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Movies 101

"Hard Truths," "Presence" & "The Seed of the Sacred Fig"

From left: Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin in Hard Truths (2024); Lucy Liu in Presence (2024); Setareh Maleki, Soheila Golestani, and Mahsa Rostami in The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024).
From left: Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin in Hard Truths (2024); Lucy Liu in Presence (2024); Setareh Maleki, Soheila Golestani, and Mahsa Rostami in The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024).

We all have our favorite filmmakers whose work we’ll seek out every time they release a new movie. On this week’s show, Dan Webster, Nathan Weinbender, and Mary Pat Treuthart discuss a trio of movies—at least two of which are considered, by many, the work of master filmmakers. The first is Hard Truths, the latest by UK writer-director Mike Leigh. They follow that with Presence, directed by Oscar-winner Steven Soderbergh. And they finish with The Seed of the Sacred Fig, written and directed by Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof.

Related Content
  • Movie Reviews
    With “Presence,” Steven Soderbergh brings his expert directing skill to a story that is little better than ordinary, Dan Webster says in his review.
  • Movie Reviews
    The Iranian-German co-production “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is currently nominated for the Best International Film Oscar. It has a turbulent making-of story, but Nathan Weinbender says the movie itself is just as intense and impossible to look away from.
  • Movie Reviews
    “Hard Truths” is the latest drama from master British filmmaker Mike Leigh, about a very angry woman and the family who puts up with her. It’s a challenging watch about a challenging person, but Nathan Weinbender says it’s one of the director’s best.