Cinema Without Borders

For me, Claudia Cardinale was always more than a star. She was the girl with a small suitcase, an eternal traveler who never truly returned from her journeys. Every time she appeared on the screen, I felt a new story begin—one that only she could tell with her gaze. Today, the news of her passing struck me like a cold wind on a lover’s heart; it felt as if…...

Farewell to the Girl with a Suitcase For me, Claudia Cardinale was always more than a star. She was the girl with a small suitcase, an eternal traveler who never truly returned from her journeys. Every time she appeared on the screen,…

Last night, after many years, I watched Bashu, the Little Stranger again. It felt as though I were seeing it for the very first time—the same pounding heart, the same sense of attachment to cinema, amidst the wave of an audience. This is a film that never expires; it remains a luminous testament in Iranian cinema: a deeply human, emotional, anti-war narrative, created in the very midst of war....

Bashu, the Little Stranger: A Symbol of National Solidarity Last night, after many years, I watched Bashu, the Little Stranger again. It felt as though I were seeing it for the very first time—the same pounding heart, the same sense of attachment to cinema,…

I have always loved Hitchcock and regard him not merely as an auteur, but as a creator who gave birth to an entirely new world—a galaxy where countless filmmakers have lived and built their own planets. Among the great Hitchcock scholars worldwide, a few of the Iranian critics such as Parviz Davaei, Kiumars Vejdani, and Bahram Beyzaie hold a very special place in my view....

Beyzaie’s Chronicle of a Society’s Wounded Memory I have always loved Hitchcock and regard him not merely as an auteur, but as a creator who gave birth to an entirely new world—a galaxy where countless filmmakers have lived and built their own pla…

At first glance, Cause of Death: Unknown by Ali Zarnegar، seems to tell a straightforward story: seven passengers caught in the stillness of a night journey. Yet beneath this simple surface lies a powerful and unsettling exploration of social prejudice and the machinery of “othering.” When the passengers swiftly assume that the unidentified co**se belongs to an Afghan, the assumption is not a casual remark—it becomes the mechanism by which they establish a sense of superiority and even justify taking the victim’s possessions....

Cause of Death: Unknown, Iran’s Oscar selection At first glance, Cause of Death: Unknown by Ali Zarnegar، seems to tell a straightforward story: seven passengers caught in the stillness of a night journey. Yet beneath this simple surface lies a …

Sirât, the latest work by Oliver Laxe, presents a bifurcated narrative full of ruptures in meaning—a film that begins in realism but gradually shifts toward the surreal and allegorical. The first half is crafted in an observational, realist style: a simple father and his son wander through the desert in search of the missing daughter. The strong visual composition, authentic environmental details, and slow rhythm all contribute to an immersive sense of reality....

Sirât, a voage between reality and metaphor, Sirât, the latest work by Oliver Laxe, presents a bifurcated narrative full of ruptures in meaning—a film that begins in realism but gradually shifts toward the surreal and allegorical. The first h…

Rodrigo García’s Mother and Child is one of those rare ensemble dramas that approaches its subject with extraordinary delicacy yet leaves a lasting emotional weight. The film, which García both wrote and directed in 2009, interlaces three stories shaped by adoption, bringing them together into a single portrait of longing, loss, and renewal. It is a quiet work, free of melodrama, that builds its power through honesty and restraint....

Mother and Child, a harmony of empathy, craft, and truth Rodrigo García’s Mother and Child is one of those rare ensemble dramas that approaches its subject with extraordinary delicacy yet leaves a lasting emotional weight. The film, which García both wro…

Hiroshi Okuyama’s My Sunshine is a film that works like a whispered poem, quiet in tone yet immense in emotional impact. It is the kind of work that never tries to overwhelm the viewer with spectacle, but rather builds its power through patience, intimacy, and an almost invisible craftsmanship. What immediately stands out is the way Okuyama approaches the essence of childhood and memory, not through nostalgia in the conventional sense, but through a gaze that feels both tender and unflinching....

My Sunshine, a whispered poem Hiroshi Okuyama’s My Sunshine is a film that works like a whispered poem, quiet in tone yet immense in emotional impact. It is the kind of work that never tries to overwhelm the viewer with spectac…

Rodrigo Garcia’s Nine Lives is not a film that demands attention through spectacle or through the machinery of plot; instead, it whispers, it lingers, and it reminds us that life is built not out of dramatic climaxes but from fragments of intimacy, moments of hesitation, encounters that might last only a few minutes yet leave behind reverberations that shape our inner landscapes for years....

Nine Lives, whispers moments of hesitation Rodrigo Garcia’s Nine Lives is not a film that demands attention through spectacle or through the machinery of plot; instead, it whispers, it lingers, and it reminds us that life is built not out o…

TWO PIANOS, Directed by Arnaud Desplechin. Cast: Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Claude), Louis Garrel, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Devos, Charlotte Rampling (Elena, the master pianist) Two Pianos, the latest work by Arnaud Desplechin, is a romantic and melancholic drama, an exploration of suspended and wounded loves that never find peace. The story follows Claude (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) and her secret relationships with two close friends, Mathieu and Pierre....

Wounds that never heal into calm TWO PIANOS, Directed by Arnaud Desplechin. Cast: Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Claude), Louis Garrel, Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Devos, Charlotte Rampling (Elena, the master pianist) Two Pianos, the latest…

“It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes 2025, delivers a masterful ending that will surely be remembered in the history of both Iranian and world cinema. This striking conclusion brilliantly masks the film’s shortcomings, making them feel almost irrelevant. Although the performances can seem uneven and the narrative unfolds through symbolic slogans set against sweeping desert landscapes, the film weaves in a distinctive humor—born from the irrational choices of characters bent on revenge during interrogations with uncertain identities....

It Was Just an Accident, just a good ending “It Was Just an Accident,” Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner at Cannes 2025, delivers a masterful ending that will surely be remembered in the history of both Iranian and world cinema. This striking…

Rodrigo García’s Ten Tiny Love Stories is one of those rare cinematic experiments that proves how much can be conveyed with the simplest of means when guided by a filmmaker with sensitivity and courage. Built entirely around a series of monologues, each performed by a different woman, the film strips away the trappings of conventional narrative—no elaborate sets, no flashy editing, no multi-strand plot mechanics—to focus instead on the naked intimacy of confession....

Ten Tiny Love Stories, a symphony of emotions Rodrigo García’s Ten Tiny Love Stories is one of those rare cinematic experiments that proves how much can be conveyed with the simplest of means when guided by a filmmaker with sensitivity and cou…

Ido Fluk’s Köln 75 is a vibrant and heartfelt retelling of one of the most remarkable nights in modern music history, a film that succeeds as both an intimate character study and a celebration of artistic perseverance. At its center is Vera Brandes, the teenage promoter whose faith and determination led to Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert. As embodied by Mala Emde, Vera is a force of nature, bubbling with youthful enthusiasm and comic energy, a performance that critics have rightly singled out as dynamic and joyful....

Köln 75 is about artistic brilliance Ido Fluk’s Köln 75 is a vibrant and heartfelt retelling of one of the most remarkable nights in modern music history, a film that succeeds as both an intimate character study and a celebration of a…