"Jonathan Glazer’s unforgettable Auschwitz drama is a brutal masterpiece" - The Guardian

Nominated for 5 Oscars, including Best Picture and Director

Buy in advance with link below, or cash only at door

The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.

Come see great collection of international shorts!

NOTE: Not recommended for children under 13

ANIMATED SHORTS

Our Uniform – Yegane Moghaddam, 7 min., Iran (in Farsi)

Letter to a Pig – Tal Kantor and Amit R. Gicelter, 17 min., France/Israel (in Hebrew)

Pachyderm– Stéphanie Clément and Marc Rius, 11 min., USA (in English)

Ninety-Five Senses – Jerusha Hess and Jared Hess, 13 min., USA (in English)

War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko – Dave Mullins and Brad Booker, 11 min., USA

I’m Hip – John Musker, 4 min., USA

Wild Summons – Karni Arieli and Saul Freed, 14 min., UK (in English, narrated by Marianne Faithfull)

Hapless family man Paul Matthews (Nicolas Cage) finds his life turned upside down when millions of strangers suddenly start seeing him in their dreams. But when his nighttime appearances take a nightmarish turn, Paul is forced to navigate his newfound stardom, in this wickedly entertaining comedy from writer-director Kristoffer Borgli (Sick of Myself) and producer Ari Aster.

Forester Film, in partnership with WIFVNE and Cinema Worcester, invites you to be part of a select test screening for a new feature film, THE LAKE DISTRICT.

Logline: When their mother dies, three estranged siblings return to their family home to determine what to do about their father, who suffers from dementia.

Audience members will be asked to provide brief written and verbal feedback after the screening. The feedback will focus on the overall story and characters. While the edit is complete, this film has not yet gone through post-production, so attendees will view an early version. The film is an ensemble family drama that may most appeal to viewers 18+. There is no profanity, violence, or nudity.

Limit two (2) complimentary tickets per person. Seating is capped at 50. Please arrive to start on time as we cannot accommodate late seating. Please be prepared to stay for the entire two hours and to participate in the feedback session. The space is fully accessible but the film will not be closed captioned.

Director Dawn Davis will be in attendance. Dawn Davis is a director, actor, and writer. She returned to her alma mater, Indiana's Huntington University, to direct this feature for Forester Film. Her television pilot, CHEAT OUT, won Best Teleplay at the 2023 Lonely Seal Film Festival, and was a Selected Project/HollyShorts Fellowship Finalist for the 2021 Narrative Stowe Story Labs. Boston acting credits include the short film MATRIARCH (2020 Woods Hole Film Festival) and Mary Jane in JESUS HOPPED THE 'A' TRAIN (IRNE Award Nomination: Best Ensemble). Los Angeles theater credits include Goneril in KING LEAR opposite Apollo Dukakis, Agnes in THE SHADOW BOX directed by Keith David, and the title role in SAINT JOAN. Dawn is a former WIFVNE board member and a member of SAG-AFTRA.

Priscilla sees Sofia Coppola taking a tender yet clear-eyed look at the often toxic blend created by mixing first love and fame.

Buy tickets online or cash only at door!

When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend. Through Priscilla’s eyes, Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Elvis and Priscilla's long courtship and turbulent marriage, from a German army base to his dream-world estate at Graceland, in this deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame.

R (Drug Use and Some Language)

1 hr 53 min

2023 Cannes Palm D'Or winner! "A magnificently slippery thriller" - The New Yorker

Buy tix online or cash at door

For the past year, Sandra, her husband Samuel, and their eleven-year-old son Daniel have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he was murdered or committed suicide. Samuel's suspicious death is presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the main suspect. What follows is not just an investigation into the circumstances of Samuel's death but an unsettling psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel's conflicted relationship.

Rating: R (Violent Images|Some Language|Sexual References)

“A chilling immersion into a place and time fraught with constant danger, The Royal Hotel reunites Kitty Green and Julia Garner to electrifying effect.” - Rotten Tomatoes

Americans Hanna and Liv are best friends backpacking in Australia. After they run out of money, Liv, looking for an adventure, convinces Hanna to take a temporary live-in job behind the bar of a pub called 'The Royal Hotel' in a remote Outback mining town. Bar owner Billy and a host of locals give the girls a riotous introduction to Down Under drinking culture but soon Hanna and Liv find themselves trapped in an unnerving situation that grows rapidly out of their control.

• Rating: R (Language Throughout|Sexual Content/Nudity)

Our friends at Music Worcester are presenting this fantastic performance!

Use the code CINEMA at check out to get a ticket for just $10!

Ilmar and Aldo López-Gavilán are virtuoso Afro-Cuban musician brothers, born in Havana in the 70s. At 14, Ilmar outgrew his island teachers and was sent to the U.S.S.R. to study violin. He never lived in Cuba again, ultimately establishing himself as a sought-after violinist and teacher in the U.S.

Younger brother Aldo grew up mentored by Cuba’s impressive jazz and classical pianists, his extraordinary talent achieving renown on the island, but stymied elsewhere by the long-standing U.S. embargo.

Though they see each other when family finances and visa restrictions allow, they are still rarely able to collaborate musically on the same stage—something they are always seeking.

Tracking their parallel lives, poignant reunion, and momentous first performances together on stages across the U.S., LOS HERMANOS / THE BROTHERS is a nuanced, intensely moving view of nations long estranged, through the lens of music and family.

PROGRAM

Los Hermanos (film screening – scroll down for preview clip at bottom of page)

Violin and piano recital to follow

The Japanese horror-comedy classic!

All seats $8 - in advance or cash only at door!

House (Japanese: ハウス, Hepburn: Hausu) is a 1977 Japanese experimental comedy horror film directed and produced by Nobuhiko Obayashi. It is about a schoolgirl traveling with her six friends to her ailing aunt's country home, where they come face to face with supernatural events as the girls are, one by one, devoured by the home. It stars mostly amateur actors, with only Kimiko Ikegami and Yōko Minamida having any notable previous acting experience. The musical score was performed by the rock band Godiego.

Toho Studios approached Obayashi with the suggestion to make a film like Jaws. Influenced by ideas from his daughter Chigumi, he developed ideas for a script by Chiho Katsura. After the project was green-lit, it was put on hold for two years as no one at Toho wanted to direct it. However, Obayashi kept promoting the film until the studio allowed him to direct it himself. House was filmed on one of Toho’s largest sets, where Obayashi shot the film without a storyboard over a period of about two months.

It received generally negative reviews, but was a box office hit in Japan. It received a wide release in 2009 and 2010 in North America where it received more favorable reviews and has since received a cult following.

"The film balances its humor and pathos with a natural ease, ending with a satisfying conclusion." - Austin Chronicle

While vacationing by the Baltic Sea, writer Leon (Thomas Schubert) and photographer Felix (Langston Uibel) are surprised by the presence of Nadja (Paula Beer), a mysterious young woman staying as a guest at Felix's family's holiday home. Nadja distracts Leon from finishing his latest novel and with brutal honesty, forces him to confront his caustic temperament and self-absorption. As Nadja and Leon grow closer, an encroaching forest fire threatens the group and tensions escalate when a handsome lifeguard and Leon's tight-lipped book editor also arrive. Christian Petzold's acclaimed latest was the winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at this year's Berlin International Film Festival.

A fantastic 90-minute theatrical program of seven short films curated from the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

2023 Program

Help Me Understand / United States (Director and Screenwriter: Aemilia Scott, Producers: Paul Feig, Laura Fischer, Kesila Childers, Erica Fishman, Amy Geist) — Six women come to a consensus. Fiction. Cast: Dana Powell, Dierdre Friel, Rachael Harris, Nicole Michelle Haskins, Kate Flannery, Ken Marino, Kali Racquel

Inglorious Liaisons / France/Belgium (Directors and Screenwriters: Chloé Alliez, Violette Delvoye, Producers: Jean-François Le Corre, Mathieu Courtois, William Henne) — On the night of a big party for Lucie, Maya, and their friends, Jimmy has also come. Everyone knows he is here for Maya, but does she have the same feelings for Jimmy? Fiction/Animation. Cast: Evmorfia Spanoudis, Hélène Bolenge Boteku

Parker / United States (Directors: Catherine Hoffman, Sharon Liese, Producers: Sharon Liese, Funmi Ogunro, Samantha Hake) — Three generations of a Kansas City family are finally unified when they do something that countless other Black Americans could not — choose their own last name. Non-Fiction.

Pro Pool / Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Alec Pronovost, Producer: Patrick Francke-Sirois) — Newly graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and civilization, Charles-Olivier struggles to find a job in his field and must rely on a clerk position in a pool shop. Feeling down, he navigates his gig as best he can. Fiction Cast: Louis Carrière, Alexis Martin, Sylvie De Morais, Sébastien Rajotte, Oussama Fares, Louis Girard-Bock

Rest Stop / United States (Director and Screenwriter: Crystal Kayiza, Producers: Jalena Keane-Lee,

Brit Fryer) — On a bus ride from New York to Oklahoma, Meyi, a young Ugandan-American girl, realizes her place in the world through her mother’s ambitious effort to reunite their family. Fiction. Cast: Leeanna E. Tushabe, Alicia Basiima, Khalid Semakula, Robert Wanyama, Margaret Bisase, Olivia Nantongo. Short Film Jury Award: US Fiction.

Take Me Home / United States (Director and Screenwriter: Liz Sargent, Producer: Minos Papas) — After their mother’s death, a cognitively disabled woman and her estranged sister must learn to communicate in order to move forward. Fiction. Cast: Anna Sargent, Jeena Yi, Joan Sargent

When You Left Me On That Boulevard / United States (Director and Screenwriter: Kayla Abuda Galang Producers: Alifya Ali, David Oconer, Udoy Rahim, Samantha Skinner) — Teenager Ly and her cousins get high before a boisterous family Thanksgiving at their auntie’s house in southeast San Diego in 2006. Fiction. Cast: Kailyn Dulay, Melissa Arcaya, Elle Rodriguez, Whitney Agustin, Gina May Gimongala, Allan Wayne Anderson. Short Film Grand Jury Prize.

"‘Past Lives’ Is Already the Best Movie of the Year. Playwright Celine Song’s debut feature reunites former childhood crushes after their moment’s passed — and is a masterpiece about fate, love, and heartbreak" - RollingStone

Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora's family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.

" ‘Monica” raises the bar for trans stories onscreen, and (Trace) Lysette takes her rightful place as its muse.’ - Indiewire

Also staring the great Patricia Clarkson!

Monica is an intimate portrait of a woman who, for the first time in 20 years, returns home to the Midwest to take care of her ailing mother. Through the themes of abandonment, aging, rejection, acceptance and forgiveness, we get to know Monica and her world made of pain, fear but also courage. A journey through the needs and desires of a woman who opens a cognitive look at the human condition.

Rated R (Language|Sexual Content|Nudity)

1 Hr 56 Min

"Incendiary and furious, confident and courageous, the new thriller How to Blow Up a Pipeline boasts not only the best title of the year so far but also the best score, cast and itchy, charged, electric directorial vision..." - Globe and Mail

A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline, in Daniel Goldhaber's taut and timely thriller that is part high-stakes heist, part radical exploration of the climate crisis. Based on the controversial book by Andreas Malm.

Rated R

1Hr 39Min

A special message from Raphael Sbarge!

ONLY IN THEATERS, a film by actor/director Raphael Sbarge, is an intimate and moving journey taken with the Laemmle family, spanning nearly three years of challenges, losses, and personal triumphs.

“ONLY IN THEATERS ISN’T JUST A CELEBRATION OF THE LAEMMLES AND THEIR LOVE OF SHARING CINEMA BUT THE AMERICAN DREAM. AT A TIME WITH MUCH UNCERTAINTY IN THE FILM BUSINESS, THIS FILM COULDN’T BE MORE IMPORTANT”

– LA Daily News

“ESSENTIAL VIEWING FOR EVERY FILMGOER.”

– Film Threat

Laemmle Theatres, the beloved 84-year-old arthouse cinema chain in Los Angeles, is facing seismic change and financial pressure. Yet the family behind this multigenerational business – whose sole mission has been to support the art of film – is determined to survive.

“THE STORY HERE IS BEAUTIFUL AND COMPLICATED, ONE IN WHICH THE TWIN WEIGHTS OF LEGACY AND CALLING BEAR DOWN ON THE NEED TO SURVIVE IN CHANGING TIMES”

– LA TIMES

“…2022’S MOST EMOTIONAL THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE”

-VARIETY MAGAZINE

Always a lot of fun - watch these shorts then pick your favorite for the Oscar a few days later!

THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE - UK/35 MINS/2022

THE FLYING SAILOR - CANADA/7 MINS/2022

ICE MERCHANTS - PORTUGAL, FRANCE, UK/14 MINS/2022

MY YEAR OF DICKS - USA/25 MINS/2022

AN OSTRICH TOLD ME THE WORLD IS FAKE AND I THINK I BELIEVE IT - AUSTRALIA/11 MINS/2022

A reclusive English teacher suffering from severe obesity attempts to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.

"...every one of the stellar supporting cast making an indelible impact, The Whale isn’t just a one-man show. Nevertheless, it’s Brendan Fraser who dominates the confined setting with a self-deprecating, barnstorming performance as the lovable man mountain in constant mourning. " - Radio Times

Rated R, 1 hr 57 min

”The beasts give EO an authenticity beyond human acting, without the trappings of rational meaning. Behind the veil of Skolimowski’s bravura technique, life simply is.” - The Nation

The world is a mysterious place when seen through the eyes of an animal. EO, a grey donkey with melancholic eyes, meets good and bad people on his life's path, experiences joy and pain, endures the wheel of fortune randomly turn his luck into disaster and his despair into unexpected bliss. But not even for a moment does he lose his innocence.

At a fading vacation resort, 11-year-old Sophie treasures rare time together with her loving and idealistic father, Calum (Paul Mescal). As a world of adolescence creeps into view, beyond her eye Calum struggles under the weight of life outside of fatherhood. Twenty years later, Sophie's tender recollections of their last holiday become a powerful and heartrending portrait of their relationship, as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't, in Charlotte Wells' superb and searingly emotional debut film.

Buy tickets online to ensure seating, or at door (cash only)

“Triangle of Sadness is a ruthless, raucous comedy that starts off by skewering the fashion industry, but swiftly moves on to the ultra-rich and famous. A social satire? In this economy? Absolutely.” - IGN

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/triangle-of-sadness-tickets-470752622767

In Ruben Östlund's wickedly funny Palme d'Or winner, social hierarchy is turned upside down, revealing the tawdry relationship between power and beauty. Celebrity model couple, Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), are invited on a luxury cruise for the uber-rich, helmed by an unhinged boat captain (Woody Harrelson). What first appeared instagrammable ends catastrophically, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island and fighting for survival.

It’s back!! This (90 minute) 22nd edition comprises 10 films -- nine recent, along with one restored classic -- which deal with both the anxieties and hopes of a world faced with a seemingly endless series of existential crises. All are inventive, their tone ranges from the whimsical to the profound; their techniques, from stop-motion to hand-drawn to computer-aided.

“Animation is a natural medium for dealing with abstract ideas and deeply felt concerns, and the ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS has always strived to scour the world for the most affecting and engaging films,” says founder and curator Ron Diamond. “While the recent films were conceived and some finished, before the Covid lockdowns, all but the most abstract display a concern with the ways in which we are all interconnected...or sadly alienated from our sense of human connection.”

This general issue appears in many forms and styles: While "Beyond Noh" cleverly shows the prevalence of masks through all cultures, and "Rain” humorously explores the dangers of groupthink, "Ties" takes the notion of connectedness from the metaphorical to the actual.

The nine new films come from Europe, Asia, and North America. The program culminates with a striking restored 4K digital remaster by the Academy Film Archive of Frederic Back's classic 1987 Oscar-winner, "The Man Who Planted Trees."

As a bonus, an exhibition of original production art from the films listed below will be presented at selected art house theaters and on college and university campuses. the ANIMATION SHOW OF SHOWS is funded by major studios, companies, schools, and hundreds of animation lovers around the world.

This year's films are:

Beyond Noh -- Patrick Smith/Kaori Ishida (U.S./Japan) - 3m55s, 1.78, color, Stop Motion Animation, No dialogue, US & Japan, 2020.

Empty Places -- Geoffroy de Crecy (France) - 8m49s, 1.78, color, 3D computer animation, No dialogue, France, 2020.

Beseder (Good and Better) -- Gil Alkabetz (Germany) - 4m23s, Aspect Ratio,1.77, color, 2D hand drawn animation, Hebrew (subtitled English)

Zoizoglyphe -- Jeanne Apergis (France) - 7m44s, minimal color, 2D hand drawn animation, France, 2021.

Rain (Deszcz) -- Piotr Milczarek (Poland) - 5m13s, 1.78, color, 2D Hand Drawn Animation, no dialogue, Poland, 2020

Average Happiness -- Maja Gehrig (Switzerland) - 7m03s, 1.78, color, 2D Hand Drawn Animation, No dialogue, Switzerland, 2019

Aurora -- Jo Meuris (U.S.) - 5m15s,1.77, color, 2D hand drawn animation, US, 2020.

Yes-People -- Gísli Darri Halldórsson (Iceland) - 8m35s,1.77, color, 3D computer graphics animation, US, 2019.

Ties -- Dina Velikovskaya (Germany/Russia) - 7m36s, 1.85, color, Stop Motion replacement animation, Germany / Russia 2019.

The Man Who Planted Trees -- Frederic Back (Canada) - 30m8s, 1.33, color, 2D Hand drawn, Canada, 1987

Watch Greg's latest film MIRACLE VALLEY, ask him your best questions, and cap it off by experiencing THE ROOM!

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/double-feature-miracle-valleythe-room-with-greg-sestero-in-person-tickets-398619009187

MIRACLE VALLEY

An obsessive photographer and his girlfriend are invited to a desert getaway in search of an ultra-rare bird. Fortune, fame and mending their fading relationship takes a turn at the hands of a sinister force.

THE ROOM

Johnny is a successful banker who lives happily in a San Francisco townhouse with his fiancée, Lisa. One day, inexplicably, she gets bored of him and decides to seduce Johnny's best friend, Mark. From there, nothing will be the same again.

Join us for a free outdoor screening of one of Charlie Chaplin's greatest films! On the White Room patio at the Crompton Building - bring a blanket and kids! Suggested $5 donation to cinema-worcester!

Modern Times is a 1936 American silent satirical romantic black comedy film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin in which his iconic Little Tramp character struggles to survive in the modern, industrialized world.

"A stunning, realist and visceral achievement." - World of Reel

TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/happening-tickets-378577213637

France, 1963. Anne is a bright young student with a promising future ahead of her. But when she falls pregnant, she sees the opportunity to finish her studies and escape the constraints of her social background disappearing. With her final exams fast approaching and her belly growing, Anne resolves to act, even if she has to confront shame and pain, even if she must risk prison to do so.

R (Sexual Content|Graphic Nudity|Disturbing Material/Images)

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2022-sundance-film-festival-short-film-tour-tickets-372411612157

The 2022 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour is a 95-minute theatrical program of 7 short films curated from the 2022 Sundance Film Festival short film program, including three titles that won Festival awards. Considered the premier showcase for short films and the launchpad for many now-prominent independent filmmakers, the Festival includes fiction, documentary and animation from around the world. Throughout its almost 40 years of history, the Festival has always supported short films, providing a platform for both established and new filmmakers to connect with audiences.

The 2022 Short Film Tour program is a sampling of Festival offerings and a testament to the unique storytelling potential that the format holds. Audiences who missed the Sundance Film Festival – which took place online and in-person in 7 cities across the country from January 20 through January 30 this year – can enjoy a mix of fiction, documentary, and animated shorts that are funny, sad, inspirational, and full of strong characters.

The Festival's Short Film Program has long been established as a place to discover talented directors, such as past alumni Andrea Arnold, Lake Bell, Damien Chazelle, Destin Daniel Cretton, Jay and Mark Duplass, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Debra Granik, Rashaad Ernesto Green, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Sterlin Harjo, Todd Haynes, Don Hertzfeldt, Shaka King, Lynne Ramsay, Dee Rees, Joey Soloway, Taika Waititi, and many others.

"An auspicious and wildly smart exploration of internet culture through a chilling coming-of-age story" - IndieWire

Narratively challenging and visually haunting, We're All Going to the World's Fair adds a uniquely ambitious and unsettling entry to the crowded coming-of-age genre. Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes!

Late on a cold night somewhere in the U.S., teenage Casey (Anna Cobb in her feature debut) sits alone in her attic bedroom, scrolling the internet under the glow-in-the-dark stars and black-light posters that blanket the ceiling. She has finally decided to take the World's Fair Challenge, an online role-playing horror game, and embrace the uncertainty it promises. After the initiation, she documents the changes that may or may not be happening to her, adding her experiences to the shuffle of online clips available for the world to see. As she begins to lose herself between dream and reality, a mysterious figure reaches out, claiming to see something special in her uploads.

A young Finnish woman embarks on a journey of self-discovery that takes her (and you) through richly detailed and surprising terrain.

Widely acclaimed film awarded Grand Prix at Canne Film Festival, 2021
A young woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. Forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a larger than life Russian miner, the unexpected encounter leads the occupants of Compartment No. 6 to face major truths about human connection.

"One of the year's best films so far that has a lot to say about identity and loss and what it means to truly be human." - Director's Club

When his young daughter's beloved companion -- an android named Yang -- malfunctions, Jake (Colin Farrell) searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife (Jodie Turner-Smith) and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.

Music. Money. Madness . . . Jimi Hendrix Experience: Live In Maui chronicles Jimi Hendrix's storied 1970 visit to Maui, his performance on the dormant lower crater of the Haleakala volcano on the island and how the band became ensnared with the ill-fated Rainbow Bridge movie produced by their controversial manager Michael Jeffery.

Directed by John McDermott and produced by Janie Hendrix, George Scott and McDermott, this critically acclaimed documentary incorporates never before released original performance footage and new interviews with firsthand participants and key players such as Billy Cox, Eddie Kramer, Warner Bros. executives and several Rainbow Bridge cast members, as well as its director Chuck Wein.

The film presents Hendrix--joined by bassist Billy Cox and drummer Mitch Mitchell- at the height of his powers, playing flawlessly against a stunning natural backdrop. Included are breathtaking renditions of "Foxey Lady," "Purple Haze," and Voodoo Child (Slight Return)," as well as then-unreleased songs like "Dolly Dagger" and "Freedom" that showcased the new direction Hendrix was moving toward.

All seats $5 - Cash at door!

Many critics consider CITY LIGHTS to be not only the highest accomplishment of Chaplin's career, but one of the greatest films of all time. Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance believes "City Lights is not only Charles Chaplin's masterpiece; it is an act of defiance" as it premiered four years into the era of sound films which began with premiere of The Jazz Singer (1927). In 1991, the Library of Congress selected City Lights for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked it 11th on its list of the best American films ever made. In 1949, the critic James Agee called the film's final scene "the greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid".