a fantastic, gripping film, I was pleased it won the Oscar even though I hadn’t seen any of its competitors. Pitch-perfect in about every way, from shouting matches that made me wish they would never shut up to the quietly flawless formal execution of the whole thing (those shots of people speaking to the camera in the judge’s stead, primarily). Fascinating, too, in addition to its more visceral charms, distilling the complexities of contemporary life (Iranian and otherwise) down to cogency without losing their plurality. that killer ending, all windup, and the anticipation of a punch in the gut that’s at least as bad. Hollywood could learn a thing or five from this