FEATURES
Martin Scorsese on Silence
By Nick Pinkerton
Seventeenth-century Japan is the setting for a harrowing, stark meditation on a crisis of faith, crystallizing the filmmaker’s most closely held concerns
Fences
By Ina Archer
Actor-director Denzel Washington brings August Wilson’s acclaimed Tony Award–winning play to the screen, at long last, with its heart and soul intact
Annette Bening
By Molly Haskell
A candid chat with and an appreciation of the consummate American actor, who stars in 20th Century Women as a single mom in late-’70s Santa Barbara
The End: The Films of 2016
• The best films of the year, with arguments for each by the magazine’s contributors
• Top 20 Unreleased Films, Personal Bests, and Staff Picks
• Year-in-review essays by Nicolas Rapold and Michael Koresky
• Avant-garde, documentary, animation, and East Asian lists by Dennis Lim, Eric Hynes, David Filipi, and Tony Rayns
I Am Not Your Negro
By Andrew Chan
The vibrant wit, intellect, and passion of James Baldwin pulsate on screen in Raoul Peck’s ever-timely documentary.
Plus: An interview with the director by Ashley Clark
Radical Sundance
Remember when American independents could rattle you to your core? A look back at some electrifying films that premiered at the festival, with an introduction by Amy Taubin
The Festival Wellspring
By Eric Hynes
Amidst worries about distribution, new ways of creating audiences are thriving right under our noses at events such as Mexico’s Ambulante and Kosovo’s DokuFest
Marlen Khutsiev
By Nathan Dunne
The Soviet New Wave filmmaker tunneled through the Cold War to create spirited, generationally attuned works that were overshadowed by more famous countrymen
What Hath Steve Bannon Wrought?
By Jeff Reichert
The Breitbart News propagandist had a career directing documentaries. We saved you from having to watch them
DEPARTMENTS & COLUMNS
THE PRE-SHOW | News, views, conversations, and other things to get worked up about
News, Inspired: Albert Serra on The Death of Louis XIV, Release Me: Alison Maclean’s The Rehearsal by Nicolas Rapold, Directions: Bertrand Bonello by Violet Lucca, Restoration Row by Max Nelson, and more
CRITICS’ CHOICE
Critics rate and comment on new releases
MAKE IT REAL | The wide, wide world of cinematic nonfiction
Terrence Malick’s Voyage of Time by Eric Hynes
FINEST HOUR | One actor, one performance
Tatsuya Nakadai in The Sword of Doom by Imogen Sara Smith
ART AND CRAFT | Filmmaking according to the makers
Hannah Beachler, production designer
SCARE TACTICS | The pleasures of cinematic horror
The Autopsy of Jane Doe and other morgue-set horror by Laura Kern
PLAYING ALONG | Music and the movies
Leonard Cohen by Margaret Barton-Fumo
CURRENTS
New and important work from festivals and elsewhere
THE BIG SCREEN | Reviews of notable new films opening in theaters (hopefully near you)
The Human Surge by Max Nelson, The Founder by Violet Lucca, The Son of Joseph by Yonca Talu, Land of Mine by Michael Joshua Rowin
Short Takes: The Salesman by Nick Davis, Staying Vertical by Dan Sullivan, Behemoth by Nicolas Rapold, I Am Michael by Michael Koresky, Donald Cried by Violet Lucca
HOME MOVIES | Cinema spun, streamed, and beamed
Abel Gance x 2: Napoleon + J’accuse by Farran Smith Nehme, Bad Girl by Fernando Croce, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House by David Fear, The Quiet Earth by Rufus de Rham, Robert Mugge x 2: Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise + Black Wax by Chloe Lizotte, The Salvation Hunters by Nick Pinkerton, Train to Busan by R. Emmet Sweeney, FilmStruck by Devika Girish
READINGS | Books about all aspects of filmmaking and film culture
The Face on Film by Noa Steimatsky, reviewed by Michael Joshua Rowin; Jean Renoir: A Biography by Pascal Mérigeau, translated by Bruce Benderson, reviewed by Maddie Whittle; The Art of Selling Movies by John McElwee, reviewed by Justin Stewart
IN MEMORIAM | Remembering cinéastes who have passed on
Andrzej Wajda by Agnieszka Holland
GRAPHIC DETAIL | The art of the movie poster
The best posters of 2016 by Adrian Curry
