Movie Reviews

‘Orphan,’ the new film by László Nemes, tells a bleak story of a Jewish boy in 1950s Budapest

A brilliant, hopeless portrait of troubled childhood, Orphan references the war in nearly every disconsulate frame.

ALTHOUGH SET after World War II, ‘Orphan’ references the war in nearly every disconsolate frame, and captures the melancholy of trying to pick up the pieces after a tragedy of such a grand scale.
The film opens in 1987, as 12-year-old Boaz (Yair Mazor) prepares for his bar mitzvah under a cloud of tension in his family.

Moshe Rosenthal’s ‘Tell Me Everything’ brings a powerful coming-of-age story to Israeli theaters

Second camera assistant Beth Horton marks another take as Dolly Parton is filmed in the Lifetime channel TV movie "The Blue Valley Songbird" in the Bethel Community of Maury County, Tennessee, US, July 28, 1999

What to watch in Israel this week: Classic action movies, and remembering Dolly Parton’s best roles

THERE ARE many well-acted, well-written scenes and an intriguing main plotline, but for anyone who just wants to have fun at the movies, ‘My One and Only’ is a misfire.

‘My One and Only’ is a muddled look at Jewish mysticism - review


Movie review: ‘Tori and Lokita’ tells a story  of migrants in Europe

In recent years, the Dardenne brothers have looked at the plight of migrants in Europe, and this is the subject of their latest film, Tori and Lokita, which opens throughout Israel on May 11.

 THE DARDENNE brothers’ ‘Tori and Lokita.’

‘Return to Dust’: Love and poverty in rural China - review

It’s a slow-paced movie, which demands patience from viewers, and will be too austere for the vast majority of moviegoers.

 ‘RETURN TO DUST’

'Tzadik': The story of a hero in the Holocaust - review

It’s based on an inspiring true story, and the action-packed film is very much Russian-style cinema, with pounding music and unsubtly staged drama.

 A SCENE  from ‘Tzadik.’

‘Spinning Gold’ movie departs from Hollywood stereotypes about Jewish music producers

The protagonist is a music executive, not an artist or a group, and the music mogul character — in this case, another Jewish one — is not treated as a villain.

 Illustrative image of person holding professional movie clapper board

'The Good Boss': A story of bad business - review

If you feel you can still laugh about the way the system grinds down employees then you won’t feel too bad watching The Good Boss.

 JAVIER BARDEM in ‘The Good Boss.’

'Beautiful Minds': An unlikely duo celebrating their power - review

Usually, I either like or dislike a movie, but with Beautiful Minds, I kept going back and forth, finding it alternately charming and cloying.

 BERNARD CAMPAN and Alexandre Jollien in ‘Beautiful Minds.’

‘Metronom’: Rebellious youth in Romania’s troubled times - review

It’s an ambitious movie, told mainly through two long scenes, the party and investigation, and it won Alexandru Belc the directing prize in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival.

 A SCENE FROM ‘Metronom.’

'Valeria is Getting Married': Story of a mail-order Ukrainian bride - review

The title of the film really ought to be Is Valeria Getting Married? because Christina knows that this kind of mail-order partnership is not a done deal.

 LENA FRAIFELD in ‘Valeria is Getting Married.’

‘Rosa’s Wedding’: A charming low-key comedy-drama - review

While the movie is often predictable, it is nevertheless enjoyable, and belongs squarely in the ever-growing genre of movies about middle-aged women making a major life transformation.

 ‘ROSA’S WEDDING’

'More than I Deserve' tells a very Israeli story - review

"More Than I Deserve" tells an intersecting story of two communities in Israel, new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and the ultra-Orthodox

 SCENES FROM ‘More Than I Deserve.’