Yves Robert, 1972
PG; 90 minutes; French with English subtitles

Desperate to protect his job from a bureaucratic rival, the head of the French secret service (Jean Rochefort) picks outs a stranger, François Perrin (Pierre Richard), from a Paris crowd and singles him out as a master spy who should be tracked very closely. In reality, François is an amiable, if clumsy, classical violinist whose complete obliviousness to the agents watching him only further convinces them that they have a major undercover operative in their sights.

Stanley Donen, 1967 
111 minutes

Architect Mark Wallace (Albert Finney) and his wife, Joanna (Audrey Hepburn), travel to France to meet with an affluent client (Claude Dauphin). While there, they reflect on their first decade of marriage—memories of when they first met, of courtship, and of road trips through the French countryside. As flirtation and playful quarreling turn to boredom with the banality of married life, the Wallaces struggle to rekindle their passion.

Éric Rohmer, 1971
PG; 103 minutes; French with English subtitles

Jérôme (Jean-Claude Brialy) decides to prepare for a lifetime of matrimony by enjoying one last vacation by himself. Upon arriving at his lakeside destination, however, he finds Aurora (Aurora Cornu), a love from his past who is staying nearby. Through Aurora, Jerome is introduced to two teenage sisters, Laura (Béatrice Romand) and Claire (Laurence de Monaghan). Although Laura is smitten with Jerome, it is Claire—or, more precisely, her knee—that fascinates the soon-to-be-married man.

Mike Nichols, 1998 
R; 143 minutes

In this adaptation of the best-selling roman à clef, the young and gifted Henry Burton (Adrian Lester) is tapped to oversee the presidential campaign of Gov. Jack Stanton (John Travolta). Burton is pulled into the politician's colorful world and looks on as Stanton—who has a wandering eye that could be his downfall—contends with his ambitious wife, Susan (Emma Thompson), and an outspoken adviser, Richard Jemmons (Billy Bob Thornton).

Martin Ritt, 1958 
155 minutes

Handsome vagabond Ben Quick (Paul Newman) returns to the Mississippi town his late father called home, but rumors of his dad's pyromaniac tendencies follow him as soon as he sets foot there. The proud young man's determination eventually wins over civic leader Will Varner (Orson Welles), who decides Ben might be just the man for his daughter, Clara (Joanne Woodward)—much to the displeasure of Will's gutless son (Anthony Franciosa) and Clara's society boyfriend (Richard Anderson).

Alfred Hitchcock, 1954 
PG; 116 minutes

“Sure, Vertigo is more personal, Psycho more bizarre, North by Northwest more thrilling. But Rear Window shows the Master of Suspense at his most spare, sophisticated and sinisterly clever, a movie that is essentially about watching movies.” —John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press

Alfonso Cuarón, 2001 
R; 126 minutes; Spanish with English subtitles

Led by a triumvirate of terrific performances, Alfonso Cuarón's free-spirited road trip through Mexico is a sexy and wistful hymn to the fleetingness of youth. —Rotten Tomatoes

In this 1982 documentary, James Baldwin retraces his time in the South during the Civil Rights Movement, reflecting with his trademark brilliance and insight on the passage of more than two decades. From Selma, Birmingham, and Atlanta to the battleground beaches of St. Augustine, Florida with Chinua Achebe, and back north for a visit to Newark with Amiri Baraka, Baldwin lays bare the fiction of progress in post-Civil Rights America—wondering "what happened to the children" and those "who did not die, but whose lives were smashed on Freedom Road.”

95 minutes

“There’s something comfortably entertaining about this old-fashioned Western, one that sometimes drifts from lyrical into languid, but also hums with the craftsmanship of its creator.” —Brian Tallerico, RogerEbert.com

When the man she loves, Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen), goes off to fight in the Civil War, Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) must fend for herself in a place controlled by a corrupt mayor and his unscrupulous business partner. When Holger returns from the war, he and Vivienne must confront and make peace with the person each has become.

R; 129 minutes

“It's as engrossing, thoughtful, heartfelt, angry, hopeful, and altogether valuable as his best work. If it is indeed Loach's farewell, it's one hell of a fine note to go out on.” 
—Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com