The Best Movies Of 2024 So Far

2023 was an incredible year for cinema. From interesting offbeat comedies like "Bottoms" to gorgeous romantic dramas like "Past Lives," it seems like there was something for everyone. 2024 has big shoes to fill, but even just a few months into the year we've seen plenty of fantastic, one-of-a-kind films that will no doubt delight, disturb, and dazzle moviegoers. Only time will tell if 2024 can bring as many incredible pictures to the big screen, but we have a good feeling about what's to come.

In crafting this list, we used multiple resources. Review aggregate websites like Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic were of course consulted, in addition to reviews from the top movie critics at Hollywood trades and respected publications across the globe. Our writers, all film and television experts in their own right, also chimed in with their opinions to make this list as rounded as possible. Lastly, we looked at box office returns and social media sites to get a sense of commercial success and fan reception. All these things considered, these are the best movies of 2024 so far.

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Austin Butler, Javier Bardem

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 166 minutes

Where to watch: Max, PVOD

At this point, it should be obvious to anyone who pays attention to what's going on with movies that "Dune: Part Two" is one of the best films of 2024. Denis Villeneuve's much-anticipated sequel has been received well by fans and critics alike, with many comparing it to Peter Jackson's lauded "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy in terms of quality. "Dune: Part Two" also made a ton of money at the box office. But what makes it so great, exactly? A reviewer for Slate, Dana Stevens, explained that the "Dune" films "are movies as much about mass belief systems and political power struggles as they are about characters and relationships, without sacrificing the specificity of the human stories at their center," and it's this balance that helped the second installment become so popular. 

Even setting aside the solid storytelling and impressive performances from everyone (especially Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica and Austin Butler as new villain Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen), the film itself is breathtaking. Villeneuve utilizes beautiful camera work to create a mesmerizing universe filled with incredible contrast and symmetry. The sequence showing a gladiatorial battle between Feyd-Rautha and a prisoner on the Harkonnen homeworld is particularly striking — as Polygon explained, the film's director of photography Greig Fraser "employed special infrared, or IR, cameras to capture non-visual wavelengths of light and convert them into grayscale." Everyone involved in "Dune: Part Two" went that extra mile, and it shows.

Cast: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Colman Domingo

Director: Ethan Coen

Rating: R

Runtime: 85 minutes

Where to watch: Peacock, PVOD

Ethan Coen hasn't done much work as a stand-alone director since he and his brother Joel began pursuing solo projects. "Drive-Away Dolls" is a big step toward him establishing himself as an individual filmmaker. His solo debut is a road-trip caper that clocks in at a brisk 84 minutes (it's nice to see something quick in theaters after a 2023 full of bladder-busters like "Oppenheimer"). The film follows two lesbians: Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and her best friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), Philadelphia locals who decide to leave town for a bit.

Jamie wants to escape a recent break-up and Marian a general sense of dissatisfaction. After picking up a drive-away job, they find themselves caught in the middle of a zany blackmail conspiracy involving powerful men and dangerous gangsters. Jamie and Marian's story is only loosely related to that of the contraband they accidentally find in their possession and the subplot involving the relationship between two gangster henchmen (Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson) and their boss (Colman Domingo). 

"Drive-Away Dolls" is a queer love story that was made with affection (Coen co-wrote it with his wife Tricia Cooke, who identifies as queer). The subplot involving the armed gangsters is a surprisingly rich piece of the film that poses important questions about violence and the endgame of toxic masculinity while still managing not to spoil the dreaminess of Marian and Jamie's story. "It's the writing, ultimately, that retains that signature Coen dazzle," critic Kevin Maher said in a review for The Times.

Cast: voices of Jacob Tremblay, Paul Walter Hauser, Colin Hanks, Angela Bassett

Director: Sean Charmatz

Rating: TV-Y7

Runtime: 93 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix

2023 was a particularly great year for animation. Audiences got to enjoy both master filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki's "The Boy and the Heron" and Sony's "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," the highly anticipated sequel to "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse." Hopefully, 2024 will provide even more incredible animation and whimsical storytelling from film studios — we're certainly off to a good start with "Orion and the Dark."

This film is a product of DreamWorks Animation and, as such, is designed to appeal to both children and their parents. The script, co-written by famed writer Charlie Kaufman, is about a boy named Orion who is dealing with anxiety on top of the regular stresses of growing up. One night, Orion is visited by the Dark, a personified entity that embodies his biggest fear. The Dark isn't cruel or monstrous, though. He invites Orion to watch his nocturnal colleagues (like Insomnia and Sweet Dreams) work their complicated and necessary magic.

"Orion and the Dark" is a really lovely story that captures the simultaneous comedy and seriousness of a child realizing just how complicated the world really is. Orion learns that being human means living with feelings that are good and bad and everything in between, and this movie tells a story that people of all ages can appreciate and learn from. The film has a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics praising its artistry and ambition.

Cast: Dan Levy, Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel, Luke Evans

Director: Dan Levy

Rating: R

Runtime: 100 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix

Dan Levy's film "Good Grief" actually had a limited theatrical release on December 29, 2023, but because it didn't start landing on most people's radars until it came to streaming in 2024, we've decided to include it on this list. The film follows an American expat in London named Marc (Levy) who is recovering from the loss of his husband, Oliver (Luke Evans), who died in a tragic car accident just a year prior. Marc has been grieving Oliver with the support of his close friends Thomas (Himesh Patel) and Sophie (Ruth Negga), but he doesn't tell them when he discovers that Oliver was having an affair before he died. Marc finds out that Oliver's ex-lover is in Paris and invites Thomas and Sophie to join him there, though they believe it's just a fun little getaway.

Throughout his time in Paris, Marc struggles to come to terms with his contrasting feelings of sadness and anger. He meets a new man named Theo (Arnaud Valois) who helps him work through both feelings, and later comes clean with Thomas and Sophie, who have their own struggles to admit. Levy's film is a grown-up, effective story about the hope that can ultimately spring from grief. "What elevates the picture is the crisp dialogue, which captures bonds of friendship that are loving, but at the same time stretched to breaking point," The Observer's Wendy Ide said in a review, one of many positive write-ups the film received.

Cast: Juliette Binoche, Benoît Magimel, Patrick d'Assumçao

Director: Tran Anh Hung

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 135 minutes

Where to watch: AMC+, Acorn TV, PVOD

"La Passion de Dodin Bouffant" dropped in its native France in 2023, but it didn't hit the United States until 2024, released under the title "The Taste of Things." It's a romantic drama directed by Trần Anh Hùng starring French cinema idols (and real-life ex-partners) Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel as romantic leads Eugénie and Dodin. The film is set in 1889 and follows Eugénie (Binoche), who is a cook for a food-lover named Dodin (Magimel). The two have enjoyed a long romantic relationship thanks, in large part, to their shared passion for food, but Eugénie has refused Dodin's marriage proposal more than once and continues to keep her own bedroom. 

Unsurprisingly, the film is a critical darling — the words "French" and "period piece" tend to play well with a lot of film lovers. However, this particular French period piece is the real deal. Magimel and Binoche are both highly respected actors for a reason. The soft, warm imagery of the film provides a rich background for their nuanced performances as people entering the later years of their lives, and the food shines almost as brightly as Magimel and Binoche: "The Taste of Things" is a delightful reminder of France's appreciation for the culinary arts.

Cast: Jake Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Biff Wiff, Andy Samberg

Director: Jake Johnson

Rating: R

Runtime: 85 minutes

Where to watch: Hulu

Jake Johnson, a veteran comedic actor thanks to his work on popular projects like "New Girl," made his debut as a director with the release of Hulu's "Self Reliance." He stars as Tommy Walcott, a disillusioned 30-something who can't get out of the rut he's in following a painful breakup. Tommy's life gets weird when he's offered the chance to participate in a reality show that airs on the dark web by none other than Andy Samberg (playing himself).

Tommy has the chance to win a million bucks, but what's the catch? Hunters will attempt to kill him before the end of a 30-day period, though he cannot be attacked as long as he's in the presence of another person. He agrees to participate in the game and quickly discovers that remaining alone isn't as easy as he thought it would be. To avoid attempts on his life, Tommy builds new relationships with a homeless man named James (Biff Wiff) and another contestant named Maddy (Anna Kendrick).

Johnson's comedic background shines through in the script, as does his generational humor — there's a lot of post-ironic exposition, embodied especially by the AV "ninjas" who somehow ensure that everything Tommy does is on camera. Despite this, it's clear Johnson is trying to tell a story that's more substantial than anything he's done before. While a lot of critics wanted "Self Reliance" to lean into the absurdity of its premise a little harder, the majority admitted that this was a solid first effort from Johnson.

Cast: Julio Torres, Tilda Swinton, RZA, Isabella Rossellini, Catalina Saavedra, Greta Lee

Director: Julio Torres

Rating: R

Runtime: 104 minutes

Where to watch: Max, PVOD

A24 has garnered an incredible amount of prestige for a studio that's only been around since 2012. What's so great about it? Well, A24 has made many of the best films that have come out in the past ten years, including best picture winner "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once." It has another slate of exciting films ready for 2024, and it kicked off the year with the brilliant "Problemista," a new film from the mind of up-and-coming comedian Julio Torres. The film, which also stars Tilda Swinton, follows a young man named Alejandro (Torres). Alejandro grew up in El Salvador and moved to the United States, where he hoped to realize his dream of becoming a toy designer.

"Problemista" follows Alejandro as he deals with all of the struggles that come with immigration. He doesn't have enough money to make a good start at anything and loses his job sponsorship almost as quickly as he obtains it. An eccentric woman named Elizabeth (Swinton) decides to employ Alejandro, asking for his help in putting together a gallery to celebrate her artist husband. Thanks to a whimsical, surrealist tone, a happy ending, and a particularly nuanced performance from Swinton (who humanizes the "Karen" archetype without providing false hope that such a self-obsessed person will have a real change of heart), "Problemista" manages to capture the desperation of poverty and unstable documentation status without leaving its audience bereft of hope.

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco

Director: Rose Glass

Rating: R

Runtime: 104 minutes

Where to watch: PVOD

"Love Lies Bleeding" is another homerun from A24. The film, directed by Rose Glass and starring Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian (the Comms Officer from "The Mandalorian"), and Ed Harris, follows the criminal happenings in a southwestern American town in 1989. Lou (Stewart) and Jackie (O'Brian), who meet at the gym where Lou works, begin a relationship that quickly becomes passionate and intense, especially because of Lou's creepy, criminal father Lou Sr. (Harris).

As the film goes on, Lou and Jackie find themselves facing deadlier trials as a couple, and Jackie — who is taking steroids and rigorously working out in preparation for a women's bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas — becomes increasingly muscular and mentally unstable. There's a lot of ordinary evil depicted here: Lou and Jackie are certainly the most sympathetic characters in the story, but they're definitely not bastions of morality.

The film has a neo-noir vibe and a steamy, dark tone that feels both like an homage to great films of decades past and something entirely new. In her review for The New York Times, film critic Manohla Dargis said that "Glass borrows liberally but not mindlessly. Instead, she takes familiar themes [...] and playfully bends them to her purposes." Unsurprisingly, "Love Lies Bleeding" has been a hit with critics and a solid success with audiences.

Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta

Director: Richard Linklater

Rating: R

Runtime: 115 minutes

Where to watch: Netflix

Richard Linklater's rom-com neo-noir semi-true crime character study "Hit Man" earned rave reviews on the fall festival circuit in 2023. Alas, few non-festival audiences in the United States had the chance to see how gangbusters it plays on the big screen because Netflix bought the rights and refuses to give anything a substantial theatrical release. If Glen Powell's star power could push a rom-com as generic as "Anyone But You" to international blockbuster status, surely "Hit Man" (which Powell co-wrote in addition to starring in) could have been the adult date night event of summer 2024.

But even at home, without the added joy of reacting to every twist alongside a full theater audience, "Hit Man" still ranks highly among the most assured and entertaining pieces of filmmaking you're likely to experience all year. Telling the story of Gary Johnson (Powell), a philosophy professor/undercover cop/fake "hit man" who tries to help a woman (Adria Arjona) he's assigned to entrap, Linklater's film is smart, surprising, and seriously sexy. It's the sort of the movie the big studios just don't make anymore.

Cast: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan

Director: Jane Schoenbrun

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 100 minutes

Where to watch: PVOD

"I Saw the TV Glow" might not be the year's scariest horror movie on a moment-to-moment basis, but in its lingering impact, it's easily the most haunting. You can read Jane Schoenbrun's film, written right after they first came out as non-binary, as a stylized drama about the pressures of suburban normality psychologically destroying a closeted trans person only capable of understanding themselves through fandom nostalgia — or as a dark fantasy about teen heroes fighting the supernatural forces of evil and losing in the most upsetting way possible.

Is there any hope in either of these readings? For the characters, that's debatable. But for the audience, the message that "there is still time" to live the life you want to be living echoes through loud and clear, lending a degree of empowerment to this bleak tale. Former '90s kids and horror nerds will especially appreciate the many homages to teen horror TV of the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" varieties, mixed together with the artsier aesthetic influences of David Lynch and David Cronenberg.

Cast: Vera Drew, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Nathan Faustyn, David Liebe Hart

Director: Vera Drew

Rating: not rated (content equivalent to R)

Runtime: 92 minutes

Where to watch: limited theaters, on DVD August 13

If "I Saw the TV Glow" is the great trans tragedy of 2024, "The People's Joker" is the great trans comedy — and one that the public almost never got to see. Warner Bros. Discovery pressured the Toronto International Film Festival into canceling screenings of Vera Drew's Batman parody in 2022. One and a half years and several rounds of edits later, it finally got a limited release in spring 2024, courtesy of queer indie distributor Altered Innocence.

Drew stars as "Joker the Harlequinn," a depressed transgender stand-up comic who leads an alt-comedy revolution after getting rejected from Gotham's all-powerful "UCB Live." Every Batman and Joker, from Adam West's to Frank Miller's, gets lovingly parodied in the film's mixed-media onslaught, while Drew manages to offer heartbreakingly personal examinations coming out, familial dysfunction, and abusive relationships amidst all the wacky sensory overload. The New Yorker film critic Richard Brody went so far as to declare it "the best superhero movie I've ever seen" — and give or take a "Spider-Verse" or two, it's hard to argue against that glowing assessment.

Cast: June Squibb, Fred Hechinger, Richard Roundtree, Parker Posey, Clark Gregg, Malcolm McDowell

Director: Josh Margolin

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 98 minutes

Where to watch: in theaters

If you bring your grandparents to one movie this year, it's hard to think of a better option than "Thelma." Loosely inspired by the experiences of writer-director Josh Margolin's own grandma, this Sundance hit stars June Squibb as its title character, a 93-year-old "Mission: Impossible" fan who undertakes her own impossible mission to get back at the phone scammers who tricked her out of $10,000.

"Thelma" mines plentiful laughs from its senior citizen action movie premise, but never in a way that makes its elderly heroine the butt of the joke. The audience is rooting for Thelma in all her feisty determination, and her adventures are often genuinely thrilling even if she moves at a slower pace than Tom Cruise. Thelma's caring relationship with her grandson Danny (Fred Hechinger) lends an earnest sweetness and relatability to what could have been just a wacky genre spoof. "Thelma" is also noteworthy as the last movie to star "Shaft" actor Richard Roundtree, still a bad motha-[SHUT YOUR MOUTH!] at age 81.

Cast: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Olivia Graves, Wes Tank, Doug Mancheski, Luis Rico

Director: Mike Cheslik

Rating: not rated (content equivalent to PG)

Runtime: 108 minutes

Where to watch: PVOD

Touring underground film festivals throughout 2022 and 2023 before a self-distributed roadshow and VOD release in 2024, "Hundreds of Beavers" proves the only things one needs to make a masterpiece of cinematic comedy are a green-screen, some fur-suits, and a dream. Imagine "Looney Tunes" as a point-and-click adventure video game, and then turn that video game into a Buster Keaton silent movie, and you can sort of picture a fraction of the craziness "Hundreds of Beavers" has in store for you.

By all reasonable logic, the joke should get exhausted well into this nearly-two-hour movie, but somehow Mike Cheslik and star/co-writer Ryland Brickson Cole Tews keep finding new ways to escalate the man vs. nature slapstick throughout as the put-upon protagonist levels up with new tools and abilities for facing the wilderness. The insane climax more than lives up to the promise of the title. Seeing such elaborate and hilarious set pieces put together with such cheap effects should inspire the next generation of indie filmmakers — and the next generation of applejack brewers.

Cast: voices of Melinée Leclerc, Clotilde Hesme, Laetitia Dosch

Director: Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach

Rating: not rated (content equivalent to PG)

Runtime: 73 minutes

Where to watch: Criterion Channel, PVOD

With the exception of Sébastien Laudenbach's previous film, "The Girl Without Hands," it's hard to think of any animated movie that looks quite like "Chicken for Linda!" Released in 2023 in France and internationally in 2024, the incredible animation feels like a classic children's picture book come to life, layering expressively painted outlines atop bold blocks of color. It would contend for this best of the year list on eye candy alone.

But this French cartoon also offers huge laughs, joyous musical numbers, and a heartfelt story about how kids process grief. The titular chicken dish that 8-year-old Linda (Melinée Leclerc) requests is the last thing her father made before he died and one of the only memories she still has of him. The comedy comes in with the wacky quest to acquire a chicken when every store is closed during a general strike. This sweetly anarchic movie packs a lot of entertainment into just 73 minutes, never overstaying its welcome.

Cast: Dev Patel, Sharlo Copley, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma

Director: Dev Patel

Rating: R

Runtime: 121 minutes

Where to watch: Peacock, PVOD

Dev Patel shot his directorial debut "Monkey Man" back in 2021 and sold the rights to Netflix, only for the streamer to get cold feet about its release — presumably fearing its political content would be too controversial for the Indian market. Jordan Peele fortunately saved the day, convincing Universal to give this awesome action revenge film a wide theatrical release.

Despite edits made to reduce visual similarities between the film's villainous "Sovereign Party" and India's leading Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, the narrative parallels are unsubtle enough to explain why "Monkey Man" spooked Netflix — but it's this same political rage that elevates "Monkey Man" above just a "John Wick" wannabe into something vital and exciting. Few action movies grapple so seriously with issues of class and the nature of faith — Patel's nameless "Kid," training and fighting alongside an army of hijra (third-gender) warriors, reclaims the legend of Hanuman in the face of corrupt religious officials.

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham

Director: David Leitch

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 126 minutes

Where to watch: PVOD

Remember how Ryan Gosling transformed into Ken for the "Barbie" movie and seemed to stay in character for the entirety of the press tour? Gosling just can't turn off the Kenergy, and maintaining that effortlessly funny romantic himbo charm for his performance as stuntman Colt Seavers is key to what made "The Fall Guy" such a fun start to the summer movie season.

Balancing its focus between a love story on the set of a sci-fi blockbuster and an elaborate criminal conspiracy surrounding said production, the plot gets a little convoluted (being difficult to summarize might have contributed to its disappointment at the box office). But despite some narrative messiness, the movie is extremely entertaining in both rom-com and action modes, and the love it shows towards the art of stunt work is infectious. It's not going to win any Oscars — but given how strongly it makes the case for a best stunts award, it should.

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne

Director: George Miller

Rating: R

Runtime: 148 minutes

Where to watch: PVOD

Originally conceived of as an anime tie-in meant to accompany the 2015 release of "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga" finally came to theaters as a big-budget live-action prequel nine years later. Given the film's disastrous box office performance and director George Miller's advancing age, "Furiosa" could very well be the last film we'll ever see in the "Mad Max" universe, but sci-fi and action movie lovers should be grateful it got made at all.

Starring Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne as the titular heroine and Chris Hemsworth as the scene-stealing villain Dementus, "Furiosa" presents the Imperator's origin story with the mythic scope of a Biblical epic and the operatic creativity fans have come to expect from this series. While not an all-time classic like "Fury Road" and a bit too heavy on unconvincing green-screen, sequences like the War Rig facing off against an aerial biker assault and the battle for the Bullet Farm show that Miller can still direct action like nobody else in the business.

Cast: voices of Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Kensington Tallman

Director: Kelsey Mann

Rating: PG

Runtime: 96 minutes

Where to watch: in theaters

After several high-profile flops in May 2024, the enormous opening of "Inside Out 2" in June prompted headlines about how the Pixar sequel "saved the summer box office." Obviously box office does not equal quality (a few of those big flops made this list!), but "Inside Out 2" is resonating with the public for good reason, continuing its predecessor's success at packing big psychological concepts into an entertaining family-friendly package.

Where the first "Inside Out" focused on the emotions of Joy (Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith), the sequel centers Anxiety (Maya Hawke), presented as the leader of a new team of teenage emotions taking over the mind of 13-year-old Riley (Kensington Tallman). The movie mines teenage awkwardness for plenty of relatable humor, but it also gets seriously intense in its depiction of overwhelming emotional distress. As with many Pixar films, adults might want to bring tissues with them for the ending.

Cast: Mike Faist, Josh O'Connor, Zendaya

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Rating: R

Runtime: 131 minutes

Where to watch: PVOD

Delayed from its initial 2023 awards season-friendly release plans due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, the sexy sports drama "Challengers" proved worth the wait as one of the cinematic highlights of spring 2024. Jumping back and forth over a period of 13 years, Luca Guadagnino's film traces the evolving bisexual love triangle among three tennis players whose careers take different paths. Art Donaldson (Mike Faist) becomes a celebrity, while Patrick Zweig (Josh O'Connor) finds himself struggling as he gets older, and Tashi Duncan (Zendaya) quits playing after a major injury but continues to coach and manipulate from the sidelines.

The sex scenes themselves never get particularly graphic, but the erotic tension among all three leads reaches a sweltering heat thanks to Sayombhu Mukdeeprom's sensual cinematography and the pulsating techno score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. You don't need to know anything about tennis to get swept away in the conflict — Guadagnigno actually finds the actual game boring, though you'd never know it from the anime-level excitement he puts into the matches here.

Cast: Hitoshi Omika, Ryo Nishikawa, Ryuji Kosaka, Ayaka Shibutani

Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Rating: not rated (content equivalent to PG-13)

Runtime: 106 minutes

Where to watch: limited theaters, coming soon to PVOD

Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Oscar-nominated for 2021's "Drive My Car," is known for making extremely long movies built around intense conversations. "Evil Does Not Exist," which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Venice Film Festival before its international release in spring 2024, is a change of pace for Hamaguchi: It's his shortest feature, but one that feels long in part because it's also his quietest (he spun the project off from a silent short film titled "Gift").

For those with patience for the rhythms of slow cinema, "Evil Does Not Exist" proves beautifully hypnotic and ultimately disturbing. This environmentalist drama about a rural village challenging a proposal to build a glamping site in their community treats all its characters with nuance; it would be easy to villainize certain figures in a lesser movie, but the film truly believes evil does not exist ... though violence does. Hamaguchi also continues to be one of the only filmmakers successfully exploring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.