Roger Ebert Reviews

Sean Baker’s “Anora,” starring Mikey Madison as a Brighton Beach sex worker who gains a shot at wealth and happiness when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch, won the Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night. Baker, accepting the award directly after the festival gave an honorary Palme to […]

Sometimes screenings at Cannes are showstoppers for reasons that exist apart from the films themselves. The Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof received a standing ovation when he went to take his seat in the Grand Theatre Lumière for yesterday’s premiere of “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.” Surely most if not all of the audience members

Set in 1900s Italy, and based on a true story from Italian history, the story of “Kidnapped” is so primally upsetting that you would think that it would be unbearable to watch. But it proves intoxicating, at times nearly overwhelming, thanks to perfect casting, an economical and impassioned screenplay, and filmmaking overseen by 84-year old

I can’t think of three films more tonally disparate than these. There’s a coming-of-age drama with queer elements, a raucous apocalyptic satire, and a feminist ghost film. The first, “My Sunshine,” competes in Un Certain Regard. The other two, however, are genre films playing out of competition. The latter two are particularly fascinating because this

In the three films for this Cannes dispatch, each selection is not only competing in Un Certain Regard. They’re also works where death begets truth. In one film, the truth concerns family secrets. In another, it brings a family together. It also shapes love. These films traverse stories—bleak comedy, family drama, and a queer romance—that

“Peeping Tom,” Michael Powell’s ill-fated film maudit, may have led to the director’s premature career downturn, but today, the movie seems more celebrated than scorned. The new vivid restoration of the film brings its lurid color palette back to life and sharpens the intensity of Carl Boehm’s chilling performance. Now, the movie’s cautionary take on

The Cannes Film Festival is underway, and Chaz Ebert is on the ground to report on every development. In this video, Associate Editor Robert Daniels discusses “The Apprentice,” “Rumours,” “The Shrouds,” and “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.” Watch the video below. The Cannes Film Festival is underway, and Chaz Ebert is on the ground to report on every development. In

There’s something so appropriately disheartening about a movie about The Beach Boys being too superficial. For generations, people accused the band behind hits like “God Only Knows” and “California Girls” of being too disposable, a pop candy confection compared to the denser work of bands like The Beatles or the many artists that followed them

In Andrew Hyatt’s “Sight,” what you see is what you get. The movie is a straightforward inspirational narrative based on a true story. There are very few surprises in store or moments that stand out beyond the predictable plot points and emotional scenes that play their hand a little too heavily. Without looking up its

Under the glare of fuschia neon lights Simon (Théodore Pellerin) is twirling. ABBA’s “Voulez-Vous” is blaring, and a perfectly placed fan is blowing his blonde wig around in all the right ways. He is the center of the universe, and no one can convince him, or us, otherwise. “Solo,” the third directorial effort from Sophie