TIFF 51: Hamaguchi’s “All of a Sudden” is the best film of the year, bar none

by Cláudio Alves

Everyone gets to vote for the TIFF People’s Choice Award, even the press. And while I can’t reveal some personal award votes later in the season, I can safely tell you my pick this one time. I voted for Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s Franco-Japanese production of All of a Sudden. The best film at TIFF, it’s also my favorite world premiere so far into 2026, a masterpiece that feels like a return to basics for a director whose early works owed much to the likes of Antonioni and Rohmer. Well, a return to basics that also runs over three hours long and contains some of the most direct discussions of Marxist theory you’ll see in a film, of this or any year. But please, don’t get apprehensive when you read those words. For all the putative intellectualism coursing through its veins, All of a Sudden is a deeply humanistic, even accessible, text that should have something to say to, and resonate with, almost every viewer out there.

I confess that, as the end credits rolled, I hurried out of the TIFF Lightbox screening room, missing Virginie Efira’s Q&A because the tears streaming down my face were too much. In that moment, I needed time and a bit of privacy to compose myself. Since then, I’ve been trying to organize my thoughts on this breathtaking picture and can only hope to do it justice in my review. If I fail to communicate its brilliance, be assured it’s my fault and not the film’s…

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Cannes Lineup - The Competition Films

by Nathaniel R 

Almodóvar will be competing for the Palme for the seventh time with "BITTER CHRISTMAS"

The Cannes competition lineup is here. There's been a lot of scuttlebutt online that it's disappointing. I don't know how that can be the case yet when the films are unseen. It is true that it is very expected in that it is mostly auteurs that they have programmed in the past but that is literally ALWAYS the case since Cannes isn't exactly known for straying from their favourites. What's interesting -- at least to me -- is that the lineup feels gayer than usual with multiple LGBTQ+ filmmakers in the mix. If we're lucky the Queer Palm race will be as spoiled for quality choices as the Palme d'Or!

Cláudio is planning his regular "Cannes at home" series in which he'll revisit previous features from this year's returning auteurs. What else would you love to see? 

COMPETITION LINEUP 2026

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Film Bitch Awards Awards Rush: Limited Roles, Ensemble Acting, and More!

by Nathaniel R

Kerry O'Malley in "The Killer" © Netflix

In the interest of wrapping up before Oscar night (or at least getting, say, 80% there) please note that there are multiple new categories posted at the 24th annual Film Bitch Awards. Tonight, let's talk the "extra" acting categories of which we have Limited Performances (for people with very short screen time --usually one or two scenes only), Breakthrough Performers, a special Body of Work award and much more.  I have such fun thinking about these categories all year as I watch movies that I fear I missed my calling to be a casting director. Maybe in the next life...

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Will "Anatomy of a Fall" sweep the Césars?

by Nathaniel R

a snapshot from "Anatomy of a Fall"

The nominations for the 49th annual César Awards came out nearly simultaneously to the Oscar nominations so we accidentally missed them. Je suis désolé. As you would surely expect, Justine Triet's Oscar nominated Anatomy of a Fall is also a big deal across the pond. But it didn't top the nominations. That honor went to Thomas Cailley's mutant adventure The Animal Kingdom. Perhaps the biggest surprise / disconnect for those of us viewing from overseas is that France's unfortunately not-nominated Oscar submission The Taste of Things shows up in only two craft categories; if it wasn't well-loved at home, why did they submit it? But also: why didn't they love it? It's exquisite.

The ceremony will be held on February 23rd this year in Paris. The nominations, some trivia, and a few comments are after the jump...

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Review: "Madeleine Collins" confirms this is Virginie Efira's Year

by Cláudio Alves

Belgian-born French actress Virginie Efira has been on an upward path since around 2016, when she supported Isabelle Huppert in the Oscar-nominated Elle and dazzled as the titular lawyer in Justine Triet's Victoria. The latter part earned the thespian her first César nomination, followed by citations for Sink or Swim, An Impossible Love, Bye Bye Morons, Benedetta, and, finally, a victory thanks to Revoir Paris. And yet, beyond the Francoshpere, Efira is probably best known for Verhoeven's mad nun and little else. That's going to change fast. After 2023, there's no stopping her rise to international stardom. 

This week, American cinemas welcomed Madeleine Collins, Efira's third release of the year, following career-best work in Other People's Children and Revoir Paris. Just the Two of Us and All to Play For are still awaiting distribution making for a titanic body of recent work. In a just world, this next awards season would see Virginie Efira on critics' ballots everywhere.

For all that Madeleine Collins is the Virginie Efira show, the film begins without her...

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