New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

New York University's independent student newspaper, established in 1973.

Washington Square News

A woman sitting across from two men at a table with a snowy landscape in the background.

Review: ‘About Dry Grasses’ is a wintery tale of discontent

The ninth feature from filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan is an intimate epic of melancholic circumstances and conflicting moralities.
Nolan Morris, Contributing Writer February 27, 2024

Set in a small Eastern Anatolian village, the newest feature from Turkish filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan captures the existential burdens of a group of school teachers completing...

A red mug and a laptop are placed on a purple background. On the screen of the laptop is a woman wearing a green jacket and a pair of sunglasses driving a yellow car through the mountains.

Off the Radar: The surprising tenderness of Jacques Tati’s ‘Trafic’

Off the Radar is a weekly column surveying overlooked films available to students for free via NYU’s streaming partnerships. “Trafic” is available to stream on Kanopy.
Ethan Beck, Staff Writer February 23, 2024

Jacques Tati, the French filmmaker behind visually dazzling comedies like 1958’s  “Mon Oncle” and the 1967 “PlayTime,” began his career in entertainment as a mime, performing...

Four women looking scared on a subway platform. One of them is holding a skateboard.

Review: ‘Madame Web’ is somehow worse than you thought

He was in the Amazon with her mom when she was researching spiders right before she died, and I was asleep in my seat. Also, the line wasn’t even in the movie.
Holden Lay, Staff Writer February 23, 2024

“Madame Web” is an indefensibly bad film. Such poorly made and agonizingly dull schlock can only be the result of a complete lack of inspiration. “Madame Web” is the...

A man with dreads plays the guitar while singing into a microphone.

Review: ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ is only pleasing to the ear

While the recently released biopic recreates some of the magic from Bob Marley’s music, it fails to thoughtfully explore the reggae superstar’s legacy.
Tony Jaeyeong Jeong, Staff Writer February 22, 2024

Renowned Jamaican singer-songwriter Bob Marley was a multidimensional cultural icon. Dubbed the “King of Reggae,” he was a pioneer in the Reggae music scene who constantly...

An illustration of the “Poor Things” protagonist, Bella Baxter, with a light purple film strip in the background. Bella is cut into pieces, with her brain outside of her body, and is running.

‘Poor Things’ argues to be human is to be monstrous

Subverting genre and reflecting the classics prior, “Poor Things” proposes what a modern monster movie should look like.
Liv Steinhardt, Contributing Writer February 16, 2024

In the popular discourse regarding “Poor Things,” audiences have repeatedly tried to categorize this label-rejecting film. A quick Google search finds “Poor Things” labeled...

A red mug and a laptop with a blue-toned image of a woman applying lipstick to another woman.

Off the Radar: Feminism, race and gender in ‘The Big City’

Off the Radar is a weekly column surveying overlooked films available to students for free via NYU’s streaming partnerships. “The Big City” is available to stream on Kanopy and Max.
Yezen Saadah, Deputy Managing Editor February 16, 2024

The conflict between the old and new is a recurring theme in most, if not all, of Bengali filmmaker Satyajit Ray’s films. Since the start of his filmography with the 1955 classic...

A red mug and a laptop with an image of a young girl looking over a fence drawn on a purple background.

Off the Radar: Redefining national images in ‘The Scent of Green Papaya’

Off the Radar is a weekly column surveying overlooked films available to students for free via NYU’s streaming partnerships. “The Scent of Green Papaya” is available to stream on Kanopy.
Mick Gaw, Film & TV Editor February 9, 2024

Having fled Vietnam and immigrated to France at the age of 12, Trần Anh Hung has established himself as a singular filmmaker in world cinema — a master in producing fleeting...

A garden with green grass, chairs and stone paths, surrounds a shallow pool that children are playing in while adults watch. Behind the garden, there is a wall with barbed wire, guard towers and a large red-shingle roofed building.

Review: Why ‘The Zone of Interest’ asks you not to watch, but listen

“The Zone of Interest” is an experimental audiovisual portrait of Auschwitz that questions the nature of violence.
Tony Jaeyeong Jeong, Staff Writer February 6, 2024

The lights dim in the theater as “The Zone of Interest” is about to play. The audience puts away their phones, expecting an opening shot that might give them a hint of what's...

An illustration of a laptop and a mug on a purple background. On the laptop is a child sitting in a car leaning outside the window. The foreground is a grassy field with a city background and above the car is the red title: “24 City.”

Off the Radar: ‘24 City’ and building over the ashes of industry

Off the Radar is a weekly column surveying overlooked films available to students for free via NYU’s streaming partnerships. “24 City” is available to stream on Kanopy.
Mick Gaw, Film & TV Editor February 2, 2024

Living in a metropolis like New York City means constantly witnessing a ceaseless commercial drive toward prosperity — a process defined by both creation and displacement. Structures...

An illustration of a laptop and a mug on a purple background. On the laptop is an image of a woman and a man eating noodles with chopsticks.

Off the Radar: Ramen, ambition and love in ‘Tampopo’

Off the Radar is a weekly column surveying overlooked films available to students for free via NYU’s streaming partnerships. “Tampopo” is available to stream on Kanopy and Max.
Mick Gaw, Film & TV Editor January 26, 2024

As NYU students find themselves reluctantly scurrying past frozen patches of sewage on their way to an 8 a.m. class, they all yearn for summer warmth. While a sunny picnic at the...

There is a man in a purple outfit and a big hat standing on the trunk of a tree. There are pink leaves and absurdly large cherries hanging from the tree.

Review: ‘Wonka’ is a sweet treat for your inner child

WSN spoke with actors Timothée Chalamet and Keegan-Michael Key about Paul King’s whimsical homage to the iconic story.
Dani Biondi, Contributing Writer December 15, 2023

I’ll be the first person to admit that I was deathly afraid of Willy Wonka as a child. Maybe it’s because I read Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” a few...

A person with blonde hair and a large beige overcoat leans against a concrete wall while conversing with a person standing next to them with brown hair and a black coat. Above them, a large neon red sign that reads “BAR” illuminates the snow on the ground in a red glow.

Review: Repression, obsession and murder intertwine in ‘Eileen’

Ottessa Moshfegh’s acclaimed novel moves to the screen in a sinister and striking adaptation.
Maggie Turner, Contributing Writer December 13, 2023

Director William Oldroyd’s newest film feels as if it was a vintage VHS tape plucked out of the corner of an antique shop, evoking a cold environment of Christmases past. However,...