This December,make yourself at home in some of cinema‘s most memorable hotels,celebrate Julianne Moore’s bracingly human performances,or explore the trailblazing debuts of Black women filmmakers. A new installment of Queersighted uncovers the hidden gay histories of Hollywood’s golden age, while our director retrospectives spotlight the romantic lyricism of Wong Kar Wai, the novelistic human dramas of Joachim Trier, and the furiously angry action spectacles of Ringo Lam. there’s so much more to choose from this month, including Bi Gan’s visionary mind-benders, Med Hondo’s inventive anticolonial agit-prop, Susan Sontag’s unclassifiable directorial debut, and the proto-Bollywood epic Mother India.

*Indicates programming available only in the U.S.*

Wong Kar-wai: Auteur Collection

Lush visuals, swooning soundtracks, and wistful romanticism have made him one of contemporary cinema’s defining artists. Working with key collaborators like actors Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, celebrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle, and virtuoso editor and production and costume designer William Chang suk Ping, Wong has created some of cinema’s most rapturous, stylistically daring explorations of alienation, memory, and longing. From the soulful science-fiction romance 2046 to the dazzlingly stylized kung fu epic The Grandmaster, the films collected here are an invitation to the sublime cinematic cosmos of a true visionary.

FEATURING: As Tears Go By (1988), Days of Being Wild (1990), Chungking express (1994), Fallen Angels (1995), Happy Together (1997), In the Mood for Love (2000), The Hand (2004), 2046 (2004), My Blueberry Nights (2007), *The Grandmaster (2013)

Black Debutantes: First Features by Black Women Directors

though their voices have historically been marginalized, innovative Black women filmmakers have long broken barriers to tell urgent, powerful, and perceptive stories on-screen. This festivity of pioneering Black women who made an impact with their very first-and in some cases only-feature film reveals a rich lineage of artists whose works open up into captivating dialog with one another. Exploring themes of revolutionary and anticolonialist struggle (Sarah Maldoror’s We called him, Sara Gómez’s One Way or Another), the experience of coming of age as a young black woman (Cauleen Smith’s Drylongso, Dee Rees’s Pariah), and the meaning of heritage and history (Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust, Zeinabu Irene Davis’s Compensation), these uniquely insightful, formally imaginative works are each an act of courageous dedication and vision.

Programmed by Rógan Graham, who presented a version of Black Debutantes at London’s BFI Southbank in May 2025.

FEATURING: we called him (1972), one Way or Another (1977), Will (1981), Losing Ground (1982), Daughters of the Dust (1991), Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1992), Welcome II the Terrordome (1995), Naked Acts (1996), The Watermelon woman (1996), Eve’s Bayou (1997), Drylongso (1998), Compensation (1999), Pariah (2011), I Am not a Witch (2017), *Pretty Red Dress (2022)

Shoeshine (Vittorio De Sica, 1946)

A story of innocence lost unfolds amid the hardscrabble reality of life on the streets of 1940s Rome in one of the miracles of Italian neorealism.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: Ski 70 (2016), a documentary by Mimmo Verdesca, made to mark the film’s seventieth anniversary; a program on Shoeshine and Italian neorealism featuring film scholars Paola Bonifazio and Catherine O’Rawe; and more.

Safe (Todd Haynes, 1995)

criterion Collection Edition #739

A Los Angeles housewife’s picture-perfect life crumbles when she develops what seems to be a disturbing allergy to modern existence-but is it all in her head?

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: Audio commentary by director Todd Haynes, actor Julianne Moore, and producer Christine Vachon; a conversation between haynes and Moore; and more.

Eve’s Bayou (Kasi Lemmons, 1997)

Criterion Collection Edition #1154

“The summer I killed my father, I was ten years old . ..” In 1960s Louisiana, a young girl sees her well-to-do family unravel in the wake of her philandering father’s infidelities.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: Audio commentary by director Kasi Lemmons, cinematographer Amy Vincent, producer Caldecot Chubb, and editor Terilyn A. Shropshire; interviews with Lemmons and composer Terence Blanchard; and more.

Pariah (Dee Rees, 2011)

Criterion Collection Edition #1083

A Brooklyn teenager navigates the emotional minefields of first love, heartache, and rejection on her journey toward embracing her lesbian identity.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: A conversation between director Dee Rees and filmmaker and professor Michelle Parkerson, a cast reunion, a program on the making of the film, and more.

Insignificance (Nicolas Roeg, 1985)

Criterion Collection Edition #566

Four people who look a lot like Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe DiMaggio, and Joseph McCarthy converge in one Manhattan hotel room in 1954, with explosive results.

DIRECTOR SPOTLIGHTS

Three by Todd Haynes

Emerging from the creative rebellion of the New Queer Cinema movement, Todd Haynes has remained one of American autonomous cinema’s most daring and subversive voices, a master stylist who uses his command of the language of classic melodrama to reveal the hidden fears, anxieties, and hypocrisies lurking beneath the surface of American society. Establishing his fiercely transgressive sensibility with his visually intoxicating,Jean Genet-inspired provocation Poison,he reached ever greater heights of critical acclaim with the disturbing psychological drama Safe and the lush,sirkian melodrama Far from Heaven,both featuring riveting performances from Julianne Moore as suburban housewives whose picture-perfect worlds crumble around them.

FEATURING: Poison (1991), Safe (1995), Far from Heaven (2002)

med hondo’s Anticolonial Agitations

Among the politically committed african filmmakers who emerged in the postcolonial era, Mauritanian-French firebrand Med Hondo stood as one of the boldest and most provocative voices, forging a fiercely experimental style all his own to examine the ancient toll of colonial oppression on generations of African people. Employing radical agit-prop, freewheeling avant-garde experimentation, and incisive satire, his films-including the explosive portrait of immigrant alienation Soeil Ô, the innovative musical West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty, and the feminist historical epic Sarraounia-point the way toward a truly decolonized cinema of liberation.

FEATURING: Ô (1970), West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty (1979), Sarraounia (1986)

Directed by Ringo Lam

Featuring a new introduction by author Grady Hendrix, part of Criterion’s Spotlight series

Raw, gritty, intensely angry visions of individuals pushed to the brink by a corrupt society, the films of Hong Kong action renegade Ringo Lam scorch the screen with an anarchic fury. His action classic City on Fire offered Chow Yun-fat one of his meatiest roles and inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. With hi

Dark and Disturbing Films for Thrill seekers

For those who enjoy films that delve into the darker aspects of the human psyche, offering suspense, psychological complexity, and often unsettling narratives, here’s a curated selection. These movies aren’t for the faint of heart, but they offer a compelling cinematic experience for those who appreciate a good thrill.

HOLLYWOOD BLOCKBUSTERS

American Psycho (2000)

Christian Bale is iconically unhinged as a sociopathic uber-yuppie whose high-powered Wall Street lifestyle conceals murderous impulses.

AMERICAN INDEPENDENTS

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

Crime hits devastatingly close to home for two brothers (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) entangled in a larcenous scheme gone wrong.

Donnie Darko (2001)

A troubled teen (Jake Gyllenhaal) must deal with the stresses of both adolescence and terrifying visions of the future.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

darren Aronofsky’s unflinching portrayal of addiction is a harrowing and visually striking descent into despair. It follows four characters whose lives spiral out of control due to their dependencies.

The Machinist (2004)

Another chilling performance from Christian Bale,this psychological thriller centers on a machinist suffering from insomnia and paranoia,leading to a disturbing unraveling of reality.

INTERNATIONAL CINEMA

Oldboy (2003) – South Korea

Park Chan-wook’s neo-noir action thriller is a brutal and unforgettable story of revenge. A man is imprisoned for 15 years without knowing his crime, and upon his release, he seeks answers and retribution.

Martyrs (2008) – France

This French horror film is notoriously disturbing and explores themes of suffering, faith, and the limits of human endurance. It’s a challenging watch, but undeniably impactful.

Inside (2007) – France

A pregnant woman is terrorized in her home by a mysterious woman who wants her unborn child. This is a relentlessly tense and violent home invasion thriller.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

These films explore dark themes and might potentially be disturbing to some viewers.
Many feature strong performances from acclaimed actors.
International cinema offers unique and frequently enough more extreme perspectives on the genre.
Be prepared for psychological complexity and challenging narratives.

Publication Date: 2025/11/20 01:49:42

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