Short film review archive

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B — 160 results

• B (2017)

  Review preview for B

  The simple but poignant central tale is given depth by numerous small observations.

  Frustrated by her limited existence, a Barbie doll dreams of having a lesbian relationship - but is it destined to remain just a fantasy?
• Baby (1954)

  Review preview for Baby

  Baby shows him learning to go with the flow and capture the moment in a way that is evident in later films.

  A little girl's day out at the zoo.
• Badgered (2005)

  Review preview for Badgered

  The more I thought about the cuddly critter after I'd watched this funny and heart warming short, the more I liked him.

  A badger with the bedtime blues.
• Baldy McBain (2004)

  Review preview for Baldy McBain

  Gail Porter may be many things but even in this briefest of brief outings it is clear that an acting career does not beckon.

  A boy comes to terms with the loss of his mum
• Bale (2009)

  Review preview for Bale

  A crisp little picture of adolescence.

  On a long summer’s day in rural England, two groups of teenagers find a remote hide away where fun and games soon lose their innocence.
• The Barbarians (2010)

  Review preview for The Barbarians

  This feels more like something you'd be linked to through Facebook than something you'd go to see in the picturehouse.

  An experimental exploration of the barbarian spirit.
• Barber's Dozen (2009)

  Review preview for Barber's Dozen

  Entertaining, amusing, like a humorous conversation overheard on the train.

  The tales of people who frequent a barber's shop chair.
• Bargain (2005)

  A bargain hunting mockumentary that involves black market bog roll.
• Barge Dirge (2010)

  Review preview for Barge Dirge

  The music is striking, the aesthetic impact more dependent on sound than vision.

  A dystopian look at a barren landscape.
• The Baron (2005)

  Review preview for The Baron

  Horse riding scenes are beautifully handled, and great use is made of the dramatic Welsh landscape.

  Two knights set out to rid a kingdom of bandits led by the notorious Baron.
• Bastard! (2005)

  Politically pushy pop music video.
• Battalion To My Beat (2016)

  Review preview for Battalion To My Beat

  Young Ahmed is utterly convincing in the central role, both in the fierceness of her ambition and in her still childlike way of engaging with the world.

  Mariam lives in a Western Saharan refugee camp in Tindouf and dreams of becoming a soldier and liberating her people.
• Battenberg (2010)

  Review preview for Battenberg

  Unsettling, concerning, rewarding.

  Colliding with the dusty window of an abandoned guest-house, an unwitting bird fails to realise the curious horror lurking within.
• Baby (2010)

  Review preview for Baby

  Make no mistake, this is an immensely creepy picture.

  A young woman invites in a stranger who has followed her home.
• Baby Gravy (2017)

  Review preview for Baby Gravy

  Baby Gravy is a short but intense film which, by pulling Brona and Alex's relationship so tightly into focus, emphasis the emotional insignificance of the third party on whom they depend.

  In a rural pub restaurant on a busy motorway, a couple await the arrival of their sperm donor.
• Bad Haircut (2025)

  Review preview for Bad Haircut

  This isn’t quite as wild and startling an experience as its creators seem to think, but for the most part it’s entertaining.

  When a college kid goes to a new place to get a haircut, he discovers that his barber is a psychopath.
• Bad Hostage (2024)

  Review preview for Bad Hostage

  Thorough and forthright.

  An examination of the concept of Stockholm syndrome and the realities of women's experiences during and after being held hostage.
• Bad Seeds (2021)

  Review preview for Bad Seeds

  The intricately detailed ink-drawn artwork here has the quality of an 1800s Punch cartoon or something cooked up by Alice In Wonderland illustrator Sir John Tenniel about it and a hint of Terry Gilliam.

  Carnivorous plants square up for a duel.
• Bad Things (2023)

  Review preview for Bad Things

  It’s in this fracturing of feminine figures within a familial, uterine space that Thorndike finds the unsettling kind of horror she’s looking for.

  A weekend getaway for four friends at a snowy resort turns into a psychological tailspin and bloody nightmare.
• Balloon (2019)

  Review preview for Balloon

  Jeremy Merrifield takes a restrained approach as director, letting the story build up naturally.

  A bullied boy who has always tried to avoid attracting attention discovers that he has a superpower.
• The Balloon Catcher (2020)

  Review preview for The Balloon Catcher

  Kaneko writes/directs/animates, the brevity of this piece all the more effective for not a moment wasted.

  Rejected and feared, will the axeman manage to use his peculiarity to find freedom?
• Bao (2018)

  Review preview for Bao

  It's part of a long cinematic tradition. It's also adorable.

  A Chinese-Canadian woman suffering from an empty nest gets a second shot at motherhood when one of her handmade dumplings comes alive.
• The Barber Of Little Rock (2023)

  Review preview for The Barber Of Little Rock

  He’s not the first African American person to think like this, of course, and though the film does not elaborate on the history of such efforts, it makes room for him to express his concerns.

  The story of the racial wealth gap in the US, and one man's efforts to bring about change.
• Bathwell In Clerkentime (2020)

  Review preview for Bathwell In Clerkentime

  The whole animation bounces with the rhythm of the soundtrack - Budovsky's birds live in a world that never stands still.

  The third in an animated trilogy about cuckoos and their world.
• Bats & Bugs (2026)

  Review preview for Bats & Bugs

  This is the sort of cast of characters that deserves its own TV series.

  When a streetlamp lights up on a country road in the jungle, a group of insects goes crazy – which proves to be handy for the hungry bats in a nearby cave.
• The Bayview (2021)

  Review preview for The Bayview

  It's one where the camera less becomes a fly on the wall than a sleeping dog in front of the fireplace, one where the comfort of the subjects gives us a better insight into them.

  A glimpse into the world of a family who have turned the previously derelict hotel into a place of respite for international fishermen when they come to land.
• Bazigaga (2022)

  Review preview for Bazigaga

  Umuhire is tremendous in conveying both her terror and the force of will it takes for Bazigaga to face down a militia leader who likes to tell himself – and everybody else – that he doesn’t believe the stories about her.

  1994, Rwanda. As the genocide rages on, a pastor and his young daughter take shelter in the hut of a feared shaman.
• BBC House Special (2003)

  Two people talk about what it means to them to be British-born Chinese.
• A Bear Named Wojtek (2023)

  Review preview for A Bear Named Wojtek

  Gardner... shows respect for Wojtek’s intelligence without anthropomorphising him or rendering him just a cartoon.

  Displaced by the Second World War, a troop of Polish soldiers form an inseparable bond with an orphaned bear they name Wojtek.
• A Beast In The Mangrove (2025)

  Review preview for A Beast In The Mangrove

  Strongly elemental.

  A woman undergoes a transformation after an encounter with 'a beast'.
• Beautiful Men (2023)

  Review preview for Beautiful Men

  Selfishness, shame and a fear of connection are underscored by affection. The result is uncomfortable and sometimes very funny.

  Three balding brothers travel to Istanbul to get a hair transplant. Stuck with each other in a hotel far from home, their insecurities grow faster than their hair.
• Because Today Is Saturday (2025)

  Review preview for Because Today Is Saturday

  Guimarães engaging and flowing style offers a sort of stream-of-consciousness guide to the woman's day.

  Animation shows a mother struggling to find personal space within the grind of family life.
• Behaviour (2009)

  Review preview for Behaviour

  A triumph, albeit an uneasy one.

  A first shift in a care home takes a sinister turn.
• Being And Nothingness (2019)

  Review preview for Being And Nothingness

  This is a dark and crisp little tale, like an icy night.

  A teenager relocated to rural Wyoming sets her sights on a local ranch hand.
• Berta (2024)

  Review preview for Berta

  Segarra takes a mature approach throughout, and her preference for realism over easy wit or stylishness still leaves room for humour – even in the darkest of places.

  A woman decides to put her trauma to rest by dealing with the man who hurt her, once and for all.
• Bestia (2021)

  Review preview for Bestia

  Emotions here are betrayed by the twitch of a knife, a violent dream, an envelope crumpled in a hand or a long toke on a cigarette.

  A trip into the psyche of a Chilean torturer.
• Betty (2020)

  Review preview for Betty

  Moody and embittered and near unique.

  A little green bird called Bobby is looking for his butter, his partner Betty and for the love that seems to have melted away.
• Beyond Silence (2024)

  Review preview for Beyond Silence

  Carefully constructed and ably performed.

  Two women of different generations share similar trauma. After decades of silence for one and months for another, their paths diverge - one stays quiet post-confrontation, one speaks up.
• Bienvenida A Nueva York (2020)

  Review preview for Bienvenida A Nueva York

  The abruptness of it all and the in-your-face direction will have you on the edge of your seat.

  Sara has just arrived in NYC from Colombia when she witnesses a crime and is forced to flee from the perpetrator.
• Big Bag (2016)

  Review preview for Big Bag

  A film that is economically hilarious in the precision of its lines and humour, a wordless comic gem.

  An backpacker has a spot of bother as he prepares for a trip.
• Big Break (2026)

  Review preview for Big Break

  The real test here will come down to how you feel about the characters.

  Years after Simple Town split up, three comics reunite with their successful ex-collaborator, leading to a fight for their lives (and careers) as it is revealed that one of them has become a serial killer.
• Billy's Day Out (2003)

  Review preview for Billy's Day Out

  This film is as clever as spin doctor.

  A baby spends an unusual day out with his family.
• Billy & Zorba (1999)

  Review preview for Billy & Zorba

  Brian Kirk's film has a sentimental heart and a lovely performance from 11-year-old Iain de Caestecker, as Billy.

  The friendship between a suicidal fisherman and a young boy.
• A Bird Called Memory (2023)

  Review preview for A Bird Called Memory

  Every shot feels carefully considered, making the film feel "larger" than its short running time would seem to indicate.

  A bird called Memory has lost its way back home. Lua, a trans woman, searches for Memory in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, but the city can be a hostile place.
• Birthday Boy (2021)

  Review preview for Birthday Boy

  Birthday Boy does an excellent job of picking up on the microaggressions that affect kids in these situations.

  A trans boy facing bullying at a girls' school tries to find a refuge in the world of online games.
• Bismillah (2018)

  Review preview for Bismillah

  This taut little film hinges on Mresy's remarkable performance.

  A ten-year-old Tunisian refugee living illegally in Italy tries to save her brother, who is seriously ill, from death or deportation.
• The Bitch (2021)

  Review preview for The Bitch

  This is not easy viewing, but beneath the gleam of staring eyes and the bloodied lips is something visceral.

  The fate of three brothers is tied up with that of a missing woman.
• Bits And Pieces (2009)

  Review preview for Bits And Pieces

  The key ingredients of good documentary are all present and correct – simplicity, depth and variety.

  A look at the mosaic of modern day Jordan.
• Bittu (2020)

  Review preview for Bittu

  The inexhaustible energy of childhood skips and cartwheels through writer/director Karishma Dev Dube's dramatisation.

  The school of two young friends is hit by tragedy.
• Black Angel (1980)

  Review preview for Black Angel

  In the space of 22 minutes, Roger Pratt's cinematography revolutionised the genre.

  A knight sets out to rescue an imperiled damsel in this short film originally shown before The Empire Strikes Back.