Karlovy Vary International Film Festival — A–Z of films

It’s the multiple layers of mystery – which have less to do with actual events than with what different characters are thinking – which make the film compelling.

There is a lot going on here, but Gandini offers a breezy and thought-provoking ride

Hüller has always been an unfussy actress, who allows a character's flaws to shine out in interesting ways.

Pregnancy is often depicted as a state of enhanced vulnerability, and one which points the way to increased dependency. Here, Alaoui turns that around.

The aerial shots of the forest and the believable transformations with feathers, wings, beaks and claws as well as fish scales, make for riveting viewing.

The unadorned observation of the physical aspects of the relationship in which middle-aged bodies are shown without artifice is one of the most hypnotic aspect of Naveriani’s vision.

Beneath the intense lead performance and the minimalist but effective camera work, there is a rigid moral waiting to be unearthed.

Rohrwacher’s visually eclectic style is well suited to exploring the contrasts between present and past, natural and artificial, poverty and wealth.

The narrative proceeds at a controlled pace set to a jangling score of percussion and chants, which is enough to set viewers on edge without the disturbing scenes of food being tentatively eaten and then disgorged.

Moreno isn’t shy about his use of symbolism...What this effects to disguise, however, is the degree to which [the men's] own thinking has been shaped by symbols and by the belief system which surrounds them.

Perez manages the set-piece confrontations with precision and a nail-biting suspense.

Karamizade is deft at capturing shifting moods.

An amuse-bouche of a film, Aki Kaurismäki’s latest comedy romance may leave you wanting more but it’s also a fully rounded, good looking experience packed with all the flavours we’ve come to expect from the master of deadpan down the years.

It is highly satisfying that this feature film about the history and cultural impact of photography - and, by extension, film and television - should be such a lovely example of the Reithian principles to “inform, educate and entertain”.

In many ways Fremont is advocating the importance of accepting that a life can be both average and fulfilling.

Kordofani uses the greater intimacy offered by the camera to bring us close to the characters and reveal the complex layers of relationship developing between them.

Human Flowers Of Flesh is a film of spaces merging, physically in image, in thought, and of the senses.

The band’s music, written by rock star Andrzej Smolik is well-realised by the cast and generates a combative emotional undercurrent although whether quite so much of it is needed is debatable.

A sort of soft-faced tyrany abounds.

There’s a freshness to this world, as if one had just stepped out of one’s own door and arrived in an unexpected place.

By the end you might not only ask yourself if someone is losing their marbles but whose marbles, in fact, are the ones that are being lost.

Liubyi’s film succeeds in bringing home not just the enormity of the crash itself but of the scale of what was lost aboard.

This cinematic exploration, a manifestation of Christian bigotry, speculates with cinematic icons and religious imagery, laying bare the power-hungry clergy.

Luckich's love of silent comedy is everywhere.

Using very simple props, Obasi constructs a whole world in this small coastal location.

A beautifully constructed piece of work in which every detail serves the whole, putting the tools of the epic at the disposal of a story which is intimate and delicately realised.

Everything about El Moudir’s film is unusual, from the structure to the mood.

At one point it seems “Panahi” could easily step from one country to the other, but as his film shows, leaving is not always an easy option.

Will anyone see this who wouldn't anyway?

The powerful forces of family and fable, old and new, intertwine and vie for supremacy in Belgian-Congolese director Baloji’s visually striking debut.

It’s a tremendously challenging role, in which Maadi excels.

Capturing the experience of living in a world where one’s gender doesn’t fit better than almost any other film to date, Preciado’s work is all about claiming space and present day narrative.

One of the most subtle films of the ongoing year.

To say too much about what happens in each episode would be to spoil the joy of encountering Song’s finely worked screenplay, which lets its characters' emotions glitter in the light.

The 4:3 format, preferred by Yasujirō Ozu, is the perfect frame for paying attention to the small mysteries that are often overlooked.

Perpetrator heralds the joyous rising up of a regiment of monstrous women.

An all-action spectacular with some smart ideas which sustains itself surprisingly well over a full two hours.

The film brings home the enormity of the challenge that Cattaneo is up against, not just in terms of money for identification but regarding a general lack of political interest and will in seeing systems better connected.

It is an assured and relentless exposé.

It’s nice to see a film which problematises familiar, overly comfortable assumptions about the sociological response to new technologies, and which doesn’t insist that babies need to be thrown out with bathwater.

While attempting to describe the crux of Samsara is, essentially, as impossible as catching lightning in a jar, join me on a journey of imagination and we’ll give it a go.

The only way to pull off a film like this is to approach it with absolute confidence. Jalmari Helander does a fantastic job.

Part fantasy, part western, the film is exquisitely shot, the humid atmosphere of the island creating a degree of visual uncertainty to confound viewers further.

For lovers of anime, there are Easter eggs aplenty, including more than a few nods to the famed Ghibli studios.

While the end result is important, Hùng’s film is all about savouring the moment, something that becomes more urgent as it progresses - although talk of speed has little place in a film that unfolds with the pace and beauty of a flower.

Rockwell’s realist style and sense of history helps keep the story engaging, but the real reward for the viewing comes in the emotional final act.

Intensity burns through almost every interaction

The idea of different things being in and out of focus for the various generations runs through a film that has sweetly comic moments and poignancy in equal measure.

As we wander through the labyrinth we are drawn further and further into its trap, made ever more keenly aware of our own hunger for knowledge, for understanding.

The real horror of Diaz’s film lies in its recognition of how meaningless all these conflicts are.