Jay Weissberg

Jay Weissberg Variety Sep 16, 2026 A Common Story is a revelation, not just in an Italian film landscape that too often falls back on verbal assaults, but more broadly, thanks to Foglietta's sensitivity to the spaces between speech. Go to Full Review A Common Story (2026) - - - -

Jay Weissberg Variety Sep 16, 2026 While “Imperium” can be engrossing, its nearly three-hour running time is felt more than in Loznitsa masterpieces like “Maidan” and “State Funeral.” Go to Full Review Imperium (2026) - - - -

Jay Weissberg Variety Sep 12, 2026 Stylistically looking like an uneasy hybrid between horror and film noir, Bechis’ return fails to satisfy on multiple levels, including the emotional one, though there are a few memorable scenes and the crux of the tale is potent. Go to Full Review Ritorno A Buenos Aires (2026) - - - -

Jay Weissberg Variety Sep 12, 2026 It’s delivered as a lesson, and an uneven one at that. The talk may be the stuff of an interesting dinner party, ending with a pleasant Italian dessert, but dissecting every uneven course that arrives doesn’t result in a satisfying meal. Go to Full Review One Minute to Midnight (2026) - - - -

Jay Weissberg Variety Sep 10, 2026 Will “Naza” change minds, now that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to disguise what’s happening in Gaza and the West Bank? It has more of a chance than “No Other Land.” Go to Full Review NAZA (2026) 100% - -

Jay Weissberg Variety Sep 7, 2026 As long as audiences accept that this is basically a two-hander, the absence of any other characters with more than stick-figure attributes becomes less problematic. Go to Full Review Look Back (2026) 90% - -

Jay Weissberg Variety Sep 5, 2026 Aren’t paper-thin intrusive mothers and old Viagra-joking fathers just a wee bit passé? Go to Full Review It Will Happen Tonight (2026) 40% - -

Jay Weissberg Variety Sep 4, 2026 A beautiful, heartrending film that sensitively builds a multifaceted character as real as any you’ll see, his flaws reinforcing rather than deflecting from the sympathy we feel for him, his girlfriend and his parents. Go to Full Review The City of the Living (2026) - - - -

Jay Weissberg Variety May 18, 2026 “Viva” is constrained by just how predictable so many of the characterizations are. The final shot, meant to feel liberating and, yes, Alive!, is so easy and pat that it intensifies certain niggling dissatisfactions popping up throughout the running time. Go to Full Review Viva (2026) 50% - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Dec 6, 2023 A classic example of the director’s dedication to naturalism and boasts several superb sequences, but it tries a bit too hard to encompass more topics than it can comfortably handle. Go to Full Review R.M.N. (2022) 97% 98%

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Sep 7, 2023 DuVernay, who also wrote the script, is at her best with the emotional bonds of family, but her tendency to overexplain is particularly problematic when it treats both characters and viewers like children. Go to Full Review Origin (2023) 82% - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Sep 2, 2023 Together with a strong premise and top-notch cast, the film has so much to offer, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore a highly problematic undercurrent. Go to Full Review Adagio (2023) 57% - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Sep 2, 2023 with an absurdly didactic screenplay awash in multiple stereotypes, it falls short of its apparent influences (primarily Fellini and Sirk) and turns into a handsome old-fashioned drama with no resonance beyond the surface. Go to Full Review Finally Dawn (2023) 36% - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Aug 13, 2023 the persistent use of shot-counter shot in almost all conversations makes it feel as if the actors aren’t even in the same room together when the camera is on, with the result that we never feel a genuine connection between anyone. Go to Full Review Lousy Carter (2023) 71% - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Aug 13, 2023 the rootlessness of globalized youth searching for some place to call “home” is a good theme, unfortunately knee-capped by a woefully immature script rife with ham-fisted dialogue that would challenge even seasoned actors. Go to Full Review Baan (2023) 71% - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Aug 13, 2023 Like a comedy sketch stretched far, far beyond its welcome, "Yannick" is convinced it’s funny, and Dupieux himself states with confidence, “99% of films are boring. This one is not,” but sadly the declaration is just an empty promise. Go to Full Review Yannick (2023) 94% 80%

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Aug 13, 2023 "Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World" will leave audiences reeling from its non-stop blitzkrieg on the senses even as they roll in the aisles from the delirious vulgarity of the humor. Go to Full Review Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World (2023) 95% - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Aug 9, 2023 the film boasts of a number of superb scenes and is extremely well cast, most especially young Ido Tako Go to Full Review The Vanishing Soldier (2023) - - - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Jun 8, 2023 Including some discussion of Leon’s artistic process would have accorded him at least a modicum of intellectual weight, but the director is more interested in his vulnerable self-image, balanced by Thierry Mugler’s quasi-paternalistic emotional strength. Go to Full Review Leon (2023) - - - -

Jay Weissberg The Film Verdict Jun 8, 2023 An outstanding, deeply moving documentary that finally addresses the pandemic not simply as a record of a tragedy but a collective trauma needing to be processed as a community. Go to Full Review The Walls of Bergamo (2023) - - - -