Hello Reader, A great character drama isn't just interested in its characters as individuals but as people responding to the world around them (other people, the culture, systemic structures, etc.). So many movies make the mistake of becoming star vehicles without realizing the star can only shine as bright as the world they're responding to. But there's a new movie out this week that exemplifies this definition of a great character drama: a film as interested in the characters at its centre...
17 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Have you ever seen a movie that hit you so hard, so personally, that you felt like, "Someone reached into my brain and made a movie about my life"? That's how I feel about the film Oslo, August 31st, the film Seventh Row named the best film of the 2010s. It wasn't just a movie I loved, but one that would have substantial ripple effects on my life as a cinephile and critic. But I almost didn't see it. In fact, it sounded exactly like the kind of movie I was trying to avoid! Yet,...
26 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Last week, a listener who had heard my episode on Small Things Like These expressed to me that she couldn't believe how hard it was to see the film. "I live in Brooklyn, and it's only playing in one cinema! This film has terrible distribution!" That is, the film's rollout to cinemas is terrible. And that got me thinking. That is terrible distribution. And yet Small Things Like These actually has very good distribution for an indie movie, especially given its subject matter, even...
29 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Are you tired of endlessly scrolling through streaming services for something promising to watch besides classics? Do you find that even your local arthouse cinema is reluctant to play films that aren’t in English, don’t have big stars, or haven’t been generating tons of festival buzz? Do you struggle to find recommendations from film critics for films you haven’t heard of? Not everyone has time to go to dozens of film festivals and watch hundreds of foreign films that might not...
30 days ago • 2 min read
Hello Reader, Fresh off his Oscar win for Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy stars in and produces Small Things Like These, a subtle, thoughtful Irish independent film that's one of the year's best. Despite Murphy's deep involvement and tremendous lead performance, the film is more than a star vehicle: it's a character actor's film that's peopled with character actors. It's a film that's as much about the world around Cillian Murphy's character as it is about him. Cillian Murphy stars as Bill...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, This week, Steve McQueen's Apple film Blitz hits cinemas. I've yet to see the film so can't comment on it, but I can heartily recommend going back to check out his Small Axe films, which was the last time he made films about Black British history. Steve McQueen's Small Axe 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Stream on Prime, Rent on AppleTV+ 🇬🇧 Stream on BBC iPlayer; Rent on AppleTV, Sky+, Amazon 🇮🇪 Stream on Netflix 🇳🇿 Stream on Stan Find it in your country Although Steve McQueen became a star for telling...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, You are receiving this as a paying subscriber to The Globetrotting Watchlist (which includes Film Adventurer and Cinephile Members), a monthly newsletter that helps you expand your cinematic horizons through streaming recommendations for the best socially progressive under-the-radar films worldwide. Your support helps us pay our expenses to keep Seventh Row, a non-profit, ad-free and online. What's Inside the Globetrotting Newsletter This month, I'm recommending: Confessions of...
about 2 months ago • 7 min read
Hello Reader, In the final episode of the TIFF 2024 season, I talk to renowned theatre director Marianne Elliott, who has made her feature film debut with The Salt Path, which had its world premiere at TIFF. The film, starring Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs, is an adaptation of Raynor Wynne's bestselling memoir and explores the journey of a couple embarking on a transformative hike along the English coast after a series of personal losses. Marianne Elliott is a multiple Tony and Olivier...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, Just because people are buzzing about the latest pope drama, Conclave, doesn't mean it's worth your time. You don't need to see Conclave. But you may want to go back 10+ years to see a better pope-related drama, We Have a Pope (Nanni Moretti, 2011, Italy). Who doesn't want to watch a movie about a pope who has a panic attack once he's elected, gets seen by a psychiatrist in front of all the cardinals (see image below), and then runs away from the Vatican and joins a troupe of...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read