The Graduation

Claire Simon knows that the best way to capture the anxiousness of a moment is to leave it unembellished.

I teach film, and this movie gave me some bracing lessons.

Though The Competition lacks critical distance, what it offers, in spades, is the engrossing experience of watching other people endure pressure and humiliation.

What makes someone a great artist before they’ve made any great works of art? That becomes the central question and object of scrutiny at the heart of ‘Le concours,’ making it one of the most compelling examinations of auteur driven cinema.