JUDEX (1963) Stream on the Criterion Channel. Rent on Amazon and iTunes. This Georges Franju film is not only a remake of Louis Feuillade’s serial from 1916, it’s also his tribute to film of that era. Channing Pollock, an American magician, plays the eponymous vigilante hero. He is after Favraux, a shady banker who has defrauded several people. But Judex’s pursuit of Favraux is only part of the story. He is not the only one concerned with the corrupt financier. Diana (Francine Bergé), his granddaughter’s nanny, is too, but her motives are mercenary . In keeping with its source material, the film is mainly concerned with expressive exuberance, visuals and atmosphere.

STREET FLOW Stream on Netflix. As he moves toward adulthood, Noumouké, a 15-year-old boy being raised by his mother in the suburbs of Paris, finds himself caught between his two older brothers. One, Soulaymaan, is a law student and scholar, while the other, Demba, is a criminal. Noumouké struggles to find his path as he contends with the pressures of adolescence and the added stresses of racism and poverty. The film was written and co-directed by Kery James, a French hip-hop artist who was raised in Orly, a southern suburb of Paris.