WATCH GREAT CINEMA

With an artful eye and jazzy unpredictability, Kelly Reichardt unravels the threads of the heist film in this standout from Cannes. As an antihero kicking about on the brink of the ‘70s, Josh O’Connor is unmissable, lending rumpled discontent to this ironic, wry vision of American individualism.

A beautifully modulated turn from Alia Shawkat complicates the broader fun of this zany war satire, costarring Callum Turner. A playfully shot debut feature, Atropia lands its different strands skillfully: touching human drama, tangly undercover romance, and confrontational send-up of US militarism.

Channeling influence from the movies into her mesmerizing movements, Mitski gives live performances that find kindred spirit in cinema. Playing with speed, color, and freeze frames to electrifying effect, her first concert documentary embraces the transformative power of both film and music.

Cascading through time, Mascha Schilinski’s incomparable Cannes prizewinner orchestrates echoes of past experience into transcendent poetic cinema. Surfacing evocative, gilded imagery from the shadows of femininity, Sound of Falling confirms the tremendous talents of its ambitious writer-director.

The first Nigerian film ever to screen in Official Selection at Cannes, this prizewinning debut feature from Akinola Davies Jr. is steeped in feeling and lyrical imagery. Bathing the father-son bond in a tender glow, this vibrant coming-of-age tale gathers up precious things amid political tumult.

Giving imaginative weight to emotional baggage, this uniquely surreal comedy upholsters disaffection in off-yellow tones and deadpan humor. Brilliant performances from an all-star cast—Ewan McGregor, in particular—bring captivating poignancy to an absurdist allegory of how family ties fray and mend.

Winner of the 1993 Palme d’Or, Chen Kaige’s widescreen epic draws on the classical theater for its expansive vision. Its modern take on taboos surrounding homosexuality and gender performativity— a first in Chinese cinema—was not without controversy: a queer, epoch-spanning masterpiece for the ages.