Mostra De Valencia — A–Z of films

Measured but naturally emotional recollections dovetail with the more impressionistic animated segments to scrutinise the psyche of war.

A commanding painting of passions, relationships and enlightenment.

You might notice the elegance of composition while knowing that the place contains so much human suffering.

Takes a bawdy idea and turns it into something far more complex.

Aside from a slight flabbiness in some areas, Kechiche is to be praised for exploring the nature of change on a personal and a community level - and packing the result with some emotional wallop.

Don't read this review... simply go and see it, for if ever there was a film that is best experienced without knowing a single detail, this unforgettable oddity from Greece is the one.

If you watch one western in your lifetime, make it The Good, The Bad And The Ugly.

Lanthimos confirms his reputation as one of contemporary cinema’s most original and unsettling directors

In this very impressive debut from Louis Malle, the small budget proves no impediment to delivering a taut thriller.

Not every risky idea works, but where they are successful, the results are dazzling.

Lanthimos satirises our obsession with relationships and modern day electronic dating rituals although the results are not nearly as funny and knowing as the director clearly thinks.

The raw energy that Cassel brought to his role in La Haine has been harnessed again.

Yannis Drakopoulos is on fine form in the central role and there are some great supporting performances.

The script avoids sentimentality. The performances offer little gratification to romantics.

Muayad Alayan's beautifully observed, studiously discomfiting film has a lot to say about power and privilege.

For Stavreski, its character first and plot second while commentary comes along for the ride, as he focuses on the dad and son relationship at the film's heart.

In many ways it is an odd mixture that hangs separately, but never together.

There will be plot developments involving kidnap, the loot as ransom and a gunfight but those are really just the action icing on the cake of what is, at heart, a character study and a dissection of friendship.

The most compelling aspect of the film is it's sheer physicality.

Where most films of this ilk are driven by aggression, Marx instead pushes hers forward with a mix of melancholy, quiet desperation and futility.

Annemarie Jacir's characters may not leave the city of Nazareth as they take a circular road trip in Wajib but the emotional distance they travel is considerable.