Reel Encounters

Beyoncé in “Black Is King,” which is now available for streaming on Disney+

Black Ambition

Ambition is a tricky thing. On its face, the word, which means “a strong desire to do or achieve something,” is innocuous.

Never-ending wars in “Da 5 Bloods”

Every interaction of our lives is affected by the weight and history of things that came before – our politics, our forefathers, exigencies of power, the meeting points of class, race and gender.

Blackness unbowed

What does it mean for art to become political? The question occurred to me this past week watching the way protests against anti-blackness spilled out from the USA to the rest of the world after police killed yet another black life.

Mariana Di Girolamo and Gael García Bernal in ‘Ema’

“Ema” burns hot

Nothing in the deliriously trippy “Ema” is accidental. Instead, Pablo Larraín’s nervy drama deepens in complexity when you try to dissect any individual moment.

Angry young men

It makes sense that Australian director Justin Kurzel would get around to making a film about Ned Kelly, Australia’s most infamous outlaw.

Growing pains in “Endings, Beginnings”

Can one come of age in their thirties? In many ways, “Endings, Beginnings”, the new feature from director Drake Doremus, is best considered as a kind of delayed coming-of-age story of a woman coming to terms with her life.

Tale as old as time

Last week, amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, two French doctors appeared on television discussing the possibility of testing experimental treatments against the virus in Africa.

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