All That Breathes. 98 min. Criterion. In Hindi w/English subtitles. 2022. UPC 1551529701. $24.99.

Focusing on birds and the changing environment, director Shaunek Sen tells the story of a pair of brothers who run a bird rescue in New Delhi, India, where birds, particularly kites, are literally falling from the sky due to environmental changes and pollution. In the face of many challenges (cramped space, power outages, broken equipment, flooding), the team continues rescuing injured kites and nursing them back to health. The noble struggle is captured by Sen in philosophical tones that give the film depth and plenty of layers. It looks beautiful too—the image of kites flying through the New Delhi sky in slow motion is a stunner. VERDICT A leisurely yet powerful look at nature in an ultra-urban location.

Fantastic Machine. 88 min. Strand Releasing. In English, French, Arabic, German & Swedish w/English subtitles. 2023. DVD UPC1226743222. $24.99.

Every day, over 300 million images and one billion hours of video are published and consumed. Modern life is an unending bombardment of visual stimuli, and it isn’t slowing. This documentary goes back to 19th-century photography, but its main focus is on the impact of the never-ending consumption of images. It’s contemplative—and unsettling to see the effects on the brain and how human perception is being altered. Watching this film might inspire older viewers to dream of simpler days, before smartphones, screens, and social media enveloped humanity in its addictive web. VERDICT An apprehension-inducing cultural study of the pervasive onslaught of images in daily life.

★Nazi Town, USA. 55 min. PBS. 2023. DVD UPC 4188704874. $29.99.

In 1939, over 20,000 people attended an American Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Banners with swastikas hung from the rafters, and participants sieg-heiled with the same intensity as the German Nazi party. Part of PBS’s American Experience series, Peter Yost’s documentary digs into this lesser-known piece of American history, when fascism spread across the country and some people openly aligned with beliefs espoused by Adolf Hitler. It’s a fast-paced, riveting, frightening film that is relevant to the extremes some Americans currently embrace. Sequences of footage from children’s summer camps as they are indoctrinated in Nazi philosophy amid a sea of swastikas resemble some sort of sci-fi alternate history. VERDICT Exposes in chilling detail elements of fascist ideology that took hold in the United States in the 1930s.

Space: The Longest Goodbye. 87 min. Greenwich Entertainment. 2023. DVD UPC 3832926577. $19.99.

In preparation for a multiyear journey to Mars, NASA is testing every possible facet of each astronaut’s condition. Physical endurance is key, but just as important is their mental makeup when faced with such vast isolation. Ido Mizray’s film is optimistic and hopeful, focusing on how resilient previous astronauts have been on long stays at the International Space Station. Current astronauts also open up about the challenges of long-term space travel and how it affects them and their families. Much of the psychological impact of space travel is unknown, and scientists are embracing virtual reality and AI robots as mechanisms to support astronauts through long jaunts. VERDICT A different perspective on what will be required for astronauts to travel into the void of space.