Chloé Zhao’s new tearjerker finds a compelling middle ground between her heartfelt, naturalistic independent pictures and mainstream historical drama.

It’s easy to get numb to the never-ending horror of the news, but Sepidah Farsi’s documentary reminds us that for every daily uptick in Palestinian deaths, each number was a person with hopes and dreams.

Director Gabe Polsky’s documentary spotlights the wild life of globe-trotting chaplain, UN peacekeeper, and all-around renaissance man Patrick McCollum.

If Glass Onion felt a bit too sunny for you, director Rian Johnson’s third Knives Out film injects a dab of gothic mystery and a surprisingly thoughtful depiction of the power of faith.

Why does Jesus have the stereotypical TikTok boy haircut? And who asked for a scene of Nicolas Cage washing FKA Twigs’ feet?

While this French New Wave-inspired film lacks significant stakes and surprises, getting a low-key Linklater period hangout movie is its own type of cinematic treat.

French arthouse mainstay François Ozon plays it straight with his adaptation of the classic Albert Camus novel. But what works in a short philosophical text does not make an engaging film.

In this brief, mysterious drama, director Christian Petzold revisits many of the themes from his filmography while cutting back as much as possible.

Particularly for a feature-length debut, Akinola Davies Jr.’s direction and script are impeccable, operating on so many levels from the personal to the political.

Winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes, Mascha Schilinski’s Sound of Falling treats family genealogy like a ghost story of inherited sense memories, trauma, and heartache.

Paolo Strippoli’s The Holy Boy is often quite original, packed with ideas and not afraid to cause discomfort as it raises questions about consent, community security, and how life cannot exist without pain.

In this delightful and entrancing directorial debut from frequent Sean Baker collaborator Shih-Ching Tsou, a financially insecure Taiwanese family navigate the ups and downs of running a noodle stand.

Guillermo del Toro’s dream project has been in the works for nearly two decades, which shows in its incredible craftsmanship. If only the story got the same attention.

Radu Jude’s follow-up to Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World is overkill in every way and equal parts boring and insane, yet also something you should watch at least part of.

The latest Adams family folk horror story is more focused on a dark, poetic tone than traditional scares, with its own cinematic language offering a unique dialect of contemporary horror.

It’s odd how dry a documentary this is about the pioneering Afro-futurist jazz musician and band leader Sun Ra, a guy who claimed to be from Saturn.

A smaller, tighter chamber drama compared to some of his most recent works, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest is a poignant addition to the recent wave of “late-stage capitalism” cinema.

Shot locally in Chicagoland, Nurzhamal Karamoldoeva’s narrative debut is an eye-opening journey into Chicago’s growing Kyrgyz immigrant community.

In Nia DaCosta’s remix of a classic Ibsen play, Tessa Thompson is deliciously wicked as the titular character throwing a Gatsby-level party of decadence and decay.

As a collection of images, Clint Bentley’s adaptation of the beloved Denis Johnson novella is a sight to behold—but that takes it only so far.