20 Best Slow Movies On Criterionchannel (Page 2)

There's something rich at the heart of Afire that, whether intentionally or not, is kept at arm's length from the viewer. Over the course of Leon's (Thomas Schubert) quiet summer retreat to work on the manuscript for his second book, we come to understand his generally irritable nature as not just creative but existential. Through his eyes and writer-director Christian Petzold's expertly restrained sensibilities for drama, every moment becomes tinged with a vague jealousy—insecurity about other people leading satisfied lives, and his inability to let anything be without finding fault in it first. Leon is meant to be difficult to sympathize with, but at his core is an emptiness that comes with the acknowledgement of how limited one's future really is.

And on the opposite end is Nadja (Paula Beer), a woman who just happens to be staying at the same vacation home due to an overlap in booking, whom Leon sees as a reminder for everything he lacks: romance, thoughtful attentiveness, and a love of life that helps her to stop focusing on what she thinks she lacks. The film stops short of having these characters undergo change that feels truly meaningful, but just seeing them dance around each other with a sharpening tension is well worth the experience.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Enno Trebs, Esther Esche, Jennipher Antoni, Langston Uibel, Matthias Brandt, Paula Beer, Thomas Schubert

Director: Christian Petzold

Rating: NR

Even if you aren't familiar with Akira Kurosawa classics like Rashomon and Seven Samurai, Madadayo works as a portrait of a great man who seemed to feel nothing at the end of his career other than gratitude. Made up of long, wholesome conversations between real-life Japanese academic Hyakken Uchida (Tatsuo Matsumura) and his former students, the film finds plenty of wisdom in observing the little things. And as hard as his students try to make sure Uchida's twilight years are as comfortable as possible, there's still something elusive about this man overwhelmed by all the good and bad fortune in his life.

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Actor: Akira Terao, Asei Kobayashi, Eiji Bandô, George Tokoro, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Hisashi Igawa, Kazuhiko Kasai, Kinzō Sakura, Kōjirō Kusanagi, Kyōko Kagawa, Masahiko Tanimura, Masayuki Yui, Masuo Amada, Mie Suzuki, Minoru Hirano, Mitsuru Hirata, Nobuto Okamoto, Noriko Honma, Norio Matsui, Shigeo Katô, Shû Nakajima, Takao Zushi, Takeshi Kusaka, Tatsuo Matsumura, Tetsu Watanabe, Tetsuya Ito, Tomoko Ôtakara, Toshihiko Nakano, Yoshitaka Zushi

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Betty Blue looks gorgeous. Of course, as an erotic film, there’s the beauty of the female form, but Jean-Jacques Beineix frames each moment in excellently lit, colorful frames, making each sunkissed scene a pleasure for the eyes. His approach, alongside that of Luc Besson and Leos Carax, have formed a movement titled Cinéma du look, and inspired plenty of films due to how gorgeous this style looks. But frankly, the style is the only thing that makes Betty Blue watchable, as the plot plays out with the usual aspiring artist, whose talents are recognized by stunning beauties that somehow turn insane for no reason and thus become future muses for their work. We’d hate to be that guy’s girlfriend.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: André Julien, Béatrice Dalle, Catherine D'At, Claude Aufaure, Claude Confortès, Clémentine Célarié, Consuelo De Haviland, Dominique Besnehard, Dominique Pinon, Gérard Darmon, Jacques Mathou, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Nathalie Dalyan, Philippe Laudenbach, Raoul Billerey, Robin Bernard, Simon de La Brosse, Vincent Lindon

Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix

Rating: Not Rated