Stuart Klawans

Film Critic

Stuart Klawans was the film critic for The Nation from 1988 through 2020

The Front Lines

The Front Lines The Front Lines

On Atlantis, Dear Comrades!, and A Glitch in the Matrix.

Feb 24, 2021 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Out of the Ether

Out of the Ether Out of the Ether

On Mank, Let Them All Talk, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Minari, and more films from the end of 2020.

Dec 30, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Living in Borat’s America

Living in Borat’s America Living in Borat’s America

The sequel to Sascha Baron Cohen’s mockumentary attempts to again hold a mirror to the crudeness of American life. Does the stunt work a second time?

Nov 13, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Making Room for the Real

Making Room for the Real Making Room for the Real

A dispatch from this year’s mostly virtual New York Film Festival. 

Oct 30, 2020 / Stuart Klawans

Freakish, Horrifying, and Sometimes Wondrous Alternative Histories

Freakish, Horrifying, and Sometimes Wondrous Alternative Histories Freakish, Horrifying, and Sometimes Wondrous Alternative Histories

On Lovecraft Country and Tesla.

Sep 11, 2020 / Stuart Klawans

Shaking Up Your Perceptions

Shaking Up Your Perceptions Shaking Up Your Perceptions

How films chosen for the Human Rights Watch Film Festival test the limits of both authority and documentary filmmaking.

Jul 16, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

In the Time of Virtual Cinema

In the Time of Virtual Cinema In the Time of Virtual Cinema

Theaters big and small have moved to streaming models as their physical locations have temporarily shuttered. Will moviegoing fundamentally change as a result?  

May 22, 2020 / Stuart Klawans

Stuart Gordon’s Alternative Avant-Garde

Stuart Gordon’s Alternative Avant-Garde Stuart Gordon’s Alternative Avant-Garde

On the legacy of the horror movie auteur.

Apr 17, 2020 / Stuart Klawans

Between Yourself and This Bygone Place

Between Yourself and This Bygone Place Between Yourself and This Bygone Place

On Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow, Diao Yinan’s The Wild Goose Lake, Ken Loach’s Sorry We Missed You, and other recent films.

Mar 13, 2020 / Stuart Klawans

Between the Old World and the New

Between the Old World and the New Between the Old World and the New

On Kantemir Balagov’s Beanpole and Patricio Guzmán’s The Cordillera of Dreams.

Feb 7, 2020 / Stuart Klawans

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