Modern Transcendence in Movies: The Immanent Answers of Interstellar
Christopher Nolan offers a gentler, if no less provocative, exploration of humanity at the end of its scientific abilities.
Modern Transcendence in Movies: Annihilation Ventures Beyond Reason
Alex Garland’s 2018 sci-fi/horror film reminds us that the world contains powers that refute our modern rationality.
Modern Transcendence in Movies: The Threat of Enchantment in The Green Knight
David Lowery’s Arthurian tale reveals that humanity’s rational mastery over the earth is a self-satisfied illusion.
Modern Transcendence in Movies: The Spirit Descends on Mother Mary
Mother Mary declares that the modern age is not so impervious to the spiritual as it would like to think.
Marty Supreme, Table Tennis, and the Cost of Gaining the Whole World
Timothée Chalamet gives his biggest performance yet in Josh Safdie’s film about a table tennis phenom willing to sacrifice everything for success.
Train Dreams Invites Us to Ponder the Great Mystery
Clint Bentley’s film is a call to meditate on space and time, on life and death, on the great mystery of all things.
The Discordant Heroism of Maestro
Bradley Cooper’s Maestro ultimately tends toward the narcissism of its central character, Leonard Bernstein.
The Holdovers and Christmas Hope
Alexander Payne’s latest film proclaims the chance of finding rest even amidst our deepest sorrows.
Grace Amid Suffering in Martin Scorcese’s Killers of the Flower Moon
To call Martin Scorcese’s latest a masterpiece is merely to note that it’s yet another amid a career scattered with masterpieces.
The Moral Fission of Oppenheimer
It’s fitting that Oppenheimer feels so contradictory, because the film is fascinated by such contradictions.
Davy Chou’s Transcendent Return to Seoul Embodies the Modern Search for Identity
Davy Chou’s film is about lives not lived and not by chance. It’s about the lives we live as we try to define what life means.
You Hurt My Feelings and the Fallout of Little White Lies
Left to our tendencies toward comfort, we often use each other’s love to insulate us from the harshness of the world: we hide behind false encouragements.
White Noise: Modern Rituals and Plastic Wrapped Religion
White Noise skewers our comforts by offering a skewed view of our modern society.
A Hope Beyond Utopia: Rescue, Restoration, and the Flight from North Korea
The documentary follows North Koreans who make the treacherous attempt to flee the country, and the care and sacrifice of those trying to help them escape.
The Fabelmans, Aftersun, and Seeing Our Parents in a Truer Light
At the center of both The Fabelmans and Aftersun are characters reflecting on their childhood, looking to better understand who their parents were.
Kogonada’s After Yang Imagines a Way Beyond Tech Consumerism
After Yang offers a refreshing, compassionate perspective on how technology might make our world more human instead of less.
