Multi-hyphenate Jesse Eisenberg’s second film as writer-director also sees him take on the roles of producer and star. Sharing lead acting duties with Kieran Culkin (best known for his television work, most notably as Roman Roy in Succession), the pair play cousins David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin), who are on something of a pilgrimage to Poland, the homeland of their recently deceased grandmother, who fled to the US to escape the Second World War. While David has settled down into career and family, the more peripatetic Benji has yet to make his mark. Despite his seeming aimlessness, Benji is charming and easily likeable, though prone to outbursts of anger when his sensibilities are offended. The two join a tour group (that includes Dirty Dancing’s Jennifer Grey) around Poland, excavating painful histories distant and recent in this thoughtful and deeply empathetic film.

Notes by Kevin Coyne