PALM SPRINGS, Calif.—Florian Zeller broke our hearts in 2020 with “The Father,” which placed us inside the mind of a man suffering from dementia. It featured a bravura performance from Anthony Hopkins, who justly took home an Oscar. Zeller appeared at the 34th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival on Tuesday for a screening and conversation about “The Son,” his new film.

Anthony Hopkins gives the performance of a lifetime in “The Father,” which is saying something for a man who has been acting professionally for more than a half-century, and who already has one Oscar to his credit.  Hopkins is 83, at the top of his game, and also of the right age to infuse his character in the new film with the most assuredly correct amount of pathos and humanity, and elicit our sympathies.  It’s an absolute masterpiece