Capturing an urban ecosystem of animals and humans, Shaunak Sen’s second feature sits somewhere between a nature doc, political drama, and touching family portrait.
Eileen G’Sell
Eileen G’Sell is a poet and critic with recent contributions to Jacobin, Poetry, The Baffler, and The Hopkins Review. Her second volume of poetry, Francofilaments, is forthcoming from Broken Sleep Books. In 2023, she received the Rabkin Prize for arts journalism. She teaches at Washington University in St. Louis.
Claire Denis’s New Film Is Stronger on Steam Than Story
Just as sex with a revolutionary does not make one revolutionary, a penchant for setting films in developing countries does not make Denis a resident expert.
Sandra Payne’s Bling Manifesto
The unabashedly feminine oeuvre of the collagist, sculptor, and conceptual artist is a smorgasbord of shimmer and sequin, a bling manifesto for the senses.
A Feminist Film Classic That Has Its Cake and Eats It Too
With its recent 4k restoration, Daisies endures as a New Wave masterpiece and hyper-feminine smorgasbord of sensory pleasure.
Documenta 15 and the Power of Productive Disruption
The most fruitfully jarring artistic disruptions at documenta 15 unsettle their own settings, stealthily intervening in traditional German institutions or landmarks.
Nicole Miller Bears Witness Through Sound
The engulfing vocal testimony of Miller’s audio-visual art speaks to the threat of death faced by people of color in this country.
Transforming Society Through Play
Assembly Required suggests it is high time to strap on a colorful mask and play with someone you don’t know — or don’t know well enough.
A Body Horror Tale With an Avian Twist
Hanna Bergholm’s stunningly original debut film Hatching embraces the experience of female adolescence as the monster that it is, and then gives that monster literal wings.
The Breezy Bisexuality of Anaïs in Love
Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s directorial debut offers a twist of zest to the tired tale of a vivacious young woman pursuing romance with an older man.
In The Girl and the Spider, Voyeurism Is Both Comical and Creepy
Everybody seems to be infatuated with everyone else in the film, locking eyes with an intensity that could shame a tantra guru.
A Poignant Family Portrait in the Trappings of Sci-Fi
After Yang merges director Kogonada’s fastidious attention to form with a rare empathy for the insecurity of the human condition, especially within the nuclear unit.
Playground Looks at the Psychological and Physical Carnage of Childhood
Laura Wandel’s debut film examines the psychological — and physical — carnage wrought between children when grown-ups look the other way.