Close Your Eyes. 169 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. Film Movement. 2023. DVD UPC 850047872371. $29.95; Blu-ray UPC 810161481309. $39.95. DRAMA

Two decades after his lead actor and close friend Julio Arenas (José Coronado) vanished from the set of his latest film, director Miguel Garay (Manolo Solo) is interviewed by an investigative journalist about the incident. At last interested in solving the mystery, Miguel finds former crew members and confidantes, as well as Julio’s daughter, en route to locating his old friend. Now a recluse with a faded memory, Julio doesn’t allow for an easy closure, but Spanish auteur Víctor Erice (The Spirit of the Beehive, El Sur) finds a moving one. VERDICT Deliberately paced, but viewers will be rewarded.

Last Summer (L’été dernier). 104 min. In French w/English subtitles. Janus/Criterion. 2023. DVD UPC 715515310116. $24.95; Blu-ray UPC 715515310017. $29.95. DRAMA

A legal advocate for abused minors, middle-aged Anne (Léa Drucker) has an affair with her troubled 17-year-old stepson Théo (Samuel Kircher) under the nose of her husband Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin). Although Anne is undeniably reckless and impulsive, her attraction to the boy strains belief, given his gawky demeanor. But under the direction of veteran art-house provocateur Catherine Breillat (Fat Girl), credulity takes a backseat to sexual frisson. VERDICT A remake of the 2019 Danish film Queen of Hearts. Breillat’s take may be more viscerally gripping, but the original’s ending is more emotionally crushing.

The Outrun. 118 min. Sony. 2024. DVD UPC 043396641235. $20.95. Rated: R. DRAMA

Twenty-nine-year-old Rona (Saoirse Ronan) returns home to the Orkney Islands, off the Scottish coast, after a booze-filled decade of living in London. Now in addiction recovery, she toils on the family sheep farm in the land of her traumatic childhood, while applying her marine-biology training to studying local fauna. Based on Amy Liprot’s bestselling memoir, cowriter/director Nora Fingscheidt’s film freely moves back and forth in time, with Rona’s changing hair color the only obvious clue. VERDICT This movie is challenging for its subject matter and filmmaking style but ultimately offers a transcendent story.

The Return. 116 min. Decal. 2024. DVD UPC 843501043394. $29.98; Blu-ray UPC 843501043387. $26.98. Rating: R. DRAMA

Two decades after the Trojan War, a beaten Odysseus (Ralph Fiennes) returns to his homeland of Ithaca, where his wife, Penelope (Juliette Binoche), is beleaguered with suitors eager to be king, while their son Telemachus (Charlie Plummer) is a disposable impediment. In a welcome retelling of Homer’s classic Odyssey, cowriter/director Uberto Pasolini (Nowhere Special) reunites the incandescent costars of The English Patient for a moving tale of love lost and regained. VERDICT Given its star power and accessible presentation, the venerable old story may find a new audience.

White Bird. 121 min. Lionsgate. 2023. DVD UPC 031398347521. $29.99; Blu-ray UPC 031398347545. $39.99. PG-13. DRAMA

In Nazi-occupied France, Sara (Ariella Glaser), a preteen Jewish girl, is given shelter by the parents of a fellow classmate, polio-affected Julien (Orlando Schwerdt), with whom she develops a close relationship. Narrated from the viewpoint of a septuagenarian Sara (Helen Mirren), director Marc Forster’s adaptation of R.J. Palacio’s graphic novel offers a harrowing story of survival. A follow-up to Wonder (2017), which focused on bullying, this “wonder story” also carries a moral lesson to “choose kind” but in a more dramatic context. VERDICT An unabashedly sentimental movie likely to elicit well-deserved tears.