Philosophy in Film

Near the end of Super Dark Times (2017), Zach tries to stop Josh with the one kind of speech the boys have spent the entire film avoiding. “We’re friends. Remember?” he says. Then, more urgently: “You’re my best friend. I love you.” It is a sincere declaration, but it comes in the middl...

John Waters has been called the “Pope of Trash” so often that the title may feel like a substitute for true analysis of his films. It gets at something real, of course. Few directors have devoted as much energy to dog feces, sexual deviance, bad mothers, criminal behavior, religious blasphemy, and people screaming obscenities at one another. Still, describing Waters as a film...

Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet (2025) is made with genuine care for its story; I just never fully understood why it’s about William Shakespeare.

Strip away the period costumes and the name, and this could be a story set in virtually any era. A talented but restless father spends most of his time away from home because of his work. His wife stays behind, raising their ...

I have a soft spot for horror films that clearly don’t have money to waste. When a filmmaker cannot rely on big budgets or a recognizable franchise, every choice has to matter a little more. Curry Barker’s Obsession (2026) was reportedly made for just

Blake Edwards’ Victor/Victoria is built around a joke that becomes more complicated the longer you think about it. Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews) is a struggling soprano in 1930s Paris who finds success by pretending to be Count Victor Grazinski, a man who performs as a female impersonator. She is a woman playing a man playing a woman, and her success depends upon au...