Movies Update: ‘Vortex,’ ‘Anaïs in Love,’ and More

Plus, a look back at "Diva."

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story April 29, 2022 By Stephanie Goodman Film Editor It's something of a quiet week here at the film desk. Industry insiders are keeping a sharp eye on CinemaCon, the annual gathering that gives theater owners a sneak preview of the studios' most anticipated offerings. The reaction to footage from "Avatar 2," due in December, was enthusiastic, to say the least. (Plans to rerelease the original this fall were also announced.) But it's hard to gauge a film from a few excerpts, so we'll reserve judgment. Closer to home, we're talking about "Diva," the 1982 Jean-Jacques Beineix thriller that's been restored. The movie was a sensation when it came out, but the critic at large Wesley Morris recently watched it for the first time, praising its "ravishing, style-soaked priorities." Another film getting a rave is "Vortex," Gaspar Noé's chronicle of the decline of an elderly couple. It's a "blunt reckoning" that's also exquisite, wrote our co-chief critic A.O. Scott. It's a Critic's Pick, as is "Anaïs in Love," a French romance. "It's surprising and touching," the co-chief film critic Manohla Dargis wrote in her review, adding that the movie upends your notions of who the character is and what a love story should be. You can see what else is opening this week here and check out what our reviewers have to say. Have fun at the movies! Utopia Critic's Pick 'Vortex' Review: A Split Screen and a Shared Fate Gaspar Noé's new film chronicles the decline of an elderly couple in remorseless, mesmerizing detail. By A.O. Scott Les Films Pelléas/Magnolia Pictures Critic's Pick 'Anaïs in Love' Review: Portrait of a Woman on the Run A restless woman discovers herself in a seductive French romance that throws out the usual dusty script about women, desire and pleasure. By Manohla Dargis Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CRITICS' PICKS Brett Roedel/Hulu 'Crush' Review: A Banksy Who Might Shred Homework A mysterious artist and a love triangle are at the center of this high-school comedy, which can't quite decide whether to be preposterous or sincere. By Amy Nicholson Film Movement 'Bad Roads' Review: A Wartime Anthology The movie, with its four vignettes about Ukraine, was the country's submission for best international feature film for the Oscars. By Claire Shaffer Warner Bros./CNN/HBO Max Critic's Pick 'Navalny' Review: Speaking Truth to Power in a Corrupt System Even with its subject in prison, the documentary plays like a crowd-pleaser. By Ben Kenigsberg MOVIE REVIEWS Rico Torres/Open Road Films/Briarcliff Entertainment 'Memory' Review: Getting Too Old for This In this action thriller, Liam Neeson plays an assassin struggling with Alzheimer's disease. It's not as interesting as it sounds. By Lena Wilson Zeitgeist Films 'Fiddler's Journey to the Big Screen' Review: Making a New Tradition Daniel Raim's admiring documentary uses interviews and movie clips to detail the making of Norman Jewison's beloved movie musical. By Natalia Winkelman Greenwich Entertainment 'Hello, Bookstore' Review: A Bibliophile and His Shop in Close-Up This documentary makes it clear why, when the pandemic threatened Matthew Tannenbaum's store, book lovers weren't ready to say goodbye. By Lisa Kennedy Darren Michaels/Amazon Prime Video 'I Love America' Review: The Gauche Rituals of Modern Romance The determinedly uplifting comedy follows a 50-year-old French filmmaker as she dates in Los Angeles. By Nicolas Rapold Herrki-Erich Merila/Roadside Attractions 'Firebird' Review: Square Jaws and Cold Shoulders In this clandestine romance, a Soviet soldier and pilot find love while stationed in Estonia in the 1970s. By Teo Bugbee Jessica Kourkounis/HBO Films 'The Survivor' Review: Clenched Fists In this drama from Barry Levinson, Ben Foster plays a Jewish boxer who, during the Holocaust, was forced to fight his fellow Jews for the Nazis' entertainment. By Ben Kenigsberg Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT ANATOMY OF A SCENE Aidan Monaghan/Focus Features Anatomy of a Scene Watch Alexander Skarsgard Battle the Undead in 'The Northman' The director Robert Eggers narrates a scene that pits the star against a most unfriendly zombie. By Mekado Murphy NEWS & FEATURES ABC ("black-ish"); Netflix ("The Harder They Fall"); HBO ("Insecure"); Paramount Pictures ("Coming 2 America") In Films and on TV, a New Openness to Natural Black Hairstyles The relationship between characters and their Afro-textured hair has become a focus of directors and stylists, who are mindful of Hollywood's restrictive past. By Tiffany Martinbrough Rialto Pictures, via Alamy Critic's Notebook It Took Me 40 Years to Watch the Movie 'Diva.' It Was Worth the Wait. At a friend's urging, our critic saw the "mondo chic" 1981 film by the French director Jean-Jacques Beineix, ahead of a revival. He was thrilled. By Wesley Morris Jessica Kourkounis/HBO A Boxer at Auschwitz and the Pain He Carried Ordered to win fights or be put to death, Harry Haft, the subject of a new film, was haunted by the fates of his opponents. By Joseph Berger Photo Illustration: The New York Times. Photo: Paramount Pictures Where'd All the Method Acting Go? The Method taught actors to channel the complexity and messiness of human emotion into a performance. Why is that so hard to find in the movies today? By Wesley Morris, Elyssa Dudley, Hans Buetow and Sasha Weiss Vincent Tullo for The New York Times An Heir, a $25 Million Giveaway and 30,000 Unopened Letters In 1970, Michael James Brody Jr. announced he would give away his fortune to anyone who asked. The letters he received are a time capsule of the setting of the Age of Aquarius. By Jennifer Schuessler Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS Dawson City Museum, Library and Archives Canada, and the Library of Congress/Kino Lorber Stream These Three Great Documentaries This month's nonfiction picks include one about uncovering a treasure trove of silent films and one that aims to uncover the methods of Kenny G. By Ben Kenigsberg Shudder Five Horror Movies to Stream Now This month's picks include demented cultists, zombies with pause buttons, hellish stays at a hotel, an unsettling home share and a killer named Oopsie. By Erik Piepenburg How are we doing? We'd love your feedback on this newsletter. 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