Paris
Can a weakly conceived and poorly executed exhibition be unforgettable? That is how I would describe my reaction to “Art at War”—“L’art en guerre: France 1938-1947”—the big show about French art during the German Occupation that I caught on the day it was closing in Paris; it opens next week at the Guggenheim Bilbao, where it runs through the summer. READ MORE >>
From Hardliner to Peacemaker: Will Erdogan End Turkey's Thirty Year War With the Kurds?
ISTANBUL—Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister of Turkey, will undoubtedly be remembered for many things. In the ten years since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) first assumed control of the Turkish parliament, he has substantially improved the Turkish economy and established Turkey as a diplomatic leader in the Middle East; he has ushered Islam back into Turkish public life, downgraded the influence of the Turkish military, and imposed severe crackdowns on Turkish journalists. READ MORE >>
Stanley Kauffmann on Films: Ages Apart
ADMIRERS OF THE Austrian writer-director Michael Haneke, of whom I hope there are many, may be surprised by his latest film. Such pictures as The Piano Teacher and Funny Games have not flinched from considerable violence when Haneke thought it was needed. His latest work is of different daring, though quite unafraid. READ MORE >>
Poland in the Darkness of World War II
The Eagle Unbowed: Poland and the Poles in the Second World War By Halik Kochanski (Harvard University Press, 734 pp., $35) The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery By Witold Pilecki translated by Jarek Garliński (Aquila Polonica, 460 pp., $34.95) READ MORE >>
The Best Movie of the Year: Michael Haneke's Amour
How Europe Earned Its Nobel Peace Prize
Geoff Dyer’s Renovation of Contemporary Nonfiction
Before 2013 begins, catch up on the best of 2012. From now until the New Year, we will be re-posting some of The New Republic’s most thought-provoking pieces of the year. Enjoy. Zona By Geoff Dyer (Pantheon, 228 pp., $24) READ MORE >>
Aleksandar Hemon: In Paris, Zlatan Ibrahimović Learns to Share
In Sarajevo, Bosnia, where I grew up playing a lot of soccer, the slang word mahalaš refers to a cocky player who much prefers feints to passes; who’d rather nutmeg someone than shoot; who deplores defending. All the lost balls and all the teammates ignored while in scoring position are relegated into oblivion by each small masterpiece: dribbling past an entire defense, scoring from an impossible angle, bamboozling a goalie. READ MORE >>
