The Year of the Everlasting Storm

The film's poignancy comes from its confirmation that even in tumultuous times, our senses of wonder, love and loyalty remain integral to the human experience.

A feature-length anthology, 'The Year of the Everlasting Storm,' offers multiple views of how COVID-19 has affected us

The Year of the Everlasting Storm may well be topped and tailed by its best, most eccentric works, each at the polar ends of observation.

A sobering look at where we've been the past year and a half - and where we might eventually land.

Even the most ordinary of them is worth seeing, and the best of them, brevity notwithstanding, are among the most powerful films of the year.

There are consolations to be found here, and some things more crucial. The Year of the Everlasting Storm is definitely a noteworthy achievement in anti-escapism, which the current cinema could certainly always use more of.

This anthology of stories from around the globe about the early days of pandemic serves as a cathartic exhale after all we've been through.

Overall, the segments range from troubling, to moving, to the macabre. They don't really fit together into a complete package, but there is enough variety in it that most people will be able to find something interesting in it.

Everyone here has something vital to say or examine.

The premise is ridiculously simple - take out your phone and film family members as they chat - but when your family is as expressive and poetic as Panahi's, most of your job is done for you.