'The Polar Express' (2004)
A wondrously imaginative, diverse, and spirited allegory of childhood and the arduousness of adulthood.

A district attorney becomes a fugitive from justice after a number of botched drug busts lead to conflict with a miltaristic narc. As the days drag on, he sinks deeper into drugs and paranoia.
A wondrously imaginative, diverse, and spirited allegory of childhood and the arduousness of adulthood.
With The Father, writer-director Florian Zeller- who wrote and developed the play upon which the film is based- pulls no punches as he confidently makes every effort to put the audience in the mind of someone whose grip on reality has all but vanished. It’s a dazzling testament to Zeller’s abilities as a director as he makes his first transition from stage to film appear as if he’s been working behind a camera his entire career. The dialogue he fashions with co-writer Christopher Hampton, along with the work of production designers Peter Francis and Cathy Featherstone, collectively makes the downward spiral of dementia startlingly tangible, doing so in a way that can be comprehended by everyone except the person it directly affects.
The differences in these films could not be more blatant, and yet Gus Van Sant has found a way to portray the same messages and use the same techniques in each.
Rather than following in the footsteps of poorly made horror flicks, “The Quiet Place” follows original concept.