Culture

Just as the Spanish women’s national team was celebrating its 2023 World Cup victory, it found itself embroiled in a fight with the soccer federation president over an unwanted kiss. A Netflix documentary looks at the scandal.

The beautiful thing about the full-circle moments experienced this week by sports stars Freddie Freeman and LeBron James is what’s at the center of them, writes the Monitor’s cultural commentator – pure and abiding love.

“A Real Pain,” written by, directed by, and co-starring Jesse Eisenberg, is the kind of movie that creeps up on you, says film critic Peter Rainer. It has a way of seeing that, in its own modest way, owes something to the Yiddish sensibility that informed storytellers like Isaac Bashevis Singer.

Celebrating fall: The riot of russet tones, the brisk air, the crunchy leaves. The answer to what ails us? It’s often as simple as stepping outside.

With “Son of a Broken Man,” Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito tackles his relationship with his father, and considers how to overcome the darkness in our lives.

Filmmaker Spike Lee, attorney Sherrilyn Ifill, and civil rights advocate Xernona Clayton were honored with the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award in Memphis, Tennessee.

The annual pilgrimage of the Garifuna from mainland St. Vincent to nearby Baliceaux island offers tribute and connection to their ancestors – and helps keep a unique culture alive.

After a six-year hiatus from live concerts, what would Bruce Springsteen’s return offer? The rocker is “entirely captivating” in the latest documentary capturing his craft, says the Monitor’s film critic.

The New York Liberty finally won its first WNBA championship after beating the Minnesota Lynx 67-62 in overtime of a decisive Game 5 on Oct. 20. The first three games of the series each had over a million viewers and huge crowds in attendance. 

People who live on society’s margins aren’t always treated with compassion and sympathy. But the director of “Anora” offers both. “I’ve rarely encountered a scene that moved me as completely and complicatedly as this film’s final moments,” says the Monitor’s critic.