The Film Stage

Charting the Conflicts of American Democracy Through Henry Fonda’s Career
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Henry Fonda for President envisions American history through the dual lives of Henry Fonda: the movie star and the real man behind him. While it’s the debut film from 61-year-old director Alexander Horwath, following his many years as a critic and...
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Eric LaRue Review: Michael Shannon’s Directorial Debut is a Bleak Yet Impressive Showcase for Judy Greer
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Michael Shannon set himself up with quite a daunting challenge for his directorial debut: how can one capture oppressively bleak, soul-consuming feelings of guilt while not having the viewer feel trapped in a flat register of misery porn? Thanks to...
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David Fincher and Brad Pitt Will Reunite for Quentin Tarantino-Scripted Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Sequel
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In towards which nobody could have anything but the most equitable reactions, well, the headline says it all, much as I find the development difficult to 100% conceptualize or, given today’s date, plainly believe. Seemingly salvaging The Movie Critic (or...
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13 Films to See in April
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While our sprawling summer movie preview will arrive by the end of the month, we’ll first take a comprehensive look at the April releases to have on your radar. Featuring festival favorites from as far back as early last year...
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Henry Fonda for President Review: The Dying Dream of a Better America
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The Academy Awards likely aren’t that important in the grand scheme of film history, but legendary actor Henry Fonda winning his first competitive Oscar merely five months before dying is perhaps one of those things that makes you think on...
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Drowning Dry Director Laurynas Bareiša on Finding Comedy in Tragedy, Nicolas Roeg, and the Things We Can’t Process
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Conan O’Brien can be forgiven for quipping “Over to you, Estonia” after Flow won Latvia its first Oscar last month. The concept of a shared Baltic Cinema is still a relatively obscure one: “We have this complicated identity, culturally,” Laurynas...
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The Encampments Review: An Inspiring, Essential Portrait of Collective Action
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A group of students, primarily led by minority voices, launched encampments in protest of Columbia University’s financial ties to companies with the express purpose of advancing weapons and technology to fuel the war machine. Police were called in to forcefully...
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13 Films to See at New Directors/New Films 2025
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Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Christopher Nolan, Spike Lee, Chantal Akerman, Theo Angelopoulos, Lynne Ramsay, Tsai Ming-liang, Michael Haneke, Lee Chang-dong, Terence Davies, Shōhei Imamura, Bi Gan, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Wong Kar-wai, Yorgos Lanthimos, Denis Villleneuve, Céline Sciamma, Guillermo del Toro, Kelly...
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Tendaberry Review: A Soulful Brooklyn-Set City Symphony
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Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2024 Sundance Film Festival coverage. Tendaberry is now on VOD and arrives on MUBI on April 25. A soulful coming-of-age story with far more on its mind than the here...
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NYC Weekend Watch: Manoel de Oliveira
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NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. BAMMy ten-film Manoel de Oliveira retrospective Mirror of Life begins, with numerous restorations making their North American premiere. Roxy CinemaEraserhead and An American Tail screen, the latter for free. Anthology Film ArchivesThe...
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