Hello Reader, This June, you’re invited to watch a story about identity and family — where politics show up in relationships, not speeches. Nothing traumatic happens on screen. Instead, you get duty and ritual, love and relationships — and the kind of arguments you only have with the people who know you best. Why I chose it:
Most people walk away talking about the characters — and rightly so. But if you’re up for it, we’ll also unpack what’s happening beneath the surface: how it’s made, what it reveals, and what it asks of us as viewers. Here’s what you’ll get inside Reel Ruminators:
There’s no one way to participate. You can take it all in on your own time, join the live discussion, or catch the replay later. Whatever pace or depth works for you — you're welcome here. “Most of the Reel Ruminators films have been such a discovery for me and aren’t films I would have necessarily chosen to watch on my own. It’s opened me up to new types of films that I really like.
One of the films that really lingered with me a lot…I saw the trailer and thought, I would not have watched this if I were just alone… and what a loss that would have been!
Everyone has a different way of watching movies and of expressing their thoughts about the movie — even if it’s expressing a similar feeling. Sometimes, other members have had a whole different perspective that I wouldn’t have thought about at all, and it’s fantastic.”
- Nurri Kim, Reel Ruminators member
This isn’t just about watching a great film. It’s about what happens when you have space to sit with it, understand it more deeply, and see it through others’ eyes, too. 👉 Click here to learn more or join us for June Cheers, Alex |
Seventh Row is a nonprofit Canadian film criticism publication and publishing house. We're dedicated to helping you expand your horizons by curating the best socially progressive films from around the world and helping you think deeply about them. This newsletter is run by Seventh Row (http://seventh-row.com) but features exclusive content not found on the website.
Hello Reader, Welcome to your June edition of The Globetrotting Watchlist. This month, we’re focusing on Palestinian cinema — films that grapple with occupation, resistance, and identity, often under impossible constraints. Inside Reel Ruminators, I’ve programmed a Palestinian film you can’t stream anywhere else in North America. It’s a rare find, and a powerful one — so I wanted to build a broader cinematic lens around it here. In this newsletter, you’ll find a selection of publicly...
Hi Reader, What makes the Langley vault sequence so memorable? The gum bomb? The characters who only have a couple of scenes? What other film wrings this much tension from a floppy disk and a drop of sweat? Ep. 174: Mission Impossible (1996) with Angelo Muredda This week on the podcast, fellow film critic Angelo Muredda joins me to dig into why the original Mission: Impossible still stands apart. Not just because it was directed by Brian De Palma, but because of the elegance of its...
Hello Reader, We talk a lot about endings. (Did it stick the landing?) We sometimes talk about openings. But put them together, and you unlock something about the film. That’s what this week’s episode is all about. Last week, I talked about Jane Austen Wrecked My Life as a whole: what makes it one of the best films of 2025. This week, I’m zooming in on how it begins and ends. Because in a film this thoughtful, those bookends carry serious weight. It’s not just about how the story opens and...