Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Maria Speth
Maria Speth’s enthralling documentary spends a year in the classroom of an unconventional teacher in a German industrial town.

Dieter Bachmann, observed by the filmmaker Maria Speth, in “Mr. Bachmann and His Class.”
By A.O. SCOTT

Servants
NYT Critic’s Pick | Unrated | Drama | Directed by Ivan Ostrochovský
Teenage priests in training resist the mingling of church and the Communist state in Ivan Ostrochovsky’s drama.

Samuel Skyva, left, with Samuel Polakovic in “Servants.”
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

Friends and Strangers
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy, Drama | Directed by James Vaughan
In this funny, productively cryptic Australian feature, the characters are alternately abrasive and invasive.

By BEN KENIGSBERG

Three Months
NYT Critic’s Pick | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Jared Frieder
This sensitive comedy by Jared Frieder sketches a relationship that blossoms in the shadow of not knowing.

From left, Viveik Kalra and Troye Sivan in “Three Months,” a film by Jared Frieder.
By TEO BUGBEE

— Of Possible Interest —

Cyrano
PG-13D | rama, Musical, Romance | Directed by Joe Wright
Peter Dinklage wields pen and sword in a musical adaptation of the durable French romance.
By A.O. SCOTT

2022 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Animation
Animation | Directed by
From near-future nightmares to inspirational sports narratives, this year’s shorts are an eclectic bunch.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS AND AMY NICHOLSON AND BEN KENIGSBERG

A Banquet
NYT Critic’s Pick | Horror | Directed by Ruth Paxton
A family of grieving women is thrown once more into chaos when the eldest daughter refuses to eat, saying she must do so by divine decree.

By LENA WILSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Downfall: The Case Against Boeing
PG-13 | Documentary | Directed by Rory Kennedy
This documentary on Netflix leaves the impression that the 737 Max’s entire existence is rotten.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Kimi
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Drama, Thriller | Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Zoë Kravitz stars in the latest from Steven Soderbergh, a story that plays with genre, triggers your anxieties and shreds your nerves.

Zoë Kravitz in Steven Soderbergh’s woman-in-peril movie “KIMI.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Playground
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Laura Wandel
In this stunning Belgian drama, a little girl and her brother go to school, read, write, fight and learn some brutal lessons about life.

Family ties: Maya Vanderbeque, left, and Günter Duret play brother and sister in Laura Wandel’s “Playground.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Sky Is Everywhere
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Josephine Decker
Josephine Decker unlooses a slipstream of adolescent passion and anguish in this radiant drama about a musician grieving the loss of her big sister.

Jacques Colimon, left, with Grace Kaufman in “The Sky Is Everywhere.”
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

— Of Possible Interest —

The Fabulous Filipino Brothers
Comedy, Romance | Directed by Dante Basco
The Abasta family of California is celebrating a wedding. The Basco family writes, directs and stars in this warm, welcoming comedy.
By TEO BUGBEE

Death on the Nile
PG-13 | Crime, Drama, Mystery | Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh’s second adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot stories forgets the simple pleasures of ensemble excess and pure messing about.
By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Indemnity
Action, Thriller | Directed by Travis Taute
This South African thriller trades plausibility and originality for a worthy substitute: a great deal of fun.
By DEVIKA GIRISH

Big Bug
TV-MA | Comedy, Sci-Fi | Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
A squabbling family is locked in its home by robots in this overlong artificial-intelligence comedy on Netflix.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Lingui
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama | Directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
In this electric liberation story from Chad, a mother struggles to protect her daughter’s future and finds both herself and a world of possibility.

Rihane Khalil Alio, left, and Achouackh Abakar Souleymane in Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s “Lingui, the Sacred Bonds.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Worst Person in the World
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama, Romance | Directed by Joachim Trier
Renate Reinsve stars in Joachim Trier’s funny-sad story of a woman on the verge of figuring herself out.

Renate Reinsve and Anders Danielsen Lie in “The Worst Person in the World,” from the director Joachim Trier.
By A.O. SCOTT

Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary, Biography, Music | Directed by Celeste Bell, Paul Sng
In this new documentary, Poly Styrene’s daughter grapples tenderly with the legacy of her punk rock mother.

Poly Styrene as seen in the new documentary “Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché.”
By LISA KENNEDY

Jackass Forever
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Documentary, Action, Comedy | Directed by Jeff Tremaine
Sharp cinematography and enviable camaraderie continue to hoist Johnny Knoxville and friends above their many imitators in this deceptively kindhearted sequel.

Clockwise from left: Johnny Knoxville, Rachel Wolfson, Steve-O and Sean McInerney in “Jackass Forever.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Moonfall
PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | Directed by Roland Emmerich
Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson save the world from a rogue moon in the latest disaster movie from the director of “Independence Day.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Compartment Number 6
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Romance | Directed by Juho Kuosmanen
A young Finnish woman embarks on a journey of self-discovery that takes her (and you) through richly detailed and surprising terrain.

Seidi Haarla in “Compartment No. 6,” | Directed by Juho Kuosmanen.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Fallout
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Megan Park
Jenna Ortega stars as a teenager coping with the aftermath of a school shooting in this grounded and compassionate look at adolescent grief.

Jenna Ortega, right, with Julie Bowen in “The Fallout.”
By CLAIRE SHAFFER

Futura
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher
Three filmmakers travel Italy in the midst of the pandemic, listening to young people talk about their fears and aspirations.

Some of the young Italians who are interviewed in “Futura,” a documentary by Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi and Alice Rohrwacher.
By A.O. SCOTT

Nocturna: Side A – The Great Old Man’s Night
Nocturna: Side B — Where the Elephants Go to Die
NYT Critic’s Pick | Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller | Directed by Gonzalo Calzada
A seemingly haunted apartment building terrorizes a bewildered old man in this psychological thriller.

By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Belle
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Music, Musical, Sci-Fi | Directed by Mamoru Hosoda
In this gorgeous anime, a high school student journeys into a virtual world and finds herself amid cute, kooky and menacing fellow users.

Magical U: A scene from “Belle,” directed by Mamoru Hosoda.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Documentary | Directed by Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler
In a documentary constructed around a lecture from 2018, the lawyer Jeffery Robinson presents a persuasive look at United States history.

Jeffery Robinson in the documentary “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

A Hero
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama, Thriller | Directed by Asghar Farhadi
In the latest film from the two-time Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, a good Samaritan comes under suspicion.

Sahar Goldoust as Farkhondeh and Amir Jadidi as Rahim in “A Hero.”
By A.O. SCOTT

Expedition Content
NYT Critic’s Pick | Documentary | Directed by Ernst Karel, Veronika Kusumaryati
An engrossing documentary looks back at a 1961 expedition to New Guinea and the creation of the landmark ethnographic film that resulted.

Listen up: A scene from the documentary “Expedition Content.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

— And Now For Something Completely Different —

Tilda Swinton: ‘My ambition was always about having a house by the sea and some dogs’
The actor opens up about her queer years with Derek Jarman and her latest clutch of films, and reveals her plans for a career change. And all while taking her five spaniels for a walk
by Simon Hattenstone

The Lost Daughter
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal
This dreamy thriller follows an academic with a mysterious past who heads to a beach vacation on the Greek islands.

Dakota Johnson, left, and Olivia Colman in “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feature directorial debut.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Oh, and Happy New Year!

The Tragedy of Macbeth
NYT Critic’s Pick | | RDrama, History, Thriller, War | Directed by Joel Coen
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand play a toxic power couple in Joel Coen’s crackling adaptation of Shakespeare’s Scottish play.

Denzel Washington in “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” His trajectory from weary soldier to raving, self-immolating maniac is astonishing to behold.
By A.O. SCOTT

Parallel Mothers
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama | Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
The Spanish director finally confronts the legacy of his country’s political violence in his new film, starring Penélope Cruz and Milena Smit.

Penélope Cruz, left, and Milena Smit in “Parallel Mothers.”
By A.O. SCOTT

Memoria
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Tilda Swinton stars in Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s elusive and enchanting new film, set in Colombia.

In “Memoria,” Tilda Swinton plays a British expatriate in Colombia whose perceptions come into question during this startling movie.
By A.O. SCOTT

— Of Possible Interest —

Don’t Look Up
R | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi | Directed by Adam McKay
Adam McKay wants you to know that it’s the end of the world and you should absolutely, unequivocally not feel fine. (But do laugh.)
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The Matrix Resurrections
R | Action, Sci-Fi | Directed by Lana Wachowski
Keanu Reeves plunges down the rabbit hole once more in this familiar-seeming mind-game movie, the fourth in the series.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

The King’s Man
R | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | Directed by Matthew Vaughn
This prequel to the “Kingsman” series presents the confusing origin story of the elite British spy agency, founded by Ralph Fiennes (naturally).
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS