Is `Beanpole´ the First Great Movie of 2020?
(WorldNews Entertainment)

Many critics are lauding Beanpole, the latest film by 28-year-old Russian director Kantemir Balagov, as the first great movie of the year. It´s hard to make sense of superlatives that are based on promptness-it´s February, and January is widely understood to be the worst month for movie releases. Still, Beanpole is a curious, demented, and attentive film. It takes the kind of narrative and artistic risks uncommon amongst World War II dramas, and in the process, develops a both moral and radical vision of what healing means when you´ve truly suffered. It also makes decisive omissions-you´re not allowed deep into the psyches of the film´s protagonists, nor are you given clear explanations for...