Film
Queendom review - an LGBTQ+ performance artist takes to the streets of Moscow in protestFriday, 01 December 2023
It takes a brave or a foolhardy person to walk the streets wearing almost nothing but barbed wire and platform shoes, especially when the occasion is an anti-war demo in Moscow and the penalty for joining the march is up to 15 years in jail.It’s... Read more... |
Blu-ray: King and CountryTuesday, 28 November 2023
British anti-war films inspired by “the war that” failed “to end all wars” include Oh! What a Lovely War, The Return of the Soldier, A Month in the Country, Regeneration, Mrs Dalloway, The Trench, Testament of Youth, the different versions of... Read more... |
The Eternal Daughter review - tricksy ghost story with a poignant emotional coreFriday, 24 November 2023
Joanna Hogg has made a film that resolves itself backwards: what happens in the final reel recasts what you have just seen completely. It’s something of a departure from her previous films in style, but equally probing and moving.The Eternal... Read more... |
Maestro review - the infinite variety of Leonard BernsteinFriday, 24 November 2023
The only seriously false note about Maestro is its title. Yes, Bernstein was masterly as a conductor, and Bradley Cooper gives it his best shot. But he was no master of his life as a whole. Maybe the title should have been something like Lenny and... Read more... |
Lost in the Night review - hunting a mother's killerFriday, 24 November 2023
“Everything is legal if you have the money,” states the world-weary protagonist of this new film by the Mexican-American director Amat Escalante. And in the wilds of central Mexico, where the movie is set, the comment is unlikely to be questioned.... Read more... |
A Stitch in Time review - feelgood Aussie indie with an undernourished scriptFriday, 24 November 2023
There’s a faint whiff of Strictly Ballroom about Sasha Hadden’s Australian indie A Stitch in Time, another tale of people in later life rekindling lost dreams and a long-buried love while nurturing younger folk with the same passions. Here, though,... Read more... |
32 Sounds: Interview with innovative documentarian Sam Green about his audio and visual feastThursday, 23 November 2023
Sam Green’s film 32 Sounds has been described as the greatest documentary you’ve ever heard, which is a pretty noisy claim – how does anyone know all the documentaries you’ve experienced? What is certainly true is that the way Green... Read more... |
Napoleon review - Sir Ridley Scott's historical epic is wide but not deepWednesday, 22 November 2023
Sir Ridley Scott has taken umbrage at the French critics who weren’t too impressed with his new movie. Not only do they not like his film, but the French “don’t even like themselves”, according to the dyspeptic auteur.But I feel our French cousins... Read more... |
Blu-ray: Pearls of the DeepTuesday, 21 November 2023
Released in 1965, Pearls of the Deep (Perličky na dně) is that rare beast, a successful portmanteau movie. Five young Czech film makers each directed a segment, with two more contributions excised for reasons of length and later released separately.... Read more... |
Mami Wata review – a gorgeous, strange African fableSunday, 19 November 2023
Mami Wata is the female West African water god still worshipped in Iyi, a fragile, matriarchal village redoubt against modernity. Writer-director C.J. “Fiery” Obasi’s third film makes Iyi a battleground for African identity, in a glistening black-... Read more... |
May December review - a queasy take on sexual exploitationSaturday, 18 November 2023
There’s much to admire here – May December features impressive performances from Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, and director Todd Haynes shows his mastery of classic Sirkian style. But disappointingly, this comes across as a... Read more... |
Is There Anybody Out There? review - autobiographical documentary on disabilitySaturday, 18 November 2023
Ella Glendining has made an impressive documentary debut with the autobiographical essay, Is There Anybody Out There? Born without hip joints and very short thigh bones, we first encounter her as a perky, confident little girl walking in the... Read more... |
