Short film review archive

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U — 23 results

• Ulterior (2014)

  Review preview for Ulterior

  Not for the squeamish, the short essay film effectively represents the life cycle in reverse.

  A film essay about death and life and our bodies in those states.
• The Umbrelly (2002)

  Review preview for The Umbrelly

  The poem is witty and the animation inventive... but a bit clever-clever for my tastes

  Cartoon dancing girls deliver safer sex message.
• The Unbearable (2002)

  Review preview for The Unbearable

  More like a three minute sketch than a movie.

  A mother and her son try to tolerate one another.
• The Unbearable Whiteness Of Being (2007)

  Review preview for The Unbearable Whiteness Of Being

  Aziz handles this complicated subject well.

  A look at the growing trend of Asian skin-whitening. Showing as part of Bridging The Gap and the Short Scottish Documentary Awards at EIFF 2007.
• Unconditional (2015)

  Review preview for Unconditional

  The film asks viewers of all backgrounds to make an empathic leap.

  A teenager becomes homeless after she's rejected by her deeply religious community for being transgender.
• Unearthing The Pen (2009)

  Review preview for Unearthing The Pen

  This gentle, observational film comes as close as is possible to exploring its subject's world without passing judgement.

  A bold young Karimojong boy digs in the ground to unearth a curse his tribal elders once put on education.
• Uno (2003)

  Review preview for Uno

  To make a documentary about a Seventies clown trick, is really not that good, is it?

  Documentary short on unicycling.
• Un(ravel) (2007)

  Review preview for Un(ravel)

  The colours are lush and the camerawork lovely.

  Showing as part of International Shorts: Childproof at EIFF 2008.
• Until The River Runs Red (2010)

  Review preview for Until The River Runs Red

  It's powerful, stunning, the whole film is haunting.

  A mysterious girl claims to be the second coming of Jesus, but why are the police investigating her disappearance?
• Untitled (2003)

  Review preview for Untitled

  The effects are as imaginative as the concept.

  Talk turns into words that fly off as sentences, jamming the air.
• Untitled (2004)

  Review preview for Untitled

  As a statement of the imagination, it lacks cohesion and becomes repetitive.

  Abstract art crossed with respectful bafflement.
• Untitled (2002)

  Review preview for Untitled

  Hypnotic, if brief.

  Abstract animation
• Untitled (2005)

  Review preview for Untitled

  There is stillness and violence simultaneously.

  A series of photographic still images, signifying... whatever you like.
• Untitled (2011)

  Review preview for Untitled

  Consider it an 'amuse oeil', an appetiser for a sense not traditionally courted in this way.

  Time unwinds in a rapid flash of colour.
• Untitled: Etude In G Minor, Op 1 (2003)

  Review preview for Untitled: Etude In G Minor, Op 1

  The film is so simple, it's genius.

  A girl is followed in an isolated street and terror overcomes her.
• Useless Dog (2005)

  One man and his dog.
• UK Uncut (2011)

  Review preview for UK Uncut

  Some forms of forceful police tactics against demonstrators are captured directly and make quite striking viewing.

  A look at the development of the UK Uncut protest group, which is dedicated to challenging corporate tax avoidance.
• Unholy Night (2026)

  Review preview for Unholy Night

  For a zombie film, it is remarkably sanguine.

  A family's Christmas Eve dinner becomes a nightmare as Gino must protect his loved ones from his reanimated grandmother who crashes the celebration with murderous intent.
• Universe 25 (2025)

  Review preview for Universe 25

  The cinematography is deliberately downbeat. The narrative meanders as its hero does.

  Mott the angel is sent on a holy mission in London and Bucharest. In his search for a mysterious saint, he encounters a world that sends him off course and forces him to face his true identity.
• Unliveable (2020)

  Review preview for Unliveable

  Unliveable has more questions that answers but it’s beautifully performed.

  Just before the pandemic, the world experiences a phenomenon never seen before. Marilene looks for her daughter Roberta, a trans woman who went missing. While running out of time, she discovers a hope for the future.
• Unravelling Eve (2014)

  Review preview for Unravelling Eve

  Having been there and returned, these women are ambassadors of psychosis, reminding us that it's a problem which can afflict ordinary human beings in the course of their day to day lives.

  Nine women talk about their experiences of postpartum psychosis.
• Unstable Rocks (2024)

  Review preview for Unstable Rocks

  The colour elements prove all the more striking when in contrast to black and white.

  Bolex camera contemplation of rural Portugal.
• Us Again (2021)

  Review preview for Us Again

  No matter who exactly this is aimed at, the animation is beautiful to look at.

  An elderly couple find the rain washing away the years.