January

A 19-year-old aspiring filmmaker falls in love, comes of age, and comes to terms with his family’s complicated political history in this semi-autobiographical slow burn set during the 1991 Latvian Barricades, during which the recently independent country fought back against the invading Soviet Union. —M.G.

JANUARY is an arresting coming-of-age story set against artistic ambition and momentous political upheaval, seamlessly blending archival documentary footage with fiction. In love with the works of Ingmar Bergman and Jim Jarmusch, Jazis aspires to be a filmmaker in early 1990s Latvia. As Jazis pursues his passions and enters into a tempestuous relationship with fellow student Anna, the battle for Latvian independence against Soviet forces interrupts his creative trajectory and seizes his life. Casting a spell with effortless period detail, increasingly evocative imagery, and a love for cinema, the film celebrates a youthful counterculture at a precise historical moment and examines how the power of political upheaval can shape the mind of an artist. —C.F.