"Cinematic candy. You want to eat, sing, and dance in the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro. The colors and fabrics, the language and music and people and culture, are all so vibrant and beautiful. The story is a retelling of the Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice, done with such beauty and imagination. This is one for the ages"

"I read this whenever I feel like a slob (read: I’ve re-read it many times). There’s nothing wrong with a little self-possession, there’s beauty in taking time for yourself just because you feel like it, and there’s nothing wrong with NOT divulging every secret! Be like a French girl and cultivate your own “secret garden!”"

"Jubilee is a really excellent time capsule of a scene, and when I first saw it on VHS in high school, it made a big impression on me. I especially love the scene called “Jordan’s Dance,” which was probably one of the first times I saw such an effective and purposeful combination of beauty and destruction."

"Jane Campion’s film is a portrait of an artist, and it’s filled with hope and transcendental beauty. It gave me, as a young and unformed viewer, direct access to a specific female imagination. To experience Janet Frame as she quite literally finds her voice is a thrilling pleasure that sneaks up on me and holds me captive."

"A powerful story told simply and with finesse. This movie is all clarity and as lean as a movie can be. A tale of redemption that has inspired and influenced countless other really good movies. The protagonist’s face will haunt your dreams. This one is a real beauty. Paul Schrader’s DVD introduction (once again) provides an ideal context."

"How do you continue to write, to create beauty and aspire for freedom, under the darkest regimes? Akhmatova is brilliant—she is a fighter, a witness of her time, a thunder. The woman who makes me wish I could speak Russian. But reading her in translation is no less a treat for the mind and the soul."