Rebel Ridge
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Starring: Aaron Pierre, AnnaSophia Robb
Synopsis: In this high-velocity thriller, former Marine Terry (Aaron Pierre) confronts corruption in a small town when local law enforcement unjustly seizes the cash he needs to post his cousin’s bail. As tensions escalate, Terry’s mysterious background comes to the forefront as he seeks justice and protection for those he cares about.
Daughters
Directors: Angela Patton, Natalie Rae
Starring: Chad Morris, Angela Patton, Aubrey Smith, Keith Sweptson
Synopsis: This poignant documentary follows four young girls preparing for a special Daddy-Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C. jail. The film delves into the emotional journeys of these families, highlighting the profound impact of maintaining connections despite physical barriers.
How to Have Sex
Director: Molly Manning Walker
Starring: Mia McKenna-Bruce, Lara Peake, Enva Lewis
Synopsis: The film portrays the experiences of three British teenage girls—Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce), Skye (Lara Peake), and Em (Enva Lewis)—who embark on a post-examination trip to Greece. Amidst the revelry, they encounter an older group of friends, leading to situations that challenge their perceptions of consent and peer pressure.
Housekeeping for Beginners
Director: Goran Stolevski
Starring: Anamaria Marinca
Synopsis: Set in Skopje, North Macedonia, this drama revolves around a health care worker who becomes the guardian of a diverse group of individuals following a tragedy. The film explores themes of family, identity, and societal norms within the Balkan context.
The Idea of You
Director: Michael Showalter
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine
Synopsis: Based on Robinne Lee’s novel, the film chronicles the unexpected romance between Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mother, and Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the 24-year-old lead singer of the popular boy band August Moon. Their relationship challenges societal norms and personal boundaries.
Red Island
Director: Robin Campillo
Synopsis: Drawing from personal experiences, the film offers an evocative portrayal of French colonialism in 1970s Madagascar. Through the eyes of a young boy, it examines the complex social dynamics between the French military personnel and the local Malagasy community, shedding light on themes of race, class, and cultural identity.
The Piano Lesson
Director: Malcolm Washington
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher
Synopsis: Adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the story delves into the lives of a family in 1930s Pittsburgh grappling with the legacy of a treasured heirloom piano. The narrative explores themes of heritage, family conflict, and the African American experience.
All We Imagine as Light
Director: Payal Kapadia
Starring: Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam
Synopsis: Set in contemporary Mumbai, the film follows the lives of three women navigating personal and societal challenges. It offers a nuanced portrayal of urban life, female camaraderie, and the pursuit of dreams amidst the city’s chaos.
The End We Start From
Director: Mahalia Belo
Starring: Jodie Comer
Synopsis: In a dystopian future where London is submerged due to catastrophic flooding, a new mother (Jodie Comer) embarks on a harrowing journey to find safety for herself and her newborn. The film is a editation on survival, motherhood, and resilience in the face of environmental disaster.
Green Border
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Synopsis: This gripping drama sheds light on the refugee crisis at the Poland-Belarus border. Through interwoven narratives, it portrays the harrowing experiences of migrants and the moral dilemmas faced by those on both sides of the border.
Conclave
Director: Edward Berger
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow
Synopsis: Following the death of the Pope, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) is tasked with overseeing the secretive process of electing a new pontiff. As the conclave unfolds, he uncovers deep-seated conspiracies and scandals that could shake the very foundations of the Catholic Church.
Emilia Pérez
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez
Synopsis: This audacious musical drama tells the story of Emilia Pérez (Karla Sofía Gascón), a feared cartel leader who seeks the help of lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldaña) to orchestrate her disappearance and transition into a new life as a woman. The film explores themes of identity, transformation, and redemption within the backdrop of Mexico’s criminal underworld.
These films offer a diverse range of narratives and genres, reflecting the dynamic landscape of cinema in 2024.
The End – A Musical Farewell to Civilization
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, George MacKay, Moses Ingram
From the mind behind The Act of Killing comes something entirely unexpected—a musical. The End marks Joshua Oppenheimer’s feature debut, and it’s as strange as it is ambitious. Set in a future where the world is on its last breath, the story centers around a wealthy family tucked away in a salt mine bunker, desperately clinging to art and culture while the planet burns.
While the film can be slow and at times overly symbolic, its haunting beauty lingers. Tilda Swinton and Michael Shannon shine as the last aristocrats, but it’s George MacKay and Moses Ingram who steal the spotlight as two young souls on opposite sides of the apocalypse. Their hesitant romance adds a deeply human pulse to this stylized, melancholic farewell to humanity.
Vermiglio – Quiet Reverberations in Wartime Alps
Director: Maura Delpero
Cast: Giuseppe De Domenico
Set in the secluded heights of the Alps during the final days of World War II, Vermiglio is a slow-burning, lyrical piece about disruption and desire. When a traumatized Sicilian soldier arrives in a devout mountain village, his presence rattles the tightly wound routines of a deeply conservative family.
Director Maura Delpero paints a vivid contrast between the safety of isolation and the chaos of the outside world. The film’s emotional beats are hushed yet powerful, its themes of repression and awakening quietly unfurling like snow melting in spring. If you’re drawn to beautifully shot period dramas with emotional undercurrents, Vermiglio is a must-watch.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Horror Beneath the Surface
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Cast: Soheila Golestani, Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki
Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig begins like a restrained domestic drama in the tradition of Asghar Farhadi but transforms into a gripping psychological thriller. The film follows a family of women as they slowly realize they’re living with a monster—their patriarch.
What begins as subtle unease quickly escalates into a terrifying allegory for authoritarianism and surveillance in modern Iran. Given that Rasoulof fled his country to escape a prison sentence, this film carries a very real and raw emotional weight. It’s not just a critique—it’s a warning.
Anora – Love and Loss in a City That Never Sleeps
Director: Sean Baker
Cast: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn
Winner of this year’s Palme d’Or, Anora is a gritty and energetic odyssey through the streets of New York City. Sean Baker (Red Rocket, The Florida Project) continues his tradition of spotlighting marginalized lives with heart and style.
Mikey Madison delivers a powerhouse performance as Anora, a fiery stripper who stumbles into romance—and danger—after meeting the son of a Russian oligarch. The film is as vibrant and alive as its central character, full of dark comedy, searing commentary, and a third act that will leave you speechless. Anora is a street-level fairy tale, but one where the ending is anything but enchanted.
Nickel Boys – History Told in First-Person Pain
Director: RaMell Ross
Cast: Ethan Herisse, Brandon Wilson
Based on the novel by: Colson Whitehead
Adapting Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel was never going to be easy, but director RaMell Ross takes a bold approach by telling Nickel Boys almost entirely in the first person. This technique creates a chilling immediacy as viewers are thrust into the harrowing lives of two young Black boys trapped in a brutal 1960s Florida reform school.
Ross, known for his documentary Hale County This Morning, This Evening, blends fiction and nonfiction sensibilities to capture both the specific and the systemic. The result is a heart-wrenching meditation on racism, trauma, and the stories America prefers not to tell.
Hard Truths – Sisterhood Under Strain
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin
Mike Leigh returns with Hard Truths, a deeply intimate story about two sisters, their estranged relationship, and the weight of a shared past. Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, an eccentric and explosive Londoner barely hanging on. Michele Austin plays Chantelle, her grounded, quietly exasperated sister.
Their reunion is as tender as it is tense. Leigh’s script cuts with precision, exposing emotional wounds that never quite healed. It’s a film that asks for your patience—and rewards it with piercing truths about family, regret, and the strange comfort of shared pain.
His Three Daughters – A Chamber Piece That Hits Hard
Director: Azazel Jacobs
Cast: Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen
On the surface, His Three Daughters might feel like a stage play. And in some ways, it is—a single-location, character-driven drama focused on three siblings navigating their father’s final days. But beneath that theatrical framework lies an emotional tsunami.
Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, and Elizabeth Olsen form a trio with startling chemistry. Their interactions are layered with grief, resentment, love, and even humor. As the story unfolds, the film finds its cinematic rhythm, culminating in a finale that is ethereal and emotionally devastating. This is one of the year’s finest indie gems.
No Other Land – Protest as Poetry
Directors: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
A co-production between a Palestinian activist and an Israeli journalist, No Other Land is a gut-wrenching documentary about the demolition of Palestinian communities in the West Bank. But it’s more than just a document of displacement—it’s an act of resistance and an attempt at understanding.
Filmed with unflinching honesty and edited with poetic grace, this film captures the heartbreak of colonial violence and the fragile hope that solidarity can bring. It’s urgent, devastating, and unfortunately, still without a U.S. distributor—a telling silence in itself.
I Saw the TV Glow – When Nostalgia Becomes Nightmare
Director: Jane Schoenbrun
Cast: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine
Jane Schoenbrun’s second feature is a genre-defying exploration of identity, isolation, and growing up under the flicker of TV screens. I Saw the TV Glow starts as a dreamlike homage to shows like Buffy and Are You Afraid of the Dark? but slowly morphs into something darker and far more personal.
Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine deliver emotionally raw performances in this metaphor-rich narrative that speaks volumes about the trans experience, even as it refrains from spelling things out. It’s a slow, sorrowful burn of a movie, but one that lingers long after the final frame. Schoenbrun cements their place as a vital voice in modern filmmaking.
My Old Ass – Talking to Your Future Self, Literally
Director: Megan Park
Cast: Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza
Ignore the eyebrow-raising title—My Old Ass is one of the most charming and emotionally insightful films of the year. Set against the stunning backdrop of Lake Muskoka in Ontario, the film follows Elliott, a college-bound teenager played by breakout star Maisy Stella, who unexpectedly meets a 39-year-old version of herself—played with delicious deadpan and surprising tenderness by Aubrey Plaza.
What begins as a playful, slightly surreal coming-of-age comedy gradually morphs into something deeper: a meditation on growing up, messing up, and doing it all anyway. Plaza brings a slow-burning poignancy to the role of future-Elliott, while Stella sparkles with the bright, nervous energy of someone teetering on the edge of adulthood.
Director Megan Park (The Fallout) handles the high-concept premise with warmth and humor, asking one of life’s trickier questions: If we could know the heartbreak ahead, would we still take the leap? My Old Ass answers with a heartfelt, slightly hungover yes—and it’s a message worth hearing, no matter how old your ass is.
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