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Film Comment magazine For over 50 years, FILM COMMENT has featured in-depth reviews & critical analysis of mainstream, art

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"I've always been a big movie magazine reader, but the only ones I save are FILM COMMENT. They're a part of my library." —WES ANDERSON

"FILM COMMENT connects me to a time when films and filmmakers actually mattered and were treated as being worthy of serious discussion. There's no other cinema magazine remotely like it." —STEVEN SODERBERGH

"I love every aspect of motion pictures, and I'm committed to it for life. FILM COMMENT has that same commitment when it comes to writing about motion pictures." —CLINT EASTWOOD

For our final Podcast from Sundance 2026, critics Bilge Ebiri () and Tim Grierson () and programmer Madeline Whittle () ...
31/01/2026

For our final Podcast from Sundance 2026, critics Bilge Ebiri () and Tim Grierson () and programmer Madeline Whittle () joined Film Comment Editor Devika Girish () to close out the fest, discussing Padraic McKinley’s THE WEIGHT, Noah Segan’s THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK, Dawn Porter’s WHEN A WITNESS RECANTS, Josephine Decker’s CHASING SUMMER, and more.

Listen to the conversation at filmcomment.com or wherever you find your podcasts! And stay on top of all of our festival coverage by subscribing to The Film Comment Letter, our free weekly newsletter featuring podcasts, features, reviews, interviews, streaming picks, news, and more.

Our Best of 2025 coverage continues! Author and curator Michael Koresky reflects on the most memorable performances of t...
18/12/2025

Our Best of 2025 coverage continues! Author and curator Michael Koresky reflects on the most memorable performances of the year; FC Editor Devika Girish () pays tribute to her favorite movie scenes from 2025; programmer and critic Inney Prakash () enumerates the year’s Best Shorts; filmmaker and archivist Gina Telaroli () shares her picks for the Best Restorations; and critic Gavin Smith rounds up his most cherished repertory screenings from the past year in New York.

Check out their fantastic recaps at filmcomment.com, where you can also catch up with all of the lists already on our website, including the Best Films of 2025, the Best Undistributed Films, and a selection of individual ballots from our participating critics.

Drumroll, please! Here’s our list of the 10 Best Undistributed Films of 2025 — i.e., films that premiered this year but,...
12/12/2025

Drumroll, please! Here’s our list of the 10 Best Undistributed Films of 2025 — i.e., films that premiered this year but, at press time, had not been acquired for U.S. distribution — as voted on by 125 Film Comment contributors and colleagues. How many have you seen?

Head to filmcomment.com to read original appreciations of each title, and stay tuned for even more Best of 2025 coverage coming tomorrow, including our Best of 2025 Countdown Podcast, featuring guest critics Amy Taubin and Bilge Ebiri, our contributors’ individual ballots, and more.

Behold: our list of the 20 Best Films of 2025 — i.e., movies that were released this year in the U.S., whether virtually...
12/12/2025

Behold: our list of the 20 Best Films of 2025 — i.e., movies that were released this year in the U.S., whether virtually or in theaters — as voted on by 125 Film Comment contributors and critics from around the world. Did your favorites make it?

Head to filmcomment.com to read original appreciations of each title, and stay tuned for even more Best of 2025 coverage coming tomorrow, including our Best of 2025 Countdown Podcast, featuring guest critics Amy Taubin and Bilge Ebiri, our contributors’ individual ballots, and more.

Those claiming that the movie reduces its characters to caricature misread what it anatomizes. The film’s paranoia-drive...
12/12/2025

Those claiming that the movie reduces its characters to caricature misread what it anatomizes. The film’s paranoia-driven action sequences illustrate not ideology but the infrastructure of allegiance—the signals, lingo, & solidarity that sustain any embattled collective.

—Abby Sun

To say it’s anti-genre is not enough; it’s a wildly original take on a type rarely seen on screen because the interest i...
12/12/2025

To say it’s anti-genre is not enough; it’s a wildly original take on a type rarely seen on screen because the interest is in absence rather than presence. The Mastermind is a comic-horror story of a man who’s an utter vacuum, incapable of self-knowledge or change.

—Molly Haskell

Leave it to Kleber Mendonça Filho, a filmmaker for whom cinema feels as essential as breathing, to craft a political thr...
12/12/2025

Leave it to Kleber Mendonça Filho, a filmmaker for whom cinema feels as essential as breathing, to craft a political thriller that is equally steeped in the techniques of its classic-movie inspirations and the everyday atmospheres and textures of 1970s Brazil.

—Michael Blair

Panahi’s road movie reminded me of The Mousetrap, the play that Hamlet commissions to prove that his uncle is guilty of ...
12/12/2025

Panahi’s road movie reminded me of The Mousetrap, the play that Hamlet commissions to prove that his uncle is guilty of murder. “Comical-tragical” is the desired effect of The Mousetrap, and it is a perfect genre designation for It Was Just an Accident.

—Amy Taubin

The film unfolds during China’s 21st-century economic transformation. But heaven is high & the emperor is far away: Jia ...
12/12/2025

The film unfolds during China’s 21st-century economic transformation. But heaven is high & the emperor is far away: Jia is concerned with what happens on the ever-shifting ground, the propulsive movements of people, & the expressions that flit across Zhao’s face.

—Genevieve Yue

The line between man and beast, the film suggests, is as flimsy as the ripped white spandex, soaked in both human and bu...
12/12/2025

The line between man and beast, the film suggests, is as flimsy as the ripped white spandex, soaked in both human and bull’s blood, that Andrés Roca Rey tears off after another grimly triumphant corrida.

—Clinton Krute

The film stands out in Guiraudie’s body of work for its masterful mélange of moods and genres, shifting between farce an...
12/12/2025

The film stands out in Guiraudie’s body of work for its masterful mélange of moods and genres, shifting between farce and philosophy with the elegant fickleness of autumn leaves tossing in the breeze.

—Beatrice Loayza

Harking back to hippie-era quest movies like 1972’s The Valley (Obscured by Clouds), Sirāt—which demands to be seen on a...
12/12/2025

Harking back to hippie-era quest movies like 1972’s The Valley (Obscured by Clouds), Sirāt—which demands to be seen on a big screen, with a sound system to match—is the proverbial trip, but louder and more explosive than any they made back then.

—Jonathan Romney

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"I've always been a big movie magazine reader, but the only ones I save are FILM COMMENT. They're a part of my library." —WES ANDERSON "FILM COMMENT connects me to a time when films and filmmakers actually mattered and were treated as being worthy of serious discussion. There's no other cinema magazine remotely like it." —STEVEN SODERBERGH "I love every aspect of motion pictures, and I'm committed to it for life. FILM COMMENT has that same commitment when it comes to writing about motion pictures." —CLINT EASTWOOD