IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD (JUSTE LA FIN DU MONDE) World Cinema

For his sixth feature film — which took the Grand Prix at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival — AFI FEST favorite Xavier Dolan teams with a powerhouse cast of French superstars to adapt an intimate, observant stage play by Jean-Luc Lagarce. Gaspard Ulliel stars as Louis, a writer returning home after years away to share some troubling news with his family. His mother (Nathalie Baye), standoffish brother (Vincent Cassel), meek sister-in-law (Marion Cotillard) and eager-to-please sister (Léa Seydoux) are a volatile mix of personalities and temperaments, turning even the smallest conversational misstep into fertile ground for a full-blown argument. As Louis struggles to navigate the gauntlet of bittersweet memories and built-up resentments his absence has created, Dolan captures his stellar cast in claustrophobic close-up. He allows the tiniest of gestures to speak volumes, beautifully illustrating the uncomfortable truth that our honesty doesn’t always come easily with the people who know us best. — Mike Dougherty