Vahid Jalilvand's NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE: The arrival of a fine new filmmaker from Iran

New York City's venerable art house, Film Forum, reopens this coming week with a new screen and a new and most welcome Iranian film entitled NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE. As co-written (with Ali Zarnegar) and directed by sophomore filmmaker Vahid Jalilvand (shown below), the movie is very nearly as good as much of the work of Iran's more experienced filmmaker, Asghar Farhadi. Via its specific, small-scale key incident, the film slowly grows into a hugely compelling situation that encompasses an entire community and culture.

Misters Jalilvand and Zarnegar have created what you might call a "hospital procedural" in which the cause of death is paramount but just slightly unclear.

Responsibility and guilt hover over quite a number of people involved here, but the two main recipients are the husband/father Moosa (Navid Mohammadzadeh, shown below) of a family clearly having some trouble making financial ends meet, and the prominent Dr. Nariman of the local hospital (played by Amir Agha'ee, further below) who seems to be having no financial problem at all.

How these two meet and proceed thereafter is the thread that binds the movie, which is full of Iranian culture and mores, some of which are easily understood, while others may take more consideration by those of us who've not lived in a society such as this. Still, so much that we see and hear in this film is indeed "international."

How the police and judicial system proceed with their investigation, together with the way in which the medical establishment works (or doesn't quite) -- it's all here, woven into the fabric of the film with great skill and subtlety. And the death at the center of the movie is among the most surprising and quietly compelling in cinema.

Without ever raising its voice (though its characters sometimes do), the film manages to be feminist and anti-fundamentalist via the look we get into the thoughts and actions of its two major female characters: Sayeh, the doctor's lover (Hediyeh Tehrani, above), who also works as a doctor at the hospital, and Leila, Moosa's not-so-acquiescent wife (Zakieh Bebahani, shown below).

Both of these women add to the depth and strength of the film by constantly nudging their men toward (or occasionally, as in Sayeh's case, away from) greater responsibility. Class, economics, and reputation come to the fore, and are handled with just as much skill as all else in this arresting movie about ethics, morality, autopsies and chickens.

No Date, No Signature proves a fine way to reopen Film Forum, and should also greatly please fans of the immaculate and thoughtful work of Asghar Faradi. Released by Distrib Films US, running 103 minutes and in Farsi with English subtitles, the movie has its U.S. theatrical premiere this coming Wednesday, August 1, in New York City at Film Forum, and will open on August 10 in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Royal. To view all past and upcoming playdates, cities and theaters, simply click here and then click on Watch Now on the small task bar midway down the page.

Iran confidential! Ali Soozandeh's animated TEHRAN TABOO serves up his birth country's hypocrisy on a rotoscope platter

Whew -- better prepare yourself for things you will not have seen in any Asghar Farhadi film.

The new TEHRAN TABOO, combining gorgeously colored rotoscope animation with the sleaziest of subject matter, begins with a woman giving a cab driver a blow-job while her young son chews gum in the back seat. When the cab driver, mid-b/j, suddenly sees his daughter holding hands with her boyfriend as the young couple walks down the street, he throws a fit. And mom stops sucking just long enough to tell him what a hypocritical asshole he is. Yes, this certainly leaves Disney in the dust -- along with even Ralph Bakshi.

From oral-sex-while-driving, we proceed to the likes of a black-market operation to restore a woman's virginity, a judge of the Islamic Revolutionary Court who sets up that prostitute and her son in a very nice apartment, a loan officer in a bank who makes shady deals, a kind of Dubai sex trade offering Iranian virgins, abortions, whoring and lots more (or less, depending on your viewpoint).

The director and writer here, making his U.S. theatrical debut with this film, is Ali Soozandeh, shown at right, and -- if he lives through the death threats sure to arise in Arab countries because of the content of his film -- I would think that we'll be hearing from him again very soon.

It will come as little surprise that Mr. Soozandeh has been living in exile in Germany since he was 25 (he turns 48 this year), and though it has taken him awhile to give us this unusual film, TrustMovies would say it has been worth the wait. Although it may seen initially that the filmmaker is "piling it on a bit thick," it soon becomes clear that it is the stupid, nasty and beyond-the-pale hypocrisy of the Islamic state and its irredeemable patriarchy, especially where matters sexual are concerned, that Soozandeh has pilloried so very well.

All these events going on are connected through the handful of characters we meet and grow to understand if not love -- from the mute son of that prostitute (above, center) and the rather sweet young man (below, left) who (on ectasy) has taken the virginity of a girl he's only just met...

...to that bank officer and his wife, mother and diabetic dad, all of whom begin acting as baby-sitters to the young boy (his mom has told them she works night at a local hospital) and even the sleazy judge himself (below, left), who handle divorces in his own inimitable manner.

As complicated, awful and perverse as life gets for these people, instead of blaming the individual, you will probably come to feel the strongest revulsion for the social/cultural/political set-up that has spawned the lives they lead.

As connections are made and the plot keeps unfurling into greater and more terrible circumstances,  most of what we've come to think we know and believe about these people is called into question. And if the black cat and its litter of kitten may initially strike you are a little too sentimental, wait a bit. Everything comes homes to roost here.

Watching this film and then thinking back to the more veiled and subtle work of that fine filmmaker Farhadi, you can better understand why so much of what he gives us must be tamped down to pass the censors. For something more "unvarnished," take a look at Tehran Taboo and be grateful that, for now at least (until the election cycle, perhaps), we here in the USA must only put up with those idiotic and venal Republicans and their unstable moron of a leader, Donald Trump.

From Kino Lorber, in Persian with English subtitles, and running 96 minutes, this unusual piece of animation has its U.S. theatrical premiere this coming Wednesday, February 14 (yes, it's a Valentine's Day delight), at New York City 's Film Forum before hitting another dozen or more cities around the country. To see all currently scheduled playdates and venues, click here and then scroll down.

THE SALESMAN: Another Asghar Farhadi film, another disturbing, moving thought-provoker

What? They produce plays by Arthur Miller in modern-day Iran? It would seem so (even if the censors may have to delete a few lines here and there); at least, that is what we discover via the new film from Oscar-winner Asghar Farhadi (of A Separation and a flock of even better films). In his newest work, THE SALESMAN, our very attractive and hot young couple are performing the leading roles of Willy and Linda in Death of a Salesman.

Mr. Farhardi, shown at right, is a continuing master at offering up present-day Iran via its bourgeoisie and making the lives shown and problems explored look, to our eyes, remarkably like our own. Except in certain important cultural ways. (I was going to include the word "religious," but what we see seems so deeply ingrained as to have gone well past religion into the country's culture.) The husband here is also a school-teacher, and we see him (and how his mind works) in the classroom with his students, who seem to like and respect him.

One evening, post-performance, as the wife, home alone, is removing her stage make-up, the buzzer to the couple's apartment building rings. Expecting her husband, she buzzes him in, leaves their apartment door ajar and goes back to the bathroom. This will change their life.

From this point on, the movie, which has begun almost as a kind of critique of life in Iran, opens up into so much more. In the opening scene, the couple's original apartment building must be evacuated, as it appears to be literally breaking apart. Much of the city, it seems, has been rather poorly constructed.

Yet from the "event" onwards, the movie becomes a deeper, unsettling exploration of trust and betrayal, love, respect and, as seems true of all of Farhadi's films, a critique of his country's patriarchal/macho grounding, coupled to a look at slowly budding feminism.

The two leads are, as always in Farhadi's films, first-rate, with Shahab Hosseini (above, whom you might recognize as the nutcase hubby from A Separation) again doing a fine job as a man who slowly unravels in the course of events, and Taraneh Alidoosti (below, who played the title character in About Elly) doing an equally fine job as the wife who is "done wrong" not only by the event in question but by what happens afterward.

Farhadi's movie is part mystery, as solved by amateurs (who, for understandable cultural reasons, do not want to involve the police), and the filmmaker's handling of the sleuthing is expert: smart but not too smart, and very believable. Farhadi also, as is his wont, refuses to disclose all that has happened. But unlike some of what was withheld from us in A Separation, this adds to the situation's complexity, rather than seeming to be merely deliberate withholding on the filmmaker's part.

The result of all this quietly explodes into something much larger and more difficult that we (or this couple) could have expected. There is plenty of guilt to go around, along with a try for redemption. But the thirst for compensation/revenge is present, too. How the filmmaker weaves all this together makes for a spectacularly dense and slowly revealing conclusion that will have you feeling and understanding the viewpoint of every character present.

This is major filmmaking, and if Farhadi were to walk away with another Oscar, I would not be surprised. (His film is among the five nominees in the BFLF category). The Salesman forces you to re-consider your priorities: what you would finally allow or not allow, and how much damage you might be willing to inflict on another in order to satisfy your own sense of justice and/or need for revenge.

From Amazon Studios and the Cohen Media Group, in Persian with English subtitles and running a long but never boring 125 minutes, the movie opens this Friday, January 27, in New York City at the Angelika Film Center and the Lincoln Plaza Cinema, and in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Royal. Here in South Florida, it opens February 10 at the Tower Theater, Miami; the Movies of Delray and Lake Worth, and at the Regal Shadowood and Living Room Theaters in Boca Raton. To see the many playdates all across the country, with cities and theaters listed, simply click here and scroll down.

The Best-of-2016 list is led by a tiny treasure firing on all cylinders: Antonio Campos/Craig Shilowich/Rebecca Hall's CHRISTINE

Coming on the heels of one of the year's worst documentaries, purportedly on the same subject but shockingly pretentious, empty and stupid (Kate Plays Christine), the amazing narrative version of the story of Florida TV personality, Christine Chubbuck -- titled simply Christine and directed by Antonio Campos, from a screenplay by Craig Shilowich, starring the great Rebecca Hall (above and below) in her finest performance yet -- works almost perfectly on every level, from simple and effective storytelling to its depiction of a vanished time and place (Sarasota, Florida, in the 1970s). Ms Hall's uncanny performance is the best by an actor, male or female, that I have seen all year (for several years, actually, perhaps during this entire new millennium). Best of all, the film explores its subject from many angles, finally doing real justice and honor to a difficult personality, her life and career. This is a model movie in every way, one against which all further bio-pic narratives will need to be judged. (You can read my complete review of the film by clicking here.)

Below, in alphabetical order, are the rest of my "bests" for 2016 -- (click on each title link if you want to read my earlier coverage of that movie) -- which proved another great year for foreign films, independents and documentaries, despite its leaving us (illegally, I suspect, via vote tampering and voter suppression) with the worst. most egregious sleazebag possible as President of the United States.

As usual, my list is long. There were simply too many excellent movies to have to limit the list to ten. Certain films (Gods of Egypt) found themselves here due as much to their utter and inappropriate rejection by critics and audiences, greatly influenced, one suspects, by all the pre-judging via internet. Others (Beautiful Something) were such a resounding surprise that they managed to move outside their specific genre, while yet others (The Love Witch, and Sam Klemke's Time Machine) were so unique, bizarre and riveting that they create their own genre.

So, even as we move onward and downward, socially and politically, we may also move upward, so far as films are concerned -- if the following 52 titles are any indication....

AFERIM!  Romania's entry into the BFLF Oscar sweeps was overlooked by the Academy, but it's a better movie than the winning film, Son of Saul. (Aferim! didn't cover the WWII Holocaust, so of course it couldn't compete.) Radu Jude's bleak but comedic look at history and the persecution of gypsies is like little you'll have previously seen.

APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD  Gorgeous, inventively old-fashioned animation coupled to an entrancing tale. Kids and adults should simultaneously go gaga.

ART BASTARD  The art industry eviscerated via one artist's nifty little story and career. A must-see.

BEAUTIFUL SOMETHING  The gay film of the year: as artful and empathetic as it is dreamlike and sexual.

BEING 17  The latest and one of the best from André Téchiné explores the relationship of two high school boys in the French provinces.

THE BRAND NEW TESTAMENT  Gloriously funny satire targeting religion, modern society and lots more in this Belgian bonanza all about god's backstory.

BY SIDNEY LUMET  A wonderful and riveting appreciation of one of Hollywood's great, undersung directors -- done mostly via his own words and accompanying pix.

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC  The family film of the year -- all about how to "teach your children well," along with the intended and unintended results of same.

COLLIDING DREAMS  One of the best and most thought-provoking documentaries about Israel, its history and place in the today's world.

THE CORPSE OF ANNA FRITZ  The year's most transgressive movie doubles as a nifty little thriller that's sharp, fast and -- yikes! -- feminist!

DE PALMA  Another first-rate doc about a moviemaker (see By Sidney Lumet, above) in which the moviemakers and that director cover just about his entire oeuvre.

EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO  Peter Greenaway explores Eisenstein and his sexuality in a movie that's as capacious, gorgeous and full of temptation as our hero's Mexican lover's cock.

EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT  The third world as seldom (if ever) seen in this black-and-white marvel about the meanings and results of colonization.

FATIMA  The French choice for Best Film of the Year is simplicity itself, while working beautifully on just about every level.

FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY  Another of Asghar Farhadi's older Iranian movies, only this year finally getting a theatrical release. As good as, if not better, than his others.

GERMANS & JEWS  This "discussion" documentary is a bracing, must-see addition to the continuing history of both Germany and Jews.

GODS OF EGYPT  Yep. Not simply "better-than-you've-heard," but the closest thing to a modern-day Thief of Bagdad that has yet appeared. Delightful, crazy fun.

GREEN ROOM  The year's best, fastest, tightest thriller, and yet another reason to mourn the untimely passing of that wonderful young actor, Anton Yelchin.

THE HANDMAIDEN  A knockout melding of sex, story and style from South Korea's Park Chan-wook. The most visually gorgeous movie of this beauty-packed year.

HELL OR HIGH WATER  This modern western, as good as the genre gets, also offers up the way we live now to a sad, desolate "t."

HOMO SAPIENS  Photography as plot, character and theme in Nikolaus Geyrhalter's ode to the beauty to be found in desolation.

I, DANIEL BLAKE  Ken Loach has lost none of his ability to move and anger us at the plight of the unnecessarily downtrodden.

I KNEW HER WELL   The best film ever made about a woman, this practically unknown but great, humane and encompassing Italian movie from 1965 only this year saw its at-last! theatrical and home-video release on these shores.

INDIGNATION  James Schamus' first directorial effort doubles as the best Philip Roth on film so far. A beautiful, sorrowful period piece.

THE INNOCENTS  Anne Fontaine's best is also one of the year's deepest and most profound tales of faith and caring.

THE KIND WORDS  From Israel, a family film about siblings, parenting and parentage that will charm and surprise you.

LAMB  Ross Partridge's tale of caring, trust and betrayal is so unusual that, even if you're not as smitten as TM was, I suspect you won't be able to deny the power of this strange and moving fable.

LONDON ROAD  The year's best -- and most original -- musical, this knockout will only seem better once the home video version is released, with English subtitles, we hope, so that we can really savor all those great "lyrics."

LOOK WHO'S BACK  I believe that the only place you can see this provocative German comedy that concerns the "return" of Hitler (and no, its not about Donald Trump) is via Netflix streaming. This is one brave, smart, hilarious experience.

LOST AND BEAUTIFUL  A documentary about so many things -- Italy, labor, animals, history and more -- that come together as a glorious, mystifying whole.

LOVE & FRIENDSHIP  Maybe the best Jane Austen adaptation so far. Whit Stillman and Kate Beckinsale excel -- and then some.

THE LOVE WITCH  This one-of-a-kind movie has stayed with me longer and more firmly that I would have imagined. Hence its inclusion here. (A number of other critics were impressed, as well, so try it.)

MIA MADRE   From Italy, an exquisite little film about mothers and movie-making that surprises and enchants.

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA  Kenneth Lonergan's look at how we live with guilt is is a profound experience (also lively, humorous and angry) not to be missed

MARGUERITE  The French version of Florence Foster Jenkins is by far the better movie. Rich, beautiful, mysterious, moving and funny.

MOONLIGHT  Personal filmmaking raised to a very high level of accessible art, this tale of growing up black and gay in the Miami area is as rich and resonant as movies come.

MY BIG NIGHT  The year's best, most energetic and lively comedy -- so fast, furious and filled with incident and characters that you'll have to work hard to keep up. It is more than worth the effort.

NOT FILM  All about Samuel Beckett, his Film, his being, and his work (and so much else, especially filmmaking itself). This one-of-a-kind documentary should prove catnip even to those who are not Beckett fans.

NUTS!  Penny Lane's delightful doc about an American of a century past who may remind you of a certain Mr. Trump.

ONCE IN A LIFETIME  Based on real events, this French movie about teaching, learning and the Holocaust is marvelous and moving in both the lessons imparted and how these are executed.

RABIN: THE LAST DAY  Amos Gitai's important and provocative look at Israeli history, with emphasis on the life and death of Yitzhak Rabin.

SAM KLEMKE'S TIME MACHINE  An original and then some, this modest-but-amazing documentary about one very ordinary fellow and his attempt to capture his own life and times is made quite special via the intelligence brought to it by the filmmaker, Matthew Bate.

THE SIMILARS  Low-budget sci-fi/fantasy doesn't get any better -- or more fun -- than this little treasure from Mexico's Isaac Ezban.

SING STREET  John Carney hits three-for-three in his latest film demonstrating how music can change and better your life.

SERIAL KILLER 1  A disturbing, provocative French film about the search for and meaning of justice -- for criminal and victims alike.

STARVING THE BEAST  An important documentary all about the current and seemingly lasting assault on public higher education.

TALE OF TALES  Matteo Garrone's wonderful dark fairy tale explores some of the work of a famous Italian fabulist. Rich, playful, inventive and gorgeous.

THEO WHO LIVED  This amazing doc about a journalist who actually survived his terrorist kidnapping is told by the victim himself and is all the more riveting and thoughtful for this telling.

THE THOUGHTS THAT ONCE WE HAD  Thom Andersen's latest doc about movies and life and history and what connects it all is as personal and pleasurable as you'd expect from his past work.

VITA ACTIVA: THE SPIRIT OF HANNAH ARENDT  The best of any of the films involving the great Ms Arendt that we've so far seen, this doc explores the writer's ideas and connects them to her -- and our -- lives.

WEINER-DOG  Todd Solondz's latest look at our dark side filled with humor and hypocrisy to the max.

THE WITNESS  Kitty Genovese finally gets her due in this fine documentary that turns her -- at last -- into something so much more than mere victim.

Asghar Farhadi's FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY gets U.S. theatrical premiere at Film Forum

The more movies I see from Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, the more impressed I am. This is true even though the films I've lately seen were made years before his Oscar-winning A Separation and his following film, The Past. Opening this week is a ten-year-old movie titled FIREWORKS WEDNESDAY, which is almost as fine a film as About Elly, from 2009, which opened here only last year and is, in TrustMovies' estimation, the pinnacle of Farhadi's work so far.

The Iranian filmmaker, shown at right, is the only one I know of who gives us Iran's bourgeoisie in all its troubling, fascinating, gee-they're-kinda-like-us entirety. It is difficult to view the first three of these films, in fact, without being stuck by how little fundamentalist religion appears to rule. The key word here is appears, of course, because, fundamentalist ideals do penetrate and control. And yet -- ah, the endearing/disconcerting predilection of human beings toward denial and hypocrisy -- Iranians do seem to circumvent fundamentalism when they need or want to.

This is why I suspect that Farhadi has mostly circumvented the censors. He manages with almost amazing consistency and honesty to show us Iranians living within their cultural and religious boundaries while at the same time struggling to rise above them.

Yet his characters never give voice to anything negative about their culture/religion. No -- they simply show us their specific situations and how they handle these. So we can watch them struggling to be human, while the censors can see them as moving outside their restricted lives and having to paying the price of unhappiness.

This is quite the tightrope walk, but Mr. Farhadi manages it beautifully, unlike his countryman Jafar Panahi, who is more vocal and open in his criticism -- and has paid for it by, so far as I know, still being under some weird form of house arrest. (Though he did manage to make the great film Taxi while in this "subdued" state, so maybe this sort of "somewhat-censorship" agrees with him by forcing him into the kind of alternating submission, insistence and pretzel twists that lead to humanitarian movie masterpieces.)

In any case, back to Fireworks Wednesday, the plot of which entwines a middle-aged couple's marital troubles (two photos above) with a young bride-to-be cleaning lady (seated, above, and at left, below) and the not-so-young woman (standing above, left) who lives across the hall. The movie takes place within a single day and night, during which we learn everything we need to know about these people to understand what they're going through and why. As usual, Farhadi identifies with all his major characters, and so, eventually, do we.

His film begins with a simply priceless scene (above) that works symbolically and realistically -- involving a chador and a motorcycle -- and manages, without raising its voice (or even suggesting this) to question tradition, fundamentalism, patriarchy, and a whole lot more. From there we bounce from one event to the next, as the movie becomes a surprisingly suspenseful tale of possible adultery, friendship and several instances of help and betrayal.

Before the film is finished, that chador has gotten up to all kinds of odd things, and our sympathies have been tossed back and forth among the various characters and their friends. By the end, the filmmaker has given us yet another amazing, in-depth tale of middle-class life in modern Iran.

A Grasshopper Film release and running 104 minutes, Fireworks Wednesday opens this Wednesday, March 16, at Film Forum in New York City, where it will have a two-week run. As for other playdates and cities, I am not sure, Perhaps the distributor -- a newcomer in the field of foreign, independent and documentary films -- will see fit to tell us soon.

TrustMovies' best (and most overlooked) movies of 2015 -- independent, foreign language and documentary films

What do you know? One of the first movies I covered in 2015 turns out to remain the best of the year. That would be Still Life (my original review of which appears here), a wonder of beauty with a subject that movies almost never get near. The result is, as a good friend of mine observed, "Haunting. It has stayed with me ever since I watched."

The remaining 51 films are listed in the order in which they opened -- or at least in which I finally viewed them. (You can click on each one to go to my original review.)  I am not including any big-budget, mainstream movies this year. There were plenty of good ones, but this blog is devoted to the less-seen and under-marketed films, so let's honor that intention.
Here we go....

Still Life (see above), the great Eddie Marsan in what may be his greatest role, in the most beautiful (theme, cinematography and total execution) movie of the year. Unforgettable.

Timbuktu: A look at the Muslim world like little you'll have seen. It probably should have won Best Foreign Film last year. In any case, it's a keeper.

Girlhood: Céline Sciamma's look at French youth in the banlieues of Paris turns out to be ever better than I initially thought. And that was already damned good.

The Voices: Another film that, having viewed it twice, grows in stature. Alternately ugly and funny, it's a movie I wager you won't have seen anything quite like.

Matt Shepherd Is a Friend of Mine: This warts-and-all doc turns the late poster-boy-for-gay-hate-crimes into a full-bodied, sad and memorable person.

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem: How to get a divorce (a "gett") in Israel. A quiet shocker of major proportions.

What We Do in the Shadows: Vampires and comedy do not have a storied history. This movie changes all that. A riotous, non-stop delight.

Queen and Country: Shockingly bypassed by too many critics and most audiences, this is one of John Boorman's best films.

The Best Offer: I'm late in catching up with this riveting, much-overlooked psychological drama from one of my favorite directors, Giuseppe Tornatore. It's a "must."

Predestination: and Spring: Exceptional and very different kinds of sci-fi/fantasy films, both executed supremely well, and in the case of the latter, very strangely.

A Wolf at the Door: This Brazilian film is every bit as dark and believable as any you'll have seen. A quiet, unsettling shocker that deserves a much wider audience.

Ned Rifle: the final piece of Hal Hartley's Henry Fool trilogy. A "must" for his fans, and at least a "maybe" for all others.

5 to 7: The year's best love story juxtaposes French and American culture with a fine eye, while offering juicy performances and an ending that is just about perfection.

Chic! This barely-seen French comedy about fashion, creativity and romance is a delicious, subversive surprise. Seek it out if you can find it. Good luck.

About Elly: Finally being released here in the USA, this one is the best of all from that much-lauded Iranian filmmaker. Asghar Farhadi.

Like Sunday Like Rain: Another overlooked gem about an odd relationship that somehow works quite beautifully. Pitch perfect, quirky, funny and finally extraordinarily moving.

GÜEROS -- From darkest Mexico come an exhilarating movie that is -- can you believe it?! -- not about kidnapping.

Gemma Bovery: An unusual "take" on Flaubert's famous tale that proves a comic delight.

Sunset Edge: Kids spend a day in an abandoned trailer park. One of the least-seen but best filmmaking debuts of the year.

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence: Another Roy Andersson amazement. 'Nuff said.

10.000 KM: A long-distance relationship via laptop makes for a smart, surprising relationship movie.

Phoenix: A post-Holocaust mystery that explores guilt, shame, denial -- and hope -- in intriguing ways.

Listen to Me Marlon: Marlon Brando as you've never seen (nor heard) him in a fascinating documentary based on the actor's private recordings.

The Kindergarten Teacher: Israeli drama exploring art, creativity and hypocrisy -- among other things -- in that country today.

Counting: Terrific cinematography and allusive meaning highlight this provocative and beautiful-to-behold documentary about time and place and... what?

A Little Chaos: Alan Rickman's splendid look at Louis XIV and his court and garden. Perhaps the most overlooked and under-rated of all the year's films.

Rosenwald: How the Academy overlooked this fine and important documentary about one of America's great businessmen/philanthropists is a mystery indeed. Don't you do the same.

Guidance: The year's most glorious comedy -- oh, so wonderfully politically incorrect!

The Second Mother and I Touched All Your Stuff: Two underseen Brazilian films -- the first a narrative, the second (a still from which is shown above) a documentary -- both of which deserved a much wider audience.

Blind: An original exploration into the mind of the non-sighted, this is one hell of a trip.

Home from Home: An amazing movie from one of Germany's least-known (but ought not to be) filmmakers.

Closer to the Moon: a terrific little based-on-fact tale filled with nonstop fun and irony (and Vera Farmiga and Mark Strong).

The Fool: The darkest, bleakest, black comedic look at today's Russia that you can imagine. Beats out even last year's Leviathan

The Farewell Party: The end-of-life movie to end all of 'em, this Israeli comedy/drama is spectacularly well-done.

Movement + Location: Brilliant, low-key sci-fi that's about a whole lot of things -- especially the immigrant experience.

The Creeping Garden: It is almost unimaginable how interesting, enjoyable, educational and fun this documentary about slime mold turns out to be.

Taxi: The Iranian provocateur Jafar Panahi takes us into his life as a taxi driver in this hybrid of documentary and narrative.

Walter: This little-seen Canadian film is a winner in all respects -- especially in the way it confounds our ideas about religion, ghosts and god.

Tab Hunter Confidential: The story of one of Hollywood's most popular 1950s stars is laid bare in this excellent documentary.

Why I'm Not on Facebook: This must-see doc tackles everything from that social network behemoth to narcissism and the way we live today.

Suffragette: The struggle for women's right to vote in England becomes a major work of sacrifice and upheaval.

Mustang: France's BFLF submission is a fine tale of Turkish sisters struggling for their freedom from fundamentalist Islam.

Brooklyn: One of the year's best, with a fabulous lead performance from its star, Saoirse Ronan.

Stink!  A fine activist doc about safety, corporate power and greed that needs to be seen.

Hitchcock/Truffaut: The film-buff doc of the year, a treasure-trove of info about (nearly) everyone's favorite director.

My Friend Victoria: From France, and the movie of the year so far as race, class and the building of character are concerned.

Chi-Raq: Spike Lee and Kevin Willmott's updating of Lysistrata to present-day Chicago proves Lee's best movie in a long, long while: funny, smart, and sporting a crack cast. music, dance and rap poetry.

45 Years: A love story, the likes of which we rarely see, in which a long-time marriage threatens to unravel before our -- and its participant's -- eyes.

Youth: Paolo Sorrentino does it again in this, the most visually arresting film of the year. Gorgeous.

(Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies. Sure, lying is only human, but this fine doc shows us why and how to keep this particular characteristic in check.

Experimenter: The Stanley Milgram story -- done with enough wit, style and passion to create a memorable minor classic.

Faults: Cults and deprogramming get a look-see like nothing you will have thus far encountered. This one's a humdinger!