‘The Hand that Holds the Line’ at the M.V. Film Center
We live on an Island surrounded by water that has sustained many a seaman for centuries, from the ancestors of the Wampanoag to today, when people from diverse backgrounds fish the Vineyard waters. Director...
A peek into Japanese Kabuki theater
“Kokuho,” starting at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center on Friday, April 3, is a fascinating historical drama that gives us an inside look into the theatrical world of Japanese Kabuki theater. We learn at...
Inspiring stories hit the big screen
Minah Oh, director of programming for the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, is terribly excited about this, the 26th festival, running from March 25 to 29: “I wanted to present the best of the best,...
Strange trails, hidden paths
Trees have a magisterial presence in Clint Bentley’s quiet film “Train Dreams,” starting at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center on March 19. In the opening shot, we emerge slowly from an empty train tunnel...
Connecting paradise and hell
The exact meaning of writer-director Oliver Laxe’s new film, “Sirāt,” playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, dances just out of reach. Before the opening credits roll, the words we read onscreen leave us...
‘A Private Life’ at the M.V. Film Center
In Rebecca Zlotowski’s new feature film, “A Private Life,” screening at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center, we learn about multiple private lives. It opens with the short-tempered American psychiatrist Lilian (Jodie Foster), who has...
Creating work that matters
Each of the five Oscar-nominated documentary short films carries a punch. They are an important tribute to filmmakers’ desire to create work that matters. The films screen at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center through...
‘Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round’ at the M.V. Film Center
Director Ilana Trachtman’s sophisticated documentary, “Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round,” is an intimate look at an early, historically significant civil rights event. The film, playing at the M.V. Film Center the week of...
‘The Voice of Hind Rajab’
Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which begins screening at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center on Friday, Feb. 6, conveys the emotional toll of war on a visceral level. The film’s power...
‘No Other Choice’ at the M.V. Film Center
“No Other Choice” is a South Korean dark satire with a thriller twist. The film, co-written, produced, and directed by Park Chan-wook, starts at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center on Jan. 30. “No Other...
‘The Choral’ at the M.V. Film Center
The leitmotifs of music, love, and war intertwine in Nicholas Hytner’s “The Choral,” which screens at the Martha’s Vineyard. Film Center starting Jan. 23. The story, by Alan Bennett, follows the lives of residents...
A powerful work of art
Mystery, beauty, grief, and love course through Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” based on Maggie O’Farrell’s best-selling novel of the same name. The two wrote the script for the film adaptation of “Hamnet,” which screens at...
Family silences
A great deal of awkward silence reigns in Jim Jarmusch’s new film, “Father Mother Sister Brother,” playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting on Jan. 9. The silences heighten the unease between the...
‘The Secret Agent’ at the M.V. Film Center
“The Secret Agent,” playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting Dec. 26, is a haunting Brazilian neo-noir political thriller written and directed by Mendonça Filho. Although a 2025 film, it has the look...
The Cape Cod of the Midwest
The juicy, vibrant red fruit of the irresistibly delicious-looking dessert takes center stage in John Stimpson’s “A Cherry Pie Christmas.” The holiday romance, showing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center on Dec. 18, has...
A romantically whimsical rendering of the afterlife
Is being really lucky with love twice in one life too much? David Freyne’s new comedy, “Eternity,” playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting on Dec. 12, looks at just such a dilemma.
The...
Blunt humor serrated by grief
We grasp the central theme of Steven Feinartz’s documentary “Are We Good?” –– playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting Dec. 5 –– just moments after the opening credits roll by. On May...
A split-second in the air
The challenges of family dynamics sit at the heart of awardwinning filmmaker Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” playing at the M.V. Playhouse starting on Friday, Nov. 28.
Trier sets the stage with footage of an old,...
‘The History of Sound’
Sound, or in fact, music, is central to director Oliver Hermanus’ film, “The History of Sound,” playing at the M.V. Film Center on Sunday, Nov. 23. The story was adapted from a short story...
The drama of political defiance
The even pace of “It Was Just an Accident,” an Iranian film playing at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center starting on Nov. 14, keeps us on tenterhooks through to the end.
The underlying moral dilemma...