Russia
These two documentaries take place on opposite ends of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Both are powerful, gripping films that must be viewed in today’s climate.
As a film about fathers and their sons, The Return is about the difficulty certain men have expressing love for one another.
While the details and historical recreations are impeccable, Andrei Konchalovsky’s Dear Comrades! remains emotionally unmoving.
Agents of Chaos is an incredibly rich examination of the most pressing concern around the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election.
A darkly funny mashup between a sports documentary and gangster drama, it is an incredibly entertaining film that also delves into serious cultural issues.
Sputnik is a solid alien-driven thriller; it’s when it focuses on the more human elements to its story that it stumbles.
Welcome to Chechnya is likely to be the most urgent documentary of the year, but makes many exploitative missteps along the way.
Closeness is an intriguing debut film that is marred by one incredibly bad choice on the part of its director.
Flicker Alley’s new two-disc Blu-ray release of The Bolshevik Trilogy is a quality set that provides an ample education on the art of film and the act of rebellion.
The Sonata attempts to be moody, brooding, and dark, only to come off as predictable, cliched, and silly.
Alex Gibney’s Citizen K, a deep-dive into the life of the oligarch-turned-activist Mikhail Khodorkovsky, brilliantly utilises his recollections.
Leto finds a balance between the reality of early rock under a communist regime and the fantasy rockers imagined.
The Colour of Pomegranates is not only a window into the age of silent cinema, transplanted to 1969 but a window into a new way of thinking.
At its heart, The Russian Five is a sports story, but you don’t have to be a hockey fan to appreciate its impact.