The Film Comment Letter

Venice 2021: Feedback Loop

September 13, 2021

Speed kills: there was much to recommend from the under-the-radar sections this year, including Shen Kong, El gran movimiento, and more

Review: Azor

By Adam Nayman

September 13, 2021

Disappearing act: with its deceptively spare mise-en-scene and tamped-down performances, Andreas Fontana’s Dirty War thriller is a superlatively muted debut

Court Vision

By Caden Mark Gardner

September 13, 2021

Gotta be the shoes: while the first Space Jam was a slick product designed to sell merchandise, the sequel starring LeBron James is somehow even less compelling

Head in the Clouds

By Corina Copp

September 7, 2021

In free fall: Kazik Radwanski’s Anne at 13000 ft lays bare the elusive plight of a woman on the verge

Film Comment Recommends: Faya Dayi

By A.E. Hunt

September 7, 2021

Drift away: Jessica Beshir’s documentary is a hypnotic montage of the people, nature, and Sufi parables that surround the khat trade in Harar, Ethiopia

Seeing Double: Shane & Everybody Wants Some!!

By Sheila O'Malley

September 7, 2021

Are we not men: Two films, from 1953 and 2016, subtly undermine traditional definitions of masculinity

Film Comment Recommends: Spring Forward

By Steven Mears

August 30, 2021

Trailblazing: the recently departed Ned Beatty gives a tour de force of soul-stirring restraint in Tom Gilroy's 2000 drama

Review: Candyman

By Nicholas Russell

August 30, 2021

Say my name: Nia DaCosta’s reimagining of the ’90s horror classic takes itself too seriously to be much fun

Skipping Stones

By Jeff Reichert

August 30, 2021

At sea: Matías Piñeiro’s Isabella is a puzzle-like meditation on entering middle-age, admitting defeat, and beginning anew

Film Comment Recommends: Cryptozoo

By Mark Asch

August 23, 2021

Animal planet: Dash Shaw’s animated phantasmagoria draws from diverse influences in an attempt to renew a jaded audience’s capacity for awe and terror