What makes the film interesting is the depth and complexity of its characters, together with the connections between them, which feel real and often defy expectations.
Turquoise, a former beauty queen turned hardworking single mother, prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant, hoping to keep her from repeating the same mistakes in life that she did.
Renée Zellweger inhabits the role of Beatrix with the warmth of a fluffy bunny and the perspicacity and determination of a woman artist struggling to be recognised in a man's world.
Solvej is a wonderfully rich character and Kaasgaard is clearly enjoying herself.
In a small Danish town, we meet two generations of women. 61-year-old Solvej and the 17-year-old, Kate. Their meeting kickstarts an unlikely friendship, as the wounds of the past are revealed and the seeds of hope are sown.
What elevates the film, despite its problems, is Uzo Aduba's performance in the central role.
A struggling inner-city mother sacrifices everything to give her son a good education. Unwilling to allow her son to stay in a dangerous school, she launches a movement that could save his future - and that of thousands like him.
There's no additional wit here, no insider perspective and no investment in character.
After representing himself and beating a murder charge, a concert promoter runs for the San Bernardino District Attorney's office against the prosecutor of his case.
Riisa Naka is great as somewhat obnoxious Mitsuko.
Mitsuko is in her ninth month of pregnancy, but that doesn't stop her taking the lead when all around her are floundering. Yuya Ishii's breathless comic drama has satire, brio and originality to burn.
The film is freely inspired by the great actress Monica Vitti, but it is in no way a biopic. It is the story of a woman named Monica, who loses her memory and regains meaning in her life.
Pollard casts fresh light on the Bureau’s attempts to discredit King as a threat to the American social order as well as the organisation’s inner workings.
Based on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's documentary explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King Jr.
The film again manages to balance the astonishing realism of textures like hair and sand and water with character designs that verge on the impressionistic.
After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana must journey to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she's ever faced.
Filled with information and inspiration that elegantly carries over from the last century into this one.
A documentary exploring the life and work of influential mid-century architect and designer, Eliot Noyes, who is best remembered as the man behind IBM's landmark design program in the 1950s and 1960s.
Rap is a rapid-fire art form, washing you in a torrent of thoughts, the beat carrying you through, and Tariq's film has a similar approach, but there are so many ideas being fired out that it's no wonder it sometimes struggles to retain its rhythm.
Zed, a British rapper, is about to start his first world tour when a crippling illness strikes him down and he has to move back in with his parents. He tries to find himself between an international music career and Pakistani family traditions.
We are plunged straight into the emotional world of characters whose feelings for each other are as pertinent as their survival and combat skills.
Two members of the Mohawk people and their British lover are forced to flee into the woods when a group of vicious American renegades turns on them during the war of 1812.
Alberdi keeps the tone light and profound simultaneously.
When a family becomes concerned about their mother’s well-being in a retirement home, private investigator Romulo hires Sergio, an 83-year-old man who becomes a new resident – and a mole inside the home, who struggles to balance his assignment with becoming increasingly involved in the lives of several residents.
Van den Brink makes the bog omnipresent in the film with a colour palate heavy on browns and greys, whilst cinematographer Emo Weenhoff makes the most of the humidity still residing in the chill air.
Betriek lives at the edge of a peat bog in the North of the Netherlands. When she and her family are attacked by a random stranger one night, Betriek sets out to find an explanation. The more she digs, the more she becomes convinced that she is being hunted by something ancient.
There is a level on which the educational aspect of this film becomes very direct, as, for instance, participants discuss the best ways to handle arrest and techniques for throwing interrogators off the scent.
A documentary which reflects on the connections between historical resistance and the current political landscape. It amplifies the voices of politically engaged womxn and fosters hope for solidarity and inclusion.
M.O.M. spends a long time building up its case and might be stronger if it ran a little shorter, but it does a good job of striking a balance between the two main possibilities offered by the story, and thus keeping viewers guessing.
A mother secretly videotapes her son because she's worried that he may be a psychopath.
Brilliantly played, Testacaldo is one of the most interesting antagonists to emerge from Italian cinema for years.
Taranto is a ghost town that no one dares to enter. The poorest are left fighting for survival, while gangs are competing for territory. Two 13-year-old orphans, who grew up together, dream of joining one of the gangs.
While the film does rattle through these pillars of the underdog sports movie narrative, it does so with an element of class, a helping of humour and a knowing wink.
The story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.
A financial TV host and his producer are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor who has lost everything forcefully takes over their studio.
There are places where constraint has given Monkey Man opportunities to invent and flourish and it has been fruitful.
An anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systemically victimise the poor and powerless.
Vesely’s camera directs our attention very effectively and makes use of every aspect of the small set.
Recently disgraced and desperate for a story, a young journalist holes herself up in her parents’ luxurious home and gets to work on the only job she can get - hosting a clickbait investigative podcast. Then she discovers a strange artefact and begins to convince herself it is evidence of an alien conspiracy.
