Review
List of Review articles
-
A lone soldier in combat fatigues is seen from behind as he walks through a barren forest at dusk, surrounded by splintered, leafless tree trunks, with most of their branches blown off. A War Film to Change All War Films
An Oscar-shortlisted documentary shows actual battle in startling clarity.
-
A woman looks at art works showing the late Shah of Iran Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and his wife Farah Dibah Pahlavi exhibited in Dubai, April 27 2008. Misreading Iran
Scott Anderson’s “King of Kings” offers a timely picture of U.S. myopia and miscalculation in Tehran.
-
A man with a beard talks on a red phone in a futuristic phone booth. A Raucous Reckoning With Brazil’s Dictatorship
“The Secret Agent,” Brazil’s Oscars hopeful, probes an undigested history.
-
A dramatic fantasy scene showing dozens of winged, dragon-like creatures flying through a mountainous sky. Several humanoid riders sit astride the creatures, with one central rider in focus. Why Is the New ‘Avatar’ Film So Bloodthirsty?
The latest installment in James Cameron’s cultural juggernaut reflects a sad realism about current affairs.
-
Chinese bachelor Zhou poses with Huskies. What Happens to China’s Surplus Men?
The one-child policy’s gender imbalance has spawned desperate bachelors, dubious gurus, and a rising manosphere.
-
A man wearing a raincoat, knit cap, and a backpack holds a bicycle and smartphone. He stands on a city sidewalk at dusk and looks up at the sky as rain pours. A Tale of Two Asylum-Seekers
“Souleymane’s Story” interrogates the fictions we tell ourselves about what makes an acceptable migrant.
-
A woman stands in front of a large wall-mounted red-white-and-blue button that reads "American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith." When the Democratic Recession Comes Home
Michael McFaul wants more democracy promotion. Is now the time?
-
A young girl is flanked by two women, all with serious faces. A Kaleidoscopic Portrait of Women in Taiwan
“Left-Handed Girl,” Taiwan’s Oscar hopeful, offers a multifaceted view of women learning to live beyond shame.
-
A man in a blood-stained shirt stands in the middle of an orchard of young trees, looking right into the camera with a distraught expression. A Jekyll and Hyde for the Manosphere
“The Things You Kill” explores the pitfalls of masculinity in modern-day Turkey.
-
Marble statues of Socrates seated in thought and a standing Athena atop a tall column, set against a bright blue sky. What Is ‘the West’?
The idea of a cohesive West is fading, but a new book finds that the concept endures.
-
A photo collage grid of Donald Trump, Marco Rubio, and J.D. Vance among stills from the Situation Room. Foreign-Policy Fantasy Literature
Under Trump 2.0, a new book by policymaking heavyweights is an exercise in absurdity.
-
A book in the background and Donald Trump in the foreground in a photo illustration. How Yesterday’s Fiction Foretells Tomorrow’s Politics
From medieval Europe to the Trump era, life really does imitate art.
-
The book cover for Motherland by Julia Ioffe. How a ‘Fairy-Tale Country’ for Women Turned Its Back on Feminism
Julia Ioffe’s new feminist history of Russia offers important lessons for the West.
-
A black and white film still of people walking in the street in Paris in the 1960s. The French New Wave Is Still New
Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” shows how we’re still catching our breath from “Breathless.”
-
A bearded man in a suit at a lectern in front of patriotic bunting. Who the Hell Is James Garfield?
Netflix’s “Death by Lightning” is a reminder that heroic individuals can emerge in trying hours.
