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Justin Chang

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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
08:03

'Are You There God?' adaptation retains the warmth and wit of Judy Blume's classic

With its frank treatment of an adolescent girl's inner life, 'Are You There God?' become a huge bestseller and an enduring touchstone. And now, more than 50 years later, it's been terrifically adapted to the big screen by the writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, with nearly all its warmth, humor and wry wisdom intact.

Review
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
08:32

Horror-comedy 'Beau Is Afraid' is a passion project gone astray

Having made a name for himself with the A24-released horror pictures "Hereditary" and "Midsommar," the writer-director Ari Aster has a new movie in theaters. It's called "Beau Is Afraid." And it tells the darkly comic story of a man named Beau, played by Joaquin Phoenix, who's just trying to get home to visit his mother.

Review
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
08:48

'Showing Up' is a rare glimpse of an artist at (very hard) work

The fourth movie that Kelly Reichardt and Michelle Williams have made together, Showing Up is the first Reichardt movie that could be described as a comedy. But like all her films, it's a model of indie realism,

Review
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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:34

'Air' is an enjoyable, over-the-top love letter to the 1980s

Ben Affleck's film is a dramatization of how Nike signed NBA rookie Michael Jordan in a legendary deal that would forever change the landscape of celebrity endorsements and professional sports.

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:34

'Air' is an enjoyable, over-the-top love letter to the 1980s

Ben Affleck's film is a dramatization of how Nike signed NBA rookie Michael Jordan in a legendary deal that would forever change the landscape of celebrity endorsements and professional sports.

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
08:16

A mother faces 'A Thousand and One' obstacles in this unconventional NYC film

Justin Chang says, if A Thousand and One were just a story about a mother and son overcoming the odds, it would be moving enough. But the writer-director A.V. Rockwell, gives this intimate drama a sharp sociopolitical context.

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
08:27

Two migrant kids fight to stay together — and stay alive — in this harrowing film

Justin Chang says of the film Tori & Lokita, "The story is swift and relentless; it runs barely 90 minutes and never slows down. But at every moment, the filmmakers' compassion for their characters bleeds through, along with their rage at the injustices that we're seeing."

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
08:00

An older man grooms a teenage girl in this disturbing but vital film

Palm Trees and Power Lines marks a confident new filmmaking voice in the director Jamie Dack, who adapted the film from her 2018 short of the same title with her co-screenwriter, Audrey Findlay. They've written a disturbing cautionary tale about grooming and trafficking.

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
06:58

This tender Irish drama proves the quietest films can have the most to say

'The Quiet Girl' recently made Oscar history by becoming the first Irish-language production ever to be nominated for best international feature.

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:15

'Emily' imagines Brontë before 'Wuthering Heights'

Our film critic, Justin Chang, has a review of the new movie "Emily," which he describes as a richly imagined portrait of the novelist Emily Bronte in the years before she wrote "Wuthering Heights." The movie stars Emma Mackey as Bronte and marks the directing debut of the actress Frances O'Connor.

Review

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