Portside

Ava, the robot star of Ex Machina, the dazzling sic-fi thriller, could easily be seen as an addition to the list of subservient bots in the tradition of Siri and Samantha—a machine that exists to tend every man's need, and read him driving directions without challenging masculinity. But if you push past that frustration, the film brings to the fore the idea that technology is as imperfect as its creators, and its mirror can provide a useful reflexion.

Director Ashgar Farhadi achieved international recognition with the complex and brilliant film A Separation. About Elly was made earlier, won Best Picture at Tribeca in 2009, and has taken six years to work its way back to the U.S. If possible, and now in the midst of the nuclear deal, this devastating film is better and more relevant. Farhadi depicts the strains between strict Islamic traditions and modernism within Iran's affluent, sophisticated middle classss.

One explanation of why do many celebrities are Scientologists is hidden in plain sight: The way the cult mirrors the star-obsessed, profit-driven culture of Hollywood. "Going Clear" also posits the rest of the answer: Stars stick with Scientology because of the meticulously kept notes, recordings and videos from E-meter "auditing" sessions that are central to the religion's practice, and make for ideal blackmail material.

"Ida" swept the European awards and finally won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Its director, Pawel Pawlikovski, resorted to an aesthetic of the 60s (Wajda, Godard) not because of mere retro desire, but because the events the film depicts and the resulting emotional impact occurred at the beginning of that decade. Betancourt writes: "Ida", with its aesthetic of loneliness masterfully portrayed in a black and white format, is a "tour de force".

“Taxi” is Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s third film since he was arrested in 2010 and charged with making anti-government propaganda. He was barred from making films for 20 years, from leaving the country and from speaking to the foreign media. He got around some of these restrictions this time by filming inside a taxi driving through the streets of Tehran, producing a beautifully humane fable. "Taxi" took the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

"India’s Daughter", Leslee Udwin's stirring documentation of the brutal rape and murder of Jyoti Singh, has been banned by the Indian government claiming the film is an international conspiracy to defame India and incites violence against women. The efforts to suppress the film are backfiring, creating what is being called an 'Arab spring for gender equality in India'.

The great trial of Job is reborn in Andrey Zvyagintsev’s magnificent Russian film, Leviathan. Compellingly told and stunningly shot, the film is also not subtle. The bad guys—the trinity of the government, the court, and the church—are pure evil. They are Leviathan itself, the Biblical monster that cannot be caught or tamed or killed. The film contended at Cannes, won a Golden Globe, was nominated for an Oscar, but last month was snubbed at the Russian film awards.