visuals, But Not Enough Story or Noomi Rapace
Andrzej Konopka and Noomi Rapace star in director Agnieszka Smoczyńska's sci-fi thriller.
DER FAN Returns with a 4K Restoration Vengeance
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard hushed whispers of the subversive German thriller, Der Fan. Written and directed by the late West German provocateur Eckhart Schmidt, this film was never banned formally, more so shunned due to both...
FRANZ Review: Embracing an Incomplete Life
Director Agnieszka Holland's film is a biopic of the iconic Franz Kafka, portrayed by Idan Weiss.
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY Review: Willem Dafoe Cuts Imposing Figure as Tyrannical Greek Oligarch
When Patrikios (Christos Stergioglou), onetime/longtime physician to Marcos Timoleon (Willem Dafoe), an Aristotle Onassis-inspired Greek titan of industry and all-around oligarch, casually suggests the latter’s resemblance behavior-wise to Marlon Brando’s title character in The Godfather, Marcos laughs, instead suggesting the...
COUP DE TORCHON Blu-ray Review: Sleepy Policeman, Hidden Malice
Philippe Noiret and Isabelle Huppert star in Bertrand Tavernier's startling adaptation of Jim Thompson's pulp noir, now available on a Criterion Collection Blu-ray.
PINOCCHIO: UNSTRUNG Review: Poohniverse Unfortunately Continues to Live Up to Its Name
Impressive puppetry and the grace of famous horror faces still aren't enough to save the Twisted Childhood Universe from its own darkness.
Fantasia 2026 Review: FERINE, A Stunning Feature Debut From Andrea Corsini
Motherhood is a beast in first time feature filmmaker Andrea Corsini’s lush Italian psychological horror stunner, Ferine, celebrating its international premiere at this year’s Fantasia. Bolstered by a captivating lead performance from Oddity’s Carolyn Bracken and an unforgettable score from...
Fantasia 2026 Review: NIGHTBORN, A Mother's Dream Turned Folk Horror Nightmare
Saga’s (Seidi Haarla) blissful fantasies of motherhood are upended when her and her husband Jon’s (Rupert Grint) son turns out to be a bit more difficult than they were expecting in Hanna Bergholm’s sophomore feature, Nightborn. Following up on her...
Fantasia 2026 Review: ATTACK ON PARADISE, A Belgian Single Setting Siege Story With Heart
In a dystopic corner of urban Antwerp stands Paradise, a ten-story apartment block that houses some of the baddest dudes and dudettes in all of Belgium. Packed to the gills with drug hustlers, arms dealers, illicit brothels, and every other...
Karlovy Vary 2026 Review: 3 WEEKS AFTER Turns High-School Cruelty Into Social Horror
Miroslav Terzić's high-school drama pairs Ruben Östlund's austere formalism with Hanekean social horror in a study of adolescent cruelty and social exclusion, punctuated by unexpected mannerist flourishes.
Fantasia 2026 Review: HER PRIVATE HELL, A Nightmare Neon Opera
At one point in Nicolas Winding Refn’s oblique, morally agnostic, performatively high-camp melodrama, a character pontificates, “You know, this movie is not going to fix us.” They are probably right. The director is far more interested in mise-en-scène still-lives...
Karlovy Vary 2026 Review: THE GUEST Serves Nordic Cringe as Family Dramedy
A restrained yet incisive Nordic tragicomedy, The Guest spins the dysfunctional-family drama for a millennial generation through claustrophobic staging, corrosive microaggressions, and Trine Dyrholm's meticulously ambiguous performance.
THE KIDNAPPING OF ARABELLA Review: Offbeat Italian Road Trip Not Worth Embarking On
Chris Pine stars in Carolina Cavalli's new kidnapping dramedy.
