Mr. Jones

Agnieszka Holland is most known for her epic films that examine the dehumanization of World War II, including the Oscar-nominated "Europa, Europa" and "In Darkness," both of which are set in German-controlled territories during the war. In a sense, her latest picture, "Mr. Jones," also shares the same notion. The film opens with a scene of a young Welsh reporter, who warned British diplomats in 1933 of the perils presented by an ascending Adolf Hitler.

It doesn't take long, though, for "Mr. Jones" to gradually shift from Nazi Germany and Hitler and get on to another authoritarian dictatorship and historical disaster. The title "Mr. Jones" refers to Gareth Jones, a journalist who went to the Soviets in 1933 and discovered proof of the Holodomor, a type of artificial starvation that killed millions of Ukrainians.

It seems like Holland is the perfect fit for such a sensitive topic. Not only has the director created gigantic pictures of historical disasters, but she was also detained by the Soviet-backed regime in Czechoslovakia, following the Prague Spring and expelled from Poland by its commutation rule.

Year of Release: 2019

Stars: James Norton, Vanessa Kirby, Peter Sarsgaad

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 86%