After the death of her husband, Emily (Kelly Marie Tran) doesn’t know what to do. Her daughter Gracie (Aria Kim) hasn’t spoken in the six months since her father’s passing, and seems to be withdrawing more and more every day. Her mother-in-law, Nai Nai (Fiona Fu), copes with her son’s death through traditional Chinese spirituality, which she shares with her granddaughter. But Emily is Vietnamese and doesn’t speak the language. It’s just now that her husband is gone that Emily is forced to confront the cultural gap between her and those closest to her. Only showing her grief privately, Emily emotionally isolates herself, hoping that pushing forward will heal all the pain. But starting over in Rock Springs, Wyoming, proves to be more difficult than she could have ever anticipated. 

Nai Nai warned against moving during “Ghost Week”, a time when the barrier between the spirit world and our world comes down. In Chinese culture, the mourning families must pray for their departed loved ones, guiding their souls to peace in the afterlife. Mourning is communal, and as families share their grief, they’re supposed to find healing together. But Nai Nai also warns Gracie about “Hungry Ghosts”, those who die scared and alone with no family members to guide them home.

When Gracie steals an old doll from a garage sale, it puts her in contact with a spirit she hopes is her father. But writer and director Vera Miao has other plans, using Gracie and her family to tell a multi-generational story of racism, grief and trauma. When Gracie disappears into the woods, past and present collide as she comes face to face with the spirits of dead miners. And what began as a small tale expands to become a confrontation with generational sadness and spiritual unrest.

In 1885, on the same land where Emily chose to restart her life with her family, a tragedy occurred. A village of Chinese migrant men was massacred and their homes destroyed. At least 28 Chinese miners were killed that day, with other sources indicating a death toll of 40 or 50 people. Only 15 survived with injuries at the hands of angry white settlers who resented that the local mining company had employed them in the first place. These settlers were never prosecuted for what is now known as the worst mass shooting in Wyoming history. To many viewers, this film will be an introduction to this historic tragedy. 

Miao takes us back to that day, showing us a tight-knit group of miners with Ah Tseng (Benedict Wong) and He Yew (Jimmy O. Yang) at the center. Before the attacks begin, they discuss their homeland and new identity as Americans. Though Ah Tseng has been in the country longer — having worked on the railroads — he seems to doubt the idea that the United States could really be called home. The murderous white settlers only solidify his doubt before his untimely death. The fallen men are piled into a mass grave in the woods right outside Emily’s new house.

Cinematographer Heyjin Jun cuts through the sadness with breathtaking images of forest and landscape, showcasing the beautiful land spoiled by blood and hate. Tran gives a compelling performance as a young widow adjusting to single parenthood and suddenly being the head of her household. Since her breakout performance in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Tran has struggled to find meaningful roles that allow her to show her range. But she excels here as a woman haunted by her husband’s death and afraid to embrace the traditions that give her daughter comfort. She has great chemistry with newcomer Kim, a gifted young actress who manages to be expressive while rarely uttering a single word.

Rock Springs is a big swing from Miao that pays off in the end, blending drama, horror and ugly American history to create a truly heartbreaking and hopefully healing experience.

In speech after speech, this year’s Grammy-winning artists returned to one message—ICE is a menace that must be stopped.

After dramatic, violent escalations in federal raids on immigrant communities and their supporters in Minneapolis and across the country, Americans have been shocked into despair and action. Many artists up for top Grammys have been vocal about their opposition to these raids, but at Sunday’s Grammys, the topic was front and center for many winners in their speeches.

“I want to dedicate this to all the people who had to leave their home, their country, to follow their dreams,” Bad Bunny said in his mostly-Spanish acceptance speech for the Grammys top prize, Album of the Year.

Earlier in the night, he joked with host Trevor Noah about Puerto Rico not being a great place for Noah should flee to, the island still being an American territory and all. But Bad Bunny made his point clearly even before taking home his biggest prize yet. “Ice out,” he said. “If we fight, we have to do it with love.”

With a Super Bowl halftime show coming next week, he’ll take the stage as the most important musician on earth right now, an urgent message brought to the heart of the most aggressively American live event.

As musicians around the country and the globe use their platforms to organize and speak out against the ICE raids, many acts wore pins on the red carpet Sunday—from Joni Mitchell and Carole King to Olivia Rodrigo, Brandi Carlile and Justin and Hailey Bieber.

Yet it was striking just how many artists used the acceptance speeches to decry the agency’s actions under President Trump.

Billie Eilish, an upset winner with brother Finneas for song for “Wildflower,” was even more direct. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said. “It’s hard to know what to say and what to do, but we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter.” Then came a long, bleeped moment on the CBS broadcast—presumably something urgently profane directed at a similar target.

That sentiment spanned genres and cultures. New artist winner, the U.K. R&B singer Olivia Dean, acknowledged the gifts of being “the granddaughter of an immigrant. I’m a product of bravery and I think these people deserve to be celebrated.”

“Immigrants built this country, literally,” said country star Shaboozey, a descendant of Nigerian immigrant parents, winning for country duo/group performance. “This is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity to be part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it. Thank you for bringing your culture your music, your stories and your traditions here.”

Kehlani, a winner for R&B song and performance, said that “Together, we’re stronger in numbers to speak out against all the injustice going on in the world right now. I hope everyone is inspired to come together as a community of artists ad speak out against what’s going on.”

” F— Ice,” Kehlani added, walking off the stage.

Recording Academy chief Harvey Mason Jr. also used his speech to underscore the “uncertainty and real trauma,” of the environment in America now. “It can be easy to feel overwhelmed, even helpless in challenging times. But music never stands still,” he said. “When we’re exhausted, music restores us. When were grieving, music sits with us.”

Alongside the night’s words of warning and rage, singer SZA offered what amounted to reassurance in her speech after winning record for “Luther,” her Hot 100-dominating collaboration with Kendrick Lamar.

“Please don’t fall into despair,” she said. “I know algorithms tell us it’s so scary and all is lost. But we can go on, we need each other. We’re not governed by the government, we’re governed by God.”

“Melania: Twenty Days to History” won over fans of the first lady at the box office this weekend, surpassing the initial opening weekend expectations to generate $7 million.

The Amazon MGM Studios film, which rolled out in over 1,500 theaters in North America, was estimated to make $5 million, which would have made it a relatively solid opening by documentary standards. But after beating expectations, it’s now the strongest start for a nonmusic documentary in over a decade, according to box office analysts.

It took the No. 3 overall spot for the weekend, following YouTuber Markiplier’s self-financed film “Iron Lung” and Sam Raimi’s “Send Help.”

While Kevin Wilson, Amazon MGM Studios’ head of domestic theatrical distribution, lauded the documentary’s “strong start,” it is still too early to call it a big win for Amazon.

The studio paid a whopping $40 million to acquire the project, which was helmed by filmmaker Brett Ratner. The studio also spent roughly $35 million on the marketing campaign, an eye-popping sum for a political documentary. Promotion for the film included projecting its trailer on the Las Vegas Sphere and designing a commemorative popcorn bucket.

The larger-than-expected haul comes despite reviewers on Letterboxd trashing the film (before seeing it), and others online sharing screenshots of theaters full of unsold tickets in cities. Critics have also largely panned the film, with outlets like The Hollywood Reporter calling it an “expensive propaganda doc” offering an “up-close and not-so-personal portrait” of the first lady.

Still, moviegoers gave the film, which was backed by the White House, a generous A when polled by CinemaScore and a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The top-performing markets for “Melania” included Dallas, Orlando, Tampa, Phoenix, Houston, Atlanta and West Palm Beach, according to box office analysts who shared audience metrics with NBC News. Donald Trump won Texas, Arizona and Florida in the 2024 presidential election. The documentary also mostly attracted female moviegoers, who made up about 70% of audiences.

An estimated 600,000 moviegoers saw the film over the weekend, according to EntTelligence data provided to CNBC.

In January of last year, when Amazon licensed the film, the studio said it picked up the documentary as well as a subsequent docuseries for the streaming service, “for one reason and one reason only — because we think customers are going to love it.” The deal occurred shortly after Amazon founder Jeff Bezos dined with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

“This momentum is an important first step in what we see as a long-tail lifecycle for both the film and the forthcoming docu-series, extending well beyond the theatrical window and into what we believe will be a significant run for both on our service,” Wilson said in a statement Sunday.

Last weekend, the White House held a private early screening of the film for guests before Amazon rolled out the black carpet for the documentary’s Washington, D.C., premiere at the Kennedy Center on Thursday.

When asked by NBC News about who the film was for, the first lady said, “Everybody will connect on a certain level. Teenagers can go to see, young women can go to see and be inspired that they could have a family and business, as well.”