There are moments when cinema captures life in such a pristine way that fiction strikes us as if it were reality. The President’s Cake (2025) by Hasan Hadi is the perfect example. The deeper we go into its narrative, the more we realize we are not watching a traditional work of fiction. Everyday life is presented so intimately that we struggle to believe we are witnessing a carefully constructed mise-en-scène.
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In September 2022, the young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini died while in the custody of the morality police in Tehran. Amini was visiting the city with her family and was arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab correctly. The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024) by Mohammad Rasoulof weaves a fictional story rooted in the death of Mahsa Amini and the protests that erupted across Iran, which led to further violence and fatalities.
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Anora is the latest example of how director Sean Baker creates protagonists drawn from the most neglected and marginalized characters in our society. The strength of his characters stems from this fractured world, the hostile environment, and the inevitable hardships that accompany the individuals he portrays on screen. Now it’s the turn of Ani (Mikey Madison), a sex worker who crosses paths with the son of a Russian oligarch, and her world changes unexpectedly overnight.
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The Zone of Interest welcomes the audience with a black screen filled with an ominous sound that makes us anticipate the worst. We imagine that when that first image finally appears on the screen it will be terrifying. But director Jonathan Glazer’s intention is different. The first thing we see is a peaceful day in the countryside and a family enjoying themselves on river banks. Although what we see is not disturbing, the anticipation and the music have created in the audience the objective of disturbing and making the mind invent distressing scenarios.
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Just like that family sitting peacefully having their breakfast with the French Alps in the background when suddenly an avalanche shakes their world and changes it forever, that’s how Ruben Östlund shook me with his Force Majeure (2014). From that moment it has been an obligatory task to follow in the footsteps of the Swede. Triangle of Sadness is his sixth feature film. With the sharpness that characterizes him, he delivers an irreverent comedy that takes advantage of every minute to compose a social critique.
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