The Seed of the Sacred Fig, awarded at the nominated for the 2025 Oscars for Best International Film, is a movie by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, who has faced several attempts at censorship by the Iranian regime. He had to film this production in secret and flee the country to present it. Set against the backdrop of the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, which triggered a wave of repression and violence between 2022 and 2023 comparable only to the Iranian Revolution, the film explores the lives of a family. The father, Iman (Missagh Zareh), is appointed as an investigative judge for the Tehran Revolutionary Court, but only with the purpose of issuing sentences obediently—often death sentences—without reviewing evidence. He decides to keep the job as a way to provide a better life for his wife (Soheila Golestani) and two daughters (Setareh Maleki and Mahsa Rostami), but tensions at home escalate as protests intensify on the streets, the girls align with the demonstrators, and the father’s weapon mysteriously disappears from the house. Rasoulof makes the most of the few locations he could film in, turning the domestic space into a suffocating place where the family’s core coexists inseparably with politics and is inevitably corrupted by fundamentalism and authoritarianism. A brilliant and intelligent film that, beyond its Iranian context, shows us that the naivety of separating family from politics is impossible, as one is the seed of the other, in symbiosis.
Maria is another biographical film in Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín's trilogy of inspiring muses, alongside Spencer, about Princess Diana, and Jackie, about former U.S. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy. In this chapter, the least inspired of the three, Larraín delves into a moment when Callas is away from the stage, uncertain if her voice is ready for an opera performance. Jolie fails to capture the emotional and physical fragility of the singer's moment, swinging between an overly forced performance and one that fades against her complicated story. Still, it's a well-directed drama by Larraín that takes the audience on a journey with its cinematography, settings, and impressive production design.
Alien: Romulus might bring a sense of fatigue — yet another movie in the Alien franchise that seems to be recycling the same ideas since the early films from the 1970s and 1980s. The good news, however, is that Romulus is far from being just another tired, anemic, lifeless rehash. saga movies!
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a film with a tremendous responsibility: to continue a franchise considered Abigail), who portrays the villain Proximus Caesar.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl is another captivating adventure from the beloved British animation duo, now on Netflix. In this film, Gromit faces a growing concern: Wallace is increasingly dependent on his inventions. The situation worsens when Wallace creates an "intelligent gnome", which quickly develops a mind of its own and causes hilarious and unexpected chaos. With its characteristic humor, the plot mixes action, crazy inventions and exciting moments, guaranteeing fun for all ages.