Portside

Three new movies recall the 1930s gangster movie era, but with a twist. They sketch the outlines of a dysfunctional social and economic reality by focusing on people who are caught in the gears of the system, in one way or another

After three years, “Donbass” is finally hitting American theaters. Its portrait of misinformation and institutional failure is all too timely.

CODA may not really be 2021’s best film, but CODA’s Best Picture win might just make the best sense. As a representative of the topsy-turvy movie year, in a topsy-turvy world, handed out at a remarkably topsy-turvy Oscars, it might not be half bad.

Films from Tantura to Descendant challenge the powerful. But it’s still up to us to witness the truth. The past can’t be changed. But if we won’t tell the truth about it, we can’t learn from it. We can’t even understand ourselves.

Cool, elegant, and devastating, a film as tightly woven and plaintive as the source novel itself. It’s an artifact of its time, both 1929 and in 2021, when the questions around identity have morphed and shifted but are still relevant as ever.

CODA is a big-hearted crowdpleaser about a teen, her dreams, and her family.

The quiet drama 'Nomadland' makes a lot of sense for this strange Oscars year.

Raoul Peck’s four-part docuseries takes a scorching, brilliant ride through the history of white supremacy.

We saw George Floyd die onscreen. We need to see this too.

On Hulu’s new documentary and why we keep falling for guys like Adam Neumann.