Taken together, Clint Eastwood’s two recently released films about the Second World War battle for Iwo Jima constitute a remarkable achievement. Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima combine to render a scrupulously fair, sometimes penetrating examination of war as it’s experienced, of its chaotic terror and brutality, and the disturbing, often ghastly consequences for the men who are in combat.

Those of us who have complex relationships with our parents—by which I mean all of us—will appreciate the anxieties of Ariel Perelman (Daniel Hendler), the young law professor at the center of the new Argentine movie, Family Law. Ariel’s dad, Perelman Sr. (Arturo Goetz), is a successful attorney and charming schmoozer who weaves in and out of courtrooms and client’s offices with a light, suave touch. He knows just what gifts to get for the secretaries in every office in town, and has a prodigious memory for birthdays and anniversaries; in return, he never has to wait in line for anyone or anything.

It’s my job to report on what I have seen, not what I would like to have seen. Still, it’s awfully hard not to speculate about the film that The Last King of Scotland might have been in light of the potential that it squanders.

Set in the early years of fascist Spain, Guillermo del Toro’s pungent, indelible masterpiece Pan’s Labyrinth draws deeply on images and themes from classic fairy tales. Its central figure is a young girl who rebels against authoritarianism by retreating into a world of imagination and choice, populated by supernatural creatures who guide and test her.