484: From One Battle After Another and Hamnet to Sentimental Value and Weapons - The 2025 Cinematic Trend: Parenthood on Film (Guest: Critic J. Don Birnam)

From One Battle After Another, Jay Kelly, Hamnet, and Weapons, to Sentimental Value and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You and more, filmmakers this year can’t seem to escape one theme: parents. Guilt, loss, and legacy are everywhere on screen this year. Are directors today reckoning with themselves as parents rather than with their own parents? We dive into all of it — and more.

Christina is joined by film critic J. Don Birnam (@awards_predix) to unpack one of 2025’s defining cinematic trends — parenting, responsibility, and what it means to parent (or be parented) in a changing world.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices