“Baby Done”: Film Review
An inventively disturbing life of the mind is camouflaged by cheerful wholesomeness in “Baby Done”, a low key comedy that flirts with big themes.
A List of Inspiring Films: Impressions
I have been talking to lots of people these days, even more than usual: checking up via WhatsApp on my relatives, you know – the ones you usually talk to at Christmas.
“Make Up”: Film Review
A young woman becomes her own Rebecca in “Make Up”, Claire Oakley’s directorial debut, with flashforwards that push her into adulthood.
“Il Mio Corpo”: Film Review
The last instalment of Michele Pennetta’s Sicilian trilogy, “Il Mio Corpo”, is an affecting chamber piece that plays out under huge skies.
“Bacurau”: Film Review
Sassy, lethal, and disconcerting, “Bacurau” brings a powerfully surreal twist to the story of Brazil’s cinema of resistance.
“The Shape of Water”: Film Review
Like all the most accomplished fairy tales, Guillermo del Toro’s world of wonders, “The Shape of Water”, opens with a sense of promise, of magical things to come, and inevitably, with an undertone of darkness.
Russian Film Week 2020 – Part 1
Russian Film Week is back and in fine form. Opening with “The Whaler Boy”, Philipp Yuryev’s Venice Days winner, the programme also features shorts, masterclasses and talks, including a conversation with Andrey Zviagintsev.
“Detroit”: A Collision of Genres
Nightmare on 12th Street. July 1967, a sweltering summer in Detroit. The city erupts into rebellion. Looting, arson, snipers.
“Close Encounters of the Third Kind”: Film Review
It’s over 40 years since film audiences were struck by the childlike wonder of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.
“Colour Out of Space”: Film Review
This stellar adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space” marks a brilliant return for cult director Richard Stanley.
“I am Thinking of Ending Things”: Film Review
Darkly compelling and brilliantly unreliable, Philip Kaufman’s “I am Thinking of Ending Things” is an imploded kaleidoscope filled with broken shards.
“The Killing of a Sacred Deer”: Film Review
Colin Farrell becomes a troublingly perfect Agamemnon in this new film by Yorgos Lanthimos.
“Coup 53”: Film Review
A chirpy and entertaining film about a dark story with terrible consequences, “Coup 53” is charmingly didactic yet raises the question: what is documentary film for?
“Disobedience”: Film Review
A death stirs up the unresolved past in a grey North London suburb. Photographer Ronit flies home from New York for her father’s funeral to find herself erased from his life.
“Paddington 2” Film Review
Kindness and cascades of fun prevail in this second cinematic outing for young Paddington.