The Nation Critic’s Picks: Gommorah and The Class

The Nation Critic’s Picks: Gommorah and The Class

The Nation Critic’s Picks: Gommorah and The Class

The Nation‘s film critic Stuart Klawans weighs in on two of the most acclaimed foreign films of 2008.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Stuart Klawans, film critic for The Nation,
reviews
two
of the most talked about foreign films of 2008.

Gommorah, “an endlessly compelling” Italian movie about the
Neapolitan mob based on Roberto Saviano’s
book
of the same name, was directed by Matteo Garrone. It is “as
harsh and un-romanticized a gang movie” as Klawans has ever seen.

The Class has been shortlisted for “Best Foreign Language
Film” but Klawans encourages viewers not to “let the Oscar nomination
get in your way of liking the movie.” This French film directed by
Laurent Cantet and written by the lead actor, François
Bégaudeau, is an “ethically complex, emotionally troubling” look
inside one diverse
Parisian classroom. Both films are daring in their own ways and are
highly recommended.

Corbin Hiar

Check out more great Nation videos on our YouTube channel.

Support independent journalism that does not fall in line

Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Ad Policy
x