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 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.

Review
Christian Caryl
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.
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.

Review
Gregory Brew
A man with a beard talks on a red phone in a futuristic phone booth.
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.

Review
Lucas Iberico Lozada
A man poses in front of a wooden bookcase with glass shelving filled with different types of film cameras.
A man poses in front of a wooden bookcase with glass shelving filled with different types of film cameras.

Jafar Panahi Has His Eyes on the Future

Iran’s most celebrated director asks what a world after the Islamic Republic might look like.

Profile
Amir Ahmadi Arian
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.
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.

Review
Jordan Hoffman
Two women wearing 1940s-style dresses and hair and makeup perch in the back of a military truck, waving toward the camera. Other people are dressed in berets and military uniforms or khaki outfits to reprsent the French resistance. The truck drives down the middle of a road away from the camera between spectators on either side, a cloudy sky looming overhead.
Two women wearing 1940s-style dresses and hair and makeup perch in the back of a military truck, waving toward the camera. Other people are dressed in berets and military uniforms or khaki outfits to reprsent the French resistance. The truck drives down the middle of a road away from the camera between spectators on either side, a cloudy sky looming overhead.

U.S. Strategists Keep Getting France’s Defeat Wrong

Myths about the Maginot Line are strangely persistent.

Analysis
Alan Allport
Chinese bachelor Zhou poses with Huskies.
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.

Review
Drew Gorman
A drawn illustration of a soccer player with a US dollar sign on the bottom of their show about to kick a globe like a soccer ball.
A drawn illustration of a soccer player with a US dollar sign on the bottom of their show about to kick a globe like a soccer ball.

Soccer Still Has Some Explaining to Do

Re-read today, Franklin Foer’s 2004 classic inadvertently suggests where globalization went wrong.

Essay
Graham H. Cornwell
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 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.

Review
Susanna Maize
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to speak at the Kremlin in Moscow in this photo supplied by Sputnik.
Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to speak at the Kremlin in Moscow in this photo supplied by Sputnik.

Putin Has Already Won

He’s exposed fatal divisions in the “West” even as Russians still back his Ukraine invasion.

Essay
Michael Hirsh
Joe Biden, in silhouette, walks up stairs to board a plane, with ominous dark clouds in the background.
Joe Biden, in silhouette, walks up stairs to board a plane, with ominous dark clouds in the background.

Biden’s Long Shadow Over Ukraine

His administration failed Ukraine at almost every turn, shaping the war to this day. This article has an audio recording

Essay
Adrian Karatnycky
A woman stands in front of a large wall-mounted red-white-and-blue button that reads "American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith."
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? This article has an audio recording

Review
Vivek Viswanathan
A young girl is flanked by two women, all with serious faces.
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.

Review
Nina Li Coomes
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 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.

Review
Kaya Genc
A grid of 10 books atop a watery textured background
A grid of 10 books atop a watery textured background

Two Unsettling Voyages Across the Sea

Plus, more international fiction releases in December.

Books
Chloe Hadavas, Allison Meakem
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