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With one of the most chilling intros in recent years Ari Aster shows just how capable he is at filmmaking.

Once again Aster finds a way to delve into more profound themes while composing a deeply terrifying horror movie. Though at times Midsommar loses its grip at the overlying story of a group of students getting dragged deeper and deeper into a swedish cult, the underlying subjects of grief, loss and love are intertwined so seamlessly into every shot, that I couldn't help but be continuously amazed at what was unfolding on screen. That's probably the strongest point of Midsommar: The seemingly flawless cinematography allowing many of the perfomance art-like sequences to feel so moving, yet so disturbing. It helps that, once again, Ari Aster was able to work with a terrific cast (especially Florence Pugh).

Ultimately, while Midsommar is far from perfect, it was a hell of a ride that I can't recommend enough to watch.

System Crasher is an unforgiving and brutal examination of 9-year-old girl Benni, whose anger issues and past trauma hinder her from finding permanent care.

System Crasher is unforgiving because of its realism. There's no glimmer of hope. It's simply the life of a child who cannot be saved by her society. From desperate and annoyed care takers to a clueless system which fails Benni, she cannot cope with her trauma and resorts to violence and anger. Helena Zengel embodies this anger almost perfectly and manages to walk the thin line between authenticity and sympathy. You can't help but feel for her, even though she continuously screams at everyone. These screams symbolise her inner struggle and the deeply rooted pain she suffers from being abused and abanoned. With close to two hours it's a tough movie that feels longer than it is, but it's worth it and so important.

It's rare to see compassion and love so well translated on screen. An universal feeling we all experience but is so hard to articulate. Portrait of a Lady on Fire does exactly that. It's rare that I felt so engrossed in a movie; thanks to a carefully constructed script and tremendous perfomances (above all Noémie Merlant as Marianne and Adèle Haenel as Héloïse) Portrait of a Lady on Fire completely engulfed me. In every aspect french director Céline Sciamma was aware of her vision and perfectly executed it. Especially the score helped to make the climactic scenes even more powerful to the audience and delivered one of the most fascinating movie endings.