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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival · 2021

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2021

Horizons

Programme

68 films · 44 reviews

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Ahed's Knee

Review preview for Ahed's Knee

As a whole, it appears way too kinetically ostentatious for its own sake, sadly making it less than the sum of its parts, but there are things to appreciate here.

Nikola Jovic · 3 out of 5
An Israeli filmmaker throws himself in the midst of two battles doomed to fail: one against the death of freedom, the other against the death of a mother.

(Country: France, Israel; Year: 2021; Director: Nadav Lapid; Writer: Nadav Lapid; Stars: Nur Fibak, Avshalom Pollak)

Ali & Ava

Over the course of a lunar month, a deep connection begins to grow between two people, despite the legacy of Ava's past relationship and Ali's emotional turmoil at the breakdown of his marriage.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Clio Barnard; Writer: Clio Barnard; Stars: Adeel Akhtar, Claire Rushbrook, Ellora Torchia)

All Eyes Off Me

Danny is pregnant by Max who is busy trying out Avishag’s sexual fantasies with her. She wants him to hit her when they have sex. Avishag takes her bruises to Dror, whose dog she sits. A generational portrait that asks: how liberated are we really?

(Country: Israel; Year: 2021; Director: Hadas Ben Aroya; Stars: Elisheva Weil, Yoav Hayt, Elisheva Weil, Yoav Hayt)

Amparo

Colombia 1998, Amparo, a single mother, struggles to free her teenage son after he is drafted by the army and assigned to a war zone.

(Country: Colombia, Sweden, Qatar, Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Simón Mesa Soto; Writer: Simón Mesa Soto; Stars: John Montoya, Luciana Gallego, Diego Alejandro Tobûn, Sandra Melissa Torres, John Montoya, Luciana Gallego, Diego Alejandro Tobûn, Sandra Melissa Torres)

Ananda

The personal travel diary of a naive dreamer in search of an ancient tale told by a scoundrel.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2020; Director: Stefano Deffenu; Writer: Bonifacio Angius, Stefano Deffenu, Pierre Obino)

Apples (Mila)

Review preview for Apples

There’s sadness here for isolation and a grief that goes beyond the loss of a single life once lived. There’s also a heightened sense of the smaller absurdities of existence.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A man caught up in an amnesia pandemic tries to construct a new life for himself.

(Country: Greece, Poland, Slovenia; Year: 2020; Director: Christos Nikou; Writer: Christos Nikou, Stavros Raptis; Stars: Aris Servetalis, Sofia Georgovassili, Anna Kalaitzidou, Argyris Bakirtzis, Kostas Laskos, Babis Makridis, Kimon Fioretos, Costas Xikominos, Alexandra Aidini, Nota Tserniafski, Konstantinos Papatheodorou, Electra Sarri, Natalie Chavez, Akis Benardis, Simos Vogiatzoglou)

Babi Yar. Context

Review preview for Babi Yar. Context

The way June 1941 is presented here, the looming warfare seems to happen in the present

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Nazi troops massacre 33,771 Jews in Kyiv over a two-day period in September 1941.

(Country: Ukraine, Netherlands; Year: 2021; Director: Sergei Loznitsa; Writer: Sergei Loznitsa)

Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn (Babardeală cu bucluc sau porno balamuc)

Review preview for Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn

At times, the dialogue is well done, scores points. At other times, it felt like we had wandered into a Socratic symposium.

Jane Fae · 3.5 out of 5
Emi, a school teacher, finds her career and reputation under threat after a personal sex tape is leaked on the Internet.

(Country: Romania, Croatia, Czech Republic, Luxembourg; Year: 2021; Director: Radu Jude; Writer: Radu Jude; Stars: Tudorel Filimon, Claudia Ieremia, Olimpia Malai, Ilinca Manolache, Daniela Ionita Marcu, Katia Pascariu, Alexandru Potocean, Nicodim Ungureanu, Andi Vasluianu, Dana Voicu)

Ballad Of A White Cow (Ghasideyeh gave sefid)

Review preview for Ballad Of A White Cow

There's an elegance to the filmmaking as this story unravels its themes of societal prejudice, justice and remorse that elevates every frame.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A single mum, whose husband has been executed, struggles for justice.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2020; Director: Maryam Moghadam, Behtash Sanaeeha; Writer: Mehrdad Kouroshniya, Maryam Moghadam, Behtash Sanaeeha; Stars: Maryam Moghadam, Alireza Sani Far, Pouria Rahimi, Avin Poor Raoufi, Mohammad Heidari, Maryam Moghadam, Alireza Sani Far, Pouria Rahimi, Avin Poor Raoufi, Mohammad Heidari)

Benedetta

Review preview for Benedetta

The interplay of the spiritual and the sensual is vital here.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.

(Country: France, Netherlands; Year: 2021; Director: Paul Verhoeven; Writer: David Birke and Paul Verhoeven, based on he book by Judoth C Brown; Stars: Charlotte Rampling, Lambert Wilson, Virginie Efira, Daphne Patakia, Olivier Rabourdin)

Best Sellers

A has-been autho is on a book tour with a young editor who is trying to save her family's publishers.

(Country: Canada, US; Year: 2021; Director: Lina Roessler; Writer: Anthony Grieco; Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Cary Elwes, Michael Caine, Scott Speedman, Ellen Wong, Veronica Ferres, Victoria Sanchez, Elana Dunkelman, Frank Schorpion, Max Laferriere, Christopher Hayes, Alexandra Petrachuk, Susan Almgren, Frank Fiola, Elisabeth Etienne)

Between Two Worlds (Ouistreham)

Review preview for Between Two Worlds

Binoche gives her all, stripping away any vestiges of actressy pretence to assimilate herself in the community while at the same time investing her performance with an authentic conviction.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
Marianne Winckler, a well-known author, goes to live in northern France to research for her new book on the subject of job insecurity. Without revealing her true identity, she gets hired as a cleaner, working with a group of other women.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Emmanuel Carrère; Writer: Florence Aubenas, Emmanuel Carrère, Hélène Devynck; Stars: Juliette Binoche)

A Chiara

Review preview for A Chiara

Full of unspoken pain and resentment, the treasured Chiara carries her father’s sins in his absence as she struggles to decide which course to follow in her own life.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
The Guerrasio family and their friends gather to celebrate Claudio and Carmela’s oldest daughter’s 18th birthday. There is a healthy rivalry between the birthday girl and her 16-year-old sister Chiara, as they compete on the dancefloor. It is a happy occasion, and the close-knit family is in top form. However, everything changes the next day when Claudio disappears...

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2021; Director: Jonas Carpignano; Writer: Jonas Carpignano; Stars: Grecia Rotolo, Swamy Rotolo, Silvana Palumbo, Rosa Caccamo, Claudio Rotolo, Carmelo Rotolo)

Commitment Hasan (Baglilik Hasan)

A man who makes a living from his father’s orchard tries to prevent an electricity pole from being plated in the middle of it, and makes a pilgrimage to Mecca.

(Country: Turkey; Year: 2021; Director: Semih Kaplanoglu; Writer: Semih Kaplanoglu; Stars: Umut Karadag, Filiz Bozok, Gökhan Azlag, Ayse Gunyuz Demirci)

Compartment No 6 (Hytti Nro 6)

Review preview for Compartment No 6

The everyday feel is acute – you can virtually smell the pickle jar vinegar and raw spirit and imagine a slight stickiness on the seats as Jani-Petteri Passi’s camera captures the scene with a looseness that rocks along with the rhythm of the train.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A young Finnish woman escapes an enigmatic love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk, but is forced to share the long ride and a tiny sleeping car with a Russian miner.

(Country: Finland, Estonia, Germany, Russia; Year: 2021; Director: Juho Kuosmanen; Writer: Andris Feldmanis, Juho Kuosmanen and Livia Ulman, based on the book by Rosa Liksom; Stars: Yura Borisov, Dinara Drukarova, Seidi Haarla, Vladimir Lysenko, Dmitriy Belenikhin)

Conference

A nun is sent to Moscow to organise a memorial evening 17 years after a terror attack, through the course of the film we learn the details of her personal story.

(Country: Russia, Estonia, United Kingdom, Italy; Year: 2020; Director: Ivan I Tverdovskiy; Writer: Ivan I Tverdovskiy; Stars: Filipp Avdeev, Natalya Tsvetkova, Natalya Pavlenkova, Natalya Potapova, Yan Tsapnik, Aleksandr Zlatopolskiy, Natalya Batrak, Olga Lapshina, Anna Slyu, Aleksandr Semchev, Kseniya Zueva, Oleg Feoktistov, Aleksandr Golubkov, Roman Shmakov, Elena Nesterova)

Crock Of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane McGowan

Review preview for Crock Of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane McGowan

This is how the film plays out: loose and jumbled but still somehow telling a story. It's a style that suits its subject perfectly.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Documentary about The Pogues frontman.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Julien Temple; Writer: Julien Temple; Stars: Shane McGowan, Johnny Depp)

The Dawn (Zora)

In the near future, a family is forced to choose between staying in the village they've lived in for years or fleeing violence.

(Country: Croatia, Italy; Year: 2020; Director: Dalibor Matanic; Writer: Dalibor Matanic; Stars: Kresimir Mikic, Tihana Lazovic, Lara Vladovic, Maks Kleoncic, Marko Mandic, Natasa Matjasec, Boris Isakovic, Trpimir Jurkic, Mijo Jurisic, Mario Knezovic, Sinisa Popovic, Livio Badurina, Edita Karadjole, Mate Gulin, Agata Bulic)

Drive My Car (Doraibu Mai Kâ)

Review preview for Drive My Car

Slow to build and with an assembly of characters who are all more complex than they seem on the surface, Drive My Car exemplifies Japan’s growing body of literary cinema.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Nishijima Hidetoshi as a stage actor and director happily married to his playwright wife. Then one day the wife disappears.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi; Writer: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi and takamasa Oe, based on the book by Haruki Murakami; Stars: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Masaki Okada, Reika Kirishima, Tôko Miura)

El Planeta

Review preview for El Planeta

With jump cuts, fancy fades, and towels featuring cartoon owls and penguins, Amalia Ulman draws from her work as an artist and includes it seamlessly into the world of cinema.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Amid the devastation of post-crisis Spain, mother and daughter bluff and grift to keep up the lifestyle they think they deserve, bonding over common tragedy and an impending eviction.

(Country: US, Spain; Year: 2020; Director: Amalia Ulman; Writer: Amalia Ulman; Stars: Amalia Ulman, Ale Ulman, Nacho Vigalondo, Zhou Chen, Saoirse Bertram)

The Employer And The Employee (El Empleado Y El Patron)

The employer is a young man who apparently has everything going on for him, except one pressing concern: his baby’s health. The employee is looking for a job to support his newborn too. He does not hesitate when the first decides to hire him to work in his lands. Both will meet their needs by helping each other. But one day an accident happens. This unexpected event will strain the ties between them, endangering the fate of the two families.

(Country: Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, France; Year: 2021; Director: Manolo Nieto; Stars: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Cristian Borges)

Even Mice Belong In Heaven

Review preview for Even Mice Belong In Heaven

There's an odd dynamic to this animation in that the visually stunning imagery seems to have come from an entirely more rich imagination than the rather perfunctory and, at times, borderline annoying storytelling which accompanies it.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A mouse and a fox meet in animal heaven and forge an unexpected friendship.

(Country: Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, Poland; Year: 2021; Director: Jan Bubenicek, Denisa Grimmová; Writer: Jeffrey Hylton, Richard Malatinský, Alice Nellis, based on the book by, Iva Procházková)

Feathers

When a magic trick goes awry at a children’s birthday party, the authoritative father of the family turns into a chicken. An avalanche of coincidental absurdities befalls everyone...

(Country: Egypt, Netherlands, Greece, France; Year: 2021; Director: Omar El Zohairy; Writer: Ahmed Amer, Omar El Zohairy; Stars: Samy Bassouny, Mohamed Abd El Hady, Fady Mina Fawzy, Demyana Nassar, Abo Sefen Nabil Wesa)

First Reformed

Review preview for First Reformed

First Reformed ends up being a satisfying meditative echo rather than a simple replay of Schrader greats.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
Thriller centring on an ex-military chaplain who has lost his son and a member of his church who is grieving for her husband.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Paul Schrader; Writer: Paul Schrader; Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Ethan Hawke, Michael Gaston, Cedric the Entertainer, Philip Ettinger, Victoria Hill, Mahaleia Gray, Elanna White, Bill Hoag, Frank Rodriguez, Joseph Anthony Jerez, Michael Metta, Jake Alden-Falconer, Satchel Eden Bell, Delano Montgomery)

Flee

Review preview for Flee

By animating the whole movie, Rasmussen makes the story feel more immersive and of a whole piece.

Jeremy Mathews · 3.5 out of 5
Amin arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built.

(Country: Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway; Year: 2021; Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen; Writer: Jonas Poher Rasmussen)

The Furnace

1897 Western Australia. To escape a harsh existence and return home, a young Afghan cameleer partners with a mysterious bushman on the run with two 400oz Crown-marked gold bars.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2020; Director: Roderick MacKay; Writer: Roderick MacKay; Stars: David Wenham, Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson, Mahesh Jadu, Goran D. Kleut, Baykali Ganambarr, Gary Young, Osamah Sami, Ahmed Malek, Samson Coulter, Trevor Jamieson, Kaushik Das, Mansoor Noor, Amanda Ma, Quentin Yung)

Ghosts (Hayaletler)

Review preview for Ghosts

Shot with a fluid intimacy by cinematographer Baris Özbiçer, Oyay's film gathers momentum and an increasingly punk energy as it goes.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Four lives intersect on day in Istanbul.

(Country: Turkey, France, Qatar; Year: 2020; Director: Azra Deniz Okyay; Writer: Azra Deniz Okyay; Stars: Nalan Kuruçim, Beril Kayar, Emrah Ozdemir, Dilayda Günes, Nalan Kuruçim, Beril Kayar, Emrah Ozdemir, Dilayda Günes)

A Glitch In The Matrix

Review preview for A Glitch In The Matrix

More interested in illustration than in analysis.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Are we living in a simulation?

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Rodney Ascher)

Hit The Road

Review preview for Hit The Road

Panahi and his actors shift through emotions so smoothly, you barely notice them until they have immersed you.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Drama based around a road trip in a borrowed car.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2021; Director: Panah Panahi; Writer: Panah Panahi; Stars: Hassan Madjooni, Pantea Panahiha, Rayan Sarlak, Amin Simiar)

Hive

Review preview for Hive

Writer/director Basholli directs with a deceptively simple handheld aesthetic, emphasising the bleak reality of the setting.

Jeremy Mathews · 4.5 out of 5
Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo. She sets up her own small business to provide for her kids, but as she fights against a patriarchal society that does not support her, she faces a crucial decision: to wait for his return, or to continue to persevere.

(Country: Kosovo, Switzerland, Macedonia, Albania; Year: 2021; Director: Blerta Basholli; Writer: Blerta Basholli; Stars: Yllka Gashi, Çun Lajçi, Aurita Agushi, Kumrije Hoxha, Adriana Matoshi, Kaona Sylejmani)

The House Arrest

When David, a university professor, accuses the local mayor of corruption via social media, he finds himself facing trumped up charges.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2021; Director: Aleksey German Jr; Writer: Aleksey German Jr, Maria Ogneva; Stars: Aleksandra Bortich, Roza Khayrullina, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Anastasiya Melnikova, Anna Mikhalkova, Merab Ninidze, Aleksandr Pal, Anastasia Talyzina)

Introduction (Inteurodeoksyeon)

A young man tries to find his way in the world in the face of his parents' desires.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2021; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Shin Seokho, Park Miso, Kim Minhee)

The Intruder

After a traumatic episode, a woman starts to find it hard to distinguish between what is real and what is imaginary.

(Country: Argentina, Mexico; Year: 2020; Director: Natalia Meta; Writer: Natalia Meta; Stars: Cecilia Roth, Erica Rivas, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Daniel Hendler, Mirta Busnelli, Agustín Rittano, Guillermo Arengo, Cecilia Roth, Erica Rivas, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Daniel Hendler, Mirta Busnelli, Agustín Rittano, Guillermo Arengo)

Inquilinos

Trouble with the tenants.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2014; Director: Jaume Balagueró; Writer: Jaume Balagueró, Manu Díaz; Stars: Antonio de la Torre, Manuela Velasco, Fele Martínez)

Lamb

A childless couple, María and Ingvar discover a mysterious newborn on their farm in Iceland. The unexpected prospect of family life brings them much joy, before ultimately destroying them.

(Country: Iceland, Sweden, Poland; Year: 2021; Director: Valdimar Jóhannsson; Writer: Valdimar Jóhannsson, Sjón; Stars: Noomi Rapace, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Hilmir Snær Guðnason)

Laurent Garnier: Off The Record

Review preview for Laurent Garnier: Off The Record

There are scores of interviewed figures, all sorts of tall tales, but the line between biography and hagiography can be a slim one.

Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
Profile of the godfather of 1990s techno music.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Gabin Rivoire; Stars: Laurent Garnier, Abd Al Malik, Ellen Alien, Madonna The Blessed, Kerri Chandler, Matthieu Chedid, Carl Cox, Carl Craig, Charlotte de Witte, Lenny Dee, Stéphane Dri, Quentin Dupieux, Peggy Gou, Dave Haslam, Richie Hawtin)

Love Affair(s) (The Things We Say, the Things We Do, Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait)

Review preview for Love Affair(s)

Too much and over the top, the film nevertheless finds its rhythm.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
François has to rush back to Paris to cover for a sick colleague, leaving his partner Daphné, three months pregnant, to welcome his cousin, Maxime. In the four days till Francois’ return Daphné and Maxime get to know each other, sharing increasingly intimate stories that bring them closer.

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Emmanuel Mouret; Writer: Emmanuel Mouret; Stars: Camélia Jordana, Niels Schneider, Vincent Macaigne, Émilie Dequenne, Jenna Thiam, Guillaume Gouix, Julia Piaton, Jean-Baptiste Anoumon, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Claude Pommereau)

Luzzu

Review preview for Luzzu

This is a clear-eyed view of the choices Jesmark and those like him are facing, showing just how complex the situation is, cutting beyond work to community and culture.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A struggling Maltese fisherman faces tough choices about the future.

(Country: Malta; Year: 2021; Director: Alex Camilleri; Writer: Alex Camilleri; Stars: Michaela Farrugia, Jesmark Scicluna, Michaela Farrugia, Jesmark Scicluna)

Mariner Of The Mountains

In January 2019, Brazilian filmmaker Karim Aïnouz boards a boat in Marseille in order to make his first ever visit to his father’s homeland, Algeria.

(Country: Brazil, France, Germany, Algeria; Year: 2021; Director: Karim Aïnouz; Writer: Karim Aïnouz, Murilo Hauser)

Memoria

Review preview for Memoria

For all the talk of hermetical storytelling, this might be his least hermetic and most approachable movie to date.

Nikola Jovic · 4 out of 5
A woman from Scotland, while traveling in Colombia, begins to notice strange sounds. Soon she begins to think about their appearance.

(Country: Colombia, Mexico, France, UK, Thailand, Germany, China, Switzerland; Year: 2021; Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul; Writer: Apichatpong Weerasethakul; Stars: Tilda Swinton, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Jeanne Balibar, Juan Pablo Urrego, Daniel Toro)

Memory Box (The Notebooks)

Review preview for Memory Box

The memories have the vibrant immediacy of teenage energy and are treated by Hadjithomas and her co-director Khalil Joreige in the same spirited fashion.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Three generations of women in Canada, deal with memories of their homeland of Lebanon.

(Country: France, Lebanon, Qatar, Canada; Year: 2021; Director: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige; Writer: Joana Hadjithomas, Khalil Joreige, Gaëlle Macé; Stars: Manal Issa, Isabelle Zighondi, Rim Turkhi, Manal Issa, Isabelle Zighondi, Rim Turkhi)

Minamata

Review preview for Minamata

It’s aided by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s highly evocative score, which locates it in time and space as well as providing a dramatic undercurrent to the action.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
New York, 1971. Eugene Smith, once a highly sought-after photographer, now lives as a recluse. But then an unexpected trip to the Japanese city of Minamata, where an unscrupulous corporation has been releasing untreated wastewater into the bay, brings new meaning to his life.

(Country: UK, US, UAE, Japan; Year: 2020; Director: Andrew Levitas; Writer: David Kessler, Stephen Deuters, Andrew Levitas, Jason Forman; Stars: Akiko Iwase, Johnny Depp, Katherine Jenkins, Bill Nighy, Minami, Tadanobu Asano, Ryô Kase, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jun Kunimura, Yosuke Hosoi, Lily Robinson, Masayoshi Haneda, Tatsuya Hirano, Kenta Ogawa, Shunsuke Okubo)

Mr Bachmann and His Class (Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse)

Documentary about a teacher and his pupils.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Maria Speth)

Nadia, Butterfly

While young and in her prime, Nadia decides to retire from pro swimming after the Olympic Games... but she struggles to adapt to retirement.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Pascal Plante; Writer: Pascal Plante; Stars: Katerine Savard, Ariane Mainville, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Hilary Caldwell, Cailin McMurray, John Ralston, Amélie Marcil, Eli Jean Tahchi, Andrew Di Prata, Marie-José Turcotte, Andrew Simms, Kaoru Matsui, Pascal-Hugo Caron-Cantin, Katerine Savard, Ariane Mainville)

Nemesis

Director Thomas Imbach spent seven years observing the demolition of an old freight station from his window, followed by the construction of an immense prison that will house a large number of foreigners.

(Country: Switzerland; Year: 2020; Director: Thomas Imbach; Stars: Milan Peschel, Milan Peschel)

The Nest

Review preview for The Nest

The screenplay and direction deftly let the audience put together the pieces, making the discrepancies plain to see without hitting us over the head with their existence.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
Charismatic entrepreneur, Rory, relocates his family to England with dreams of profiting from booming 1980s London. But as his wife, Allison, struggles to adapt, and the promise of a lucrative new beginning starts to unravel, the couple have to face the unwelcome truths lying beneath the surface of their marriage.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Sean Durkin; Writer: Sean Durkin; Stars: Jude Law, Carrie Coon, Oona Roche, Charlie Shotwell, Anne Reid, Adeel Akhtar, Michael Culkin, James Nelson-Joyce, Bernardo Santos, Polly Allen, Kaisa Hammarlund, Julian Ferro, Abby Stretch, Andrei Alen, Marcus Cornwall)

Oasis (Korisnici)

Upon her arrival at an institution for people with mental disabilities, Maria becomes fast friends with the equally fiery Dragana. When it becomes clear that they are both in love with the more withdrawn Robert, their relationship gradually grows into a dangerous game of hide-and-seek.

(Country: Serbia, Netherlands, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France; Year: 2020; Director: Ivan Ikic; Writer: Ivan Ikic; Stars: Goran Bogdan, Marusa Majer, Marijana Novakov, Tijana Markovic, Valentino Zenuni, Milica Djindjic, Sasa Strugar, Draginja Voganjac, Goran Bogdan, Marusa Majer, Marijana Novakov, Tijana Markovic, Valentino Zenuni, Milica Djindjic, Sasa Strugar)

Olga

Review preview for Olga

The first-time director shows an adept grip when it comes to the rhythms of her craft, letting silence or specific sounds break out at unexpected moments, including a gripping scene when all we can hear is the spring and creak of the uneven bars.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
2013. A 15-year-old gymnast is torn between Switzerland - where she is training for the European Championship in preparation for the Olympics - and Ukraine, where her mother is a journalist, reporting on Euromaidan unrest.

(Country: France, Switzerland, Ukraine; Year: 2021; Director: Elie Grappe; Writer: Raphaëlle Desplechin, Elie Grappe; Stars: Stéphanie Chuat, Aleksandr Mavrits, Philippe Schuler, Bernd Würch)

Onoda: 10,000 Nights In The Jungle

Review preview for Onoda: 10,000 Nights In The Jungle

Harari and his co-writers Bernard Cendron and Vincent Poymiro, show how the war propaganda becomes internalised in these men, so that even when they are given signs that the conflict may be over, they rationalise that it must be some sort of 'fake news' designed to trick them.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
It's the end of 1944. Japan is losing the war. Hiroo Onoda is sent to an island in the Philippines just before the American landing. The handful of soldiers that he takes with him into the jungle keep fighting, not realising the war is over.

(Country: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Arthur Harari; Writer: Bernard Cendron, Arthur Harari, Vincent Poymiro; Stars: Endô Yûya, Tsuda Kanji, Matsuura Yûya, Chiba Tetsuya, Kato Shinsuke , Inowaki Kai, Issey Ogata, Taiga Nakano, Nobuhiro Suwa, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Tomomitsu Adachi, Kyûsaku Shimada, Angeli Bayani, Jemuel Satumba, Kuu Izima)

The Painted Bird

Review preview for The Painted Bird

Smutný gives us faces that will stories even when they're still, the weight of long experience etched into every line.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A lone Jewish boy has to fend for himself in Nazi-occupied eastern Europe.

(Country: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Slovakia; Year: 2019; Director: Václav Marhoul; Writer: Jerzy Kosinski, Václav Marhoul, Václav Marhoul; Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Barry Pepper, Julian Sands, Udo Kier, Aleksey Kravchenko, Tim Kalkhof, Jitka Cvancarová, Pavel Kríz, Petr Vanek, Lech Dyblik, Petr Kotlar, Radim Fiala, Milan Simácek, Filip Kankovský)

Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades)

Review preview for Paris, 13th District

Audiard captures the fluid nature of relationships for a younger generation navigating both on and offline opportunities and, because this is French, it also features plenty of gracefully worked sexual encounters.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Émilie meets Camille who is attracted to Nora, who crosses paths with Amber. Three girls and a boy - They're friends, sometimes lovers and often both.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Jacques Audiard; Writer: Jacques Audiard, Léa Mysius, Céline Sciamma; Stars: Noémie Merlant, Stephen Manas, Geneviève Doang, Lumina Wang)

Petite Maman

Review preview for Petite Maman

The autumn setting fits it perfectly, because although this is the change of the year as things die back for winter, it is also blazing with colour and hopefulness.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Something magical happens to a young girl after the death of her grandma.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Céline Sciamma; Writer: Céline Sciamma; Stars: Gabrielle Sanz, Joséphine Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne, Margot Abascal,)

Pleasure

Review preview for Pleasure

Everything has been meticulously researched from the garish costumes and outlandish make-up to the mechanics of the business.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A 20-year-old woman moves from her small town in Sweden to LA for a shot at a career in the adult film industry.

(Country: Sweden, Netherlands, France; Year: 2021; Director: Ninja Thyberg; Writer: Ninja Thyberg; Stars: Sofia Kappel, Revika Anne Reustle, Evelyn Claire, Chris Cock, Dana DeArmond, Kendra Spade)

Prayers For The Stolen (Noche De Fuego)

Review preview for Prayers For The Stolen

By delving into fiction, Huezo is able to focus on the impact of this crisis on individual human lives.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Life in a town at war seen through the eyes of three young girls on the path to adolescence.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2021; Director: Tatiana Huezo; Writer: Tatiana Huezo; Stars: Mayra Batalla, Norma Pablo, Olivia Lagunas)

Quo Vadis, Aida

Review preview for Quo Vadis, Aida

Zbanic's measured approach ensures that we can't look away from the unfolding horror - something that she makes clear many at the time, both peacekeepers and non-Muslim residents, found all too easy to do.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A UN translator in Srebrenica when the Serbian army takes over the town faces a difficult choice.

(Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Romania, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Norway, Turkey; Year: 2020; Director: Jasmila Zbanic; Writer: Jasmila Zbanic; Stars: Jasna Djuricic, Johan Heldenbergh, Raymond Thiry, Boris Isakovic, Emir Hadzihafizbegovic, Joes Brauers, Reinout Bussemaker, Izudin Bajrovic, Teun Luijkx, Alban Ukaj, Ermin Bravo, Ermin Sijamija, Sol Vinken, Juda Goslinga, Sanne den Hartogh)

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain

Documentary about the chef and travel documentarian.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Morgan Neville)

The Sea Ahead

After a long time gone, Jana, a young woman, suddenly returns to Beirut. She finds herself reconnecting with the familiar yet strange life she once left.

(Country: France, Lebanon, Belgium; Year: 2021; Director: Ely Dagher)

The Sparks Brothers

Review preview for The Sparks Brothers

Wright doesn't try to reinvent the documentary form, but draws on the Maels' energy, matching their playfulness and incorporating both stop-motion and a decoupage styles of animation into their back story.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
How can one rock band be successful, underrated, hugely influential, and criminally overlooked all at the same time? Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band's favorite band.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Edgar Wright; Stars: Ron Mael, Russell Mael)

Stop-Zemlia

Review preview for Stop-Zemlia

Gornostai avoids obvious narrative arcs in favour of just letting us hang out and observe the everyday challenges and small dramas that pepper the lives of these 16-year-olds.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Drama follows a shy teenager and her friend as they navigate their 16th year.

(Country: Ukraine; Year: 2021; Director: Kateryna Gornostai; Writer: Kateryna Gornostai; Stars: Maria Fedorchenko, Arsenii Markov, Yana Isaienko, Oleksandr Ivanov)

Sweat

Review preview for Sweat

High intensity workouts are matched by a high intensity acting performance by Magalena Kolesnik, who powers her way through this character study.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A social media influencer begins to question her life.

(Country: Poland, Sweden; Year: 2020; Director: Magnus von Horn; Writer: Magnus von Horn; Stars: Magdalena Kolesnik, Julian Swiezewski, Aleksandra Konieczna, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Tomasz Orpinski, Lech Lotocki, Magdalena Kuta, Dominika Biernat, Katarzyna Dziurska, Wiktoria Filus, Bartosz Sak, Edgar Griszczuk, Dorota Zieciowska, Katarzyna Cynke, Bogna Defecinska)

The Tale Of King Crab (Re Granchio, The Legend Of King Crab)

Review preview for The Tale Of King Crab

The use of traditional folk song and the fact that the language shifts from Italian to Spanish also highlights the way that stories are passed from mouth to ear down the generations and across borders.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Italy, today. Some elderly hunters reminisce about the tale of Luciano - a drunk who locks horns with the head of the region over right of passage and is later exiled.

(Country: Italy, France, Argentina; Year: 2021; Director: Alessio Rigo de Righi, Matteo Zoppis; Writer: Alessio Rigo de Righi, Matteo Zoppis; Stars: Maria Alexandra Lungu, Darío Levy, Jorge Prado, Mariano Arce, Gabriele Silli, Severino Sperandio, Bruno di Giovanni, Daniel Tur, Ercole Colnago)

Tina

Review preview for Tina

Right from the outset, this film zeroes in on Tina's natural charisma.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary celebration of Tina Turner.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Daniel Lindsay, TJ Martin; Writer: Daniel Lindsay, TJ Martin; Stars: Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, Tina Turner, Katori Hall, Kurt Loder)

The Tsugua Diaries (Diarios De Otsoga)

Details of this film have yet to be released.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2021; Director: Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes; Writer: Maureen Fazendeiro, Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo; Stars: Crista Alfaiate, Carloto Cotta, João Nunes Monteiro)

Vortex

Review preview for Vortex

The most restrained and yet audacious, unadorned and still intelligent picture the Argentinian auteur has made.

Levan Tskhovrebadze · 4 out of 5
Drama focused on a handful of dark days in the lives of an elderly couple in Paris.

(Country: France, Belgium, Monaco; Year: 2021; Director: Gaspar Noé; Writer: Gaspar Noé; Stars: Dario Argento, Alex Lutz, Françoise Lebrun)

What Do We See When We Look At The Sky? (Ras vkhedavt, rodesac cas vukurebt?)

Review preview for What Do We See When We Look At The Sky?

Digression builds upon detour, which piles charmingly onto excursion, sometimes lifted, sometimes pushed and always shaped by a score that also roams freely in its influences.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A couple who fall in love at first sight, wake the next day with different appearances and struggle to find one another.

(Country: Germany, Georgia; Year: 2021; Director: Alexandre Koberidze; Stars: Irina Chelidze, Giorgi Bochorishvili, Ani Karseladze, Giorgi Ambroladze)

Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy (Guzen to sozo)

Review preview for Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy

The Japanese filmmaker guides his actors as if they were just learning emotions, creating an impression of awkwardness.

Mateusz Tarwacki · 4 out of 5
An unexpected love triangle, a failed honey trap and an encounter that results from a misunderstanding are the three episodes, told in three movements to depict three female characters and trace the trajectories between their choices and regrets.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2021; Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi; Writer: Ryusuke Hamaguchi; Stars: Kotone Furukawa, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Fusako Urabe)

The Worst Person In The World (Verdens Verste Menneske)

Review preview for The Worst Person In The World

There is a lingering, half blossomed melancholy that lies underneath the often very funny, fast-paced moments of quotidian chaos.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Four years in the life of Julie, a young woman who navigates the troubled waters of her love life and struggles to find her career path, leading her to take a realistic look at who she really is.

(Country: Norway, France, Sweden; Year: 2021; Director: Joachim Trier; Writer: Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt; Stars: Anders Danielsen Lie, Renate Reinsve, Herbert Nordrum)

Zanka Contact

Review preview for Zanka Contact

The barest hooks of a narrative are here but stitched together with a lot of energy and stylish flourishes from cinematographer Benjamin Rufi.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
In hellish Casablanca, a car-crash sets ablaze a burning, passionate love story between has-been rocker Larsen and the streetwise Rajae.

(Country: Morocco; Year: 2020; Director: Ismael El Iraki; Writer: Ismael El Iraki; Stars: Khansa Batma, Ahmed Hammoud, Said Bey, Mourad Zaoui, Abderrahmane Oubihem, Fatima Attif, Khansa Batma, Ahmed Hammoud, Said Bey, Mourad Zaoui, Abderrahmane Oubihem, Fatima Attif)