Club Zero. 100 min. Film Movement. 2023. DVD UPC 850047872319. $29.99; Blu-ray UPC 850047872302. $34.99. DRAMEDY

A nutrition instructor at an elite school (Mia Wasikowska) touts the benefits (fitness; a reduced carbon footprint) of “conscious eating.” Five students hungrily embrace the mindful-consumption mantra, even as it leads to cultish insularity, parental alienation, and physical illness when taken to its illogical extreme. Austrian auteur Jessica Hausner (Amour Fou; Little Joe) employs a striking visual aesthetic and an unsettling musical score in her dark satire. VERDICT A worthy Palme d’Or nominee but not everyone’s cup of tea.

★Farewell My Concubine. 171 min. In Mandarin w/English subtitles. Criterion. 1993. Blu-ray UPC 715515299916. $39.99. Rated: R. DRAMA

The entwined lives of two performers in the Peking Opera span a half-century in Chen Kaige’s intimate epic about China’s tumultuous history. From the Japanese invasion in World War II to the Cultural Revolution, political upheaval is complemented by drama both on- and offstage, as the forbidden love of a gay man (Leslie Cheung) is rejected by his friend (Zhang Fengyi), who instead marries a courtesan (Gong Li). This Palme d’Or winner and Oscar nominee benefits from a 4K restoration that returns 20 minutes of cut footage. VERDICT A near-masterpiece.

Nowhere Special. 93 min. Cohen. 2020. DVD UPC 738329264185. $19.99; Blu-ray UPC 738329264192. $29.99. DRAMA

Diagnosed with a terminal illness, a 35-year-old window cleaner (James Norton) teams up with a young social worker (Eileen O’Higgins) to find a suitable home for his four-year-old son, whose mother left soon after giving birth. Finding the right family situation proves hard for the devoted dad in this heartbreaking story inspired by real events. Set in Northern Ireland, writer-director Uberto Pasolini’s emotional drama wouldn’t succeed as it does without Daniel Lamont’s naturalistic performance as the boy. VERDICT This tearjerker comes by its tears honestly.

The Rain People. 102 min. Warner. 1969. Blu-ray UPC 840418304587. $24.99. Rated: R. DRAMA

Unexpectedly pregnant and feeling trapped in her marriage, Long Island resident Natalie (Shirley Knight) takes off on a road trip and strikes up a dependent friendship with a hitchhiker (James Caan) who has been childlike ever since he was injured playing pro football. When a ticket from a traffic cop (Robert Duvall) offers the promise of a romantic encounter, Natalie is torn between the two new men in her life. In this pre-Godfather film, Francis Ford Coppola offers a feminist tale of self-discovery, typifying the late 1960s, minus the clichés. VERDICT An interesting early film from a director who would soon be great.

★The Zone of Interest. 106 min. In German w/English subtitles. A24 Films. 2023. Blu-ray. $30. (Available exclusively at shop.a24films.com.) Rated: PG-13. DRAMA

Writer-director Jonathan Glazer (Sexy Beast; Birth; Under the Skin) picked up the Oscar for Best International Film for his unique approach to an oft-explored topic. Based on a Martin Amis novel, this disquieting Holocaust film focuses on Auschwitz commandant Rudolph Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife (Sandra Hüller). Only the harrowing sounds coming from the concentration camp on the other side of the wall of their residence intrude upon their idyllic family life. The banality of evil is constantly heard without being seen. VERDICT Among the best films of 2023.