For some viewers the build up of devious plot twists may be a little overwrought but it is nevertheless an effective way of skewering the cynical viewer.
Swindling siblings lure an eccentric heiress into their elaborate scheme.
Although this film has got a very serious point to make, Hana Makhalbaf has an enviable lightness of touch and always remembers to keep the story front and centre.
A little girl's attempt to go to school reveals the plight of many in modern Afghanistan.
The character of the players, the vibrant energy of the music, the faded grandeur of a city spared the vanity of restoration gives the film a unique quality.
Documentary about the Cuban stars who went on to become an international phenomenon.
The script does its best to make the audience uncomfortable - embarrassed, disgusted, socially repulsed - long before anything as sensational as murder occurs.
A dreamily picaresque film most of whose flaws stem from a lack of discipline and a tendency to use its expansive potential as an excuse to move on every time it runs out of ideas.
A road movie set entirely in a flat... but then what do you expect from a film featuring The Mighty Boosh's Simon Farnaby?
What shines through in Burden of Peace is the personal bravery it takes to stick to your ideals and behave morally in the face of state power and implicit violence.
The four-year term of Guatemala's first female Attorney General, Claudia Paz y Paz, sees her battle against the impunity of organised criminal gangs and the country's former military rulers.
While much of the comedy might have garnered a few laughs as part of a Two Ronnies' skit back in the Seventies, here it feels dated, predictable and bland.
Their choice of this one man to symbolise the oppression of a whole nation makes this a strong and impressive film.
The story of former Burmese soldier Myo Mint who, after becoming disabled in action, educated himself with banned books and became a campaigner against the civil war.
Burnt by the Sun 2 plays fast and loose with both actual history and its own fictionally established facts in such a way that those familiar with Mikhalkov's original may struggle to fully embrace the director's most ambitious work to date.
Betrayed Red Army General, Sergei Kotov, attempts to clear his name and regain his honour.
Like much of Burroughs' writing, the film has a shaggy dog tale quality, rambling along in a way which does not at first seem nearly as informative as it actually is, then bursting into moments of brilliant radicalism.
Portrait of the author, built around a series of encounters with him and interviews with many friends, including Allen Ginsberg, Terry Southern, John Giorno. and Brion Gysin.
In an industry becoming increasingly dominated by computerised effects, it’s heartening to see the practical work on display looks so good.
When a town's prime lass is kidnapped in the Old West, a posse get together to bring her back. Easier said than done when the kidnappers are underground monsters.
