Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival — A–Z of films

Unquestionably and understandably harrowing, in places unbearably so, this reflection upon acts of murder, genocide and torture, told by the perpetrators themselves, is a masterpiece.

The film trundles along quite merrily without much plot, easily driven by the tension of the original premise.

Zacharias Kunuk's achievement with his mainly untrained actors is astonishing. Even the sexual chemistry works.

The abiding sense is one of a gentle progress, an unfolding as of leaves, shadows dappled sliding slowly afternoonwards.

Drawing from real life events, Tanic's docudrama gains its power from the emotionally stirring scenario and all-round naturalistic performances, which feel infused with greater honesty given that a version of this nightmare has been played out in real lif

The Armstrong Lie confirms Gibney’s position as one of the US’ foremost documentarians.

The precision of Claire Denis' perplexities, the ardent blows that fire at the heart and the head, are unequaled in her film Bastards (Les Salauds).

Zaman is not looking to rush to judgement of his characters but to explore what makes them tick and give a feel for how traditions get passed down the generations.

Parents whose eight year olds have just gone crazy watching their first World Cup would be well advised to take them along, as they'll probably love it.

While the tension ratchets up, there are rockets, redemption, reams of secrets.

What comes out in the film seems like the very essence of a rock life, though Baker demands to be called a jazz, as opposed to a rock, musician.

Definitely one of this year’s most accomplished thrillers.

An affecting, unusual and intensely personal film, although it works more effectively on an emotional level than a fact-disseminating one.

The story-telling is low key and muted, as befits the characters, but the unremitting sense of melancholia weighs heavily on the film and the viewer.

Visually arresting, impressively taut and enjoyably idiosyncratic.

The director's uncompromising approach and rigour pulls us along at least until the half way point when the pace begins to falter and its lack of obvious intentions starts to grate.

An inward, austere examination of ideas of madness, empathy and the creative impulse.

Everyone is allowed to over-act, not least herself, who runs the gamut of wet-eyed self-pity to hysteria.

Although couched in the realities of conflict, Wakamatsu is equally, if not more, concerned with the little horrors caused by organised, countrywide violence.

Katz keeps the suspense simmering masterfully, alternating between building dread and releasing tension through uncomfortable mirth

In some ways she may be a monster, but Netzer and co-writer Radulescu find a path for Cornelia that steers clear of outright condemnation. Her tragic devotion to her son is so absolute that she retains our pity.

Rok Biček's film shows that the drive to go against the grain can have as much to do with running with the pack as with embracing individuality.

The more problematic aspects of the film stem from a narrative that cannot sustain the inventiveness of the central conceit and which peters out before the end.

A complex, multi-faceted portrait of the director's home region of Galicia, in north-west Spain, with imagery that is awe-inspiring in the proper sense of the term.

If you didn't know this film was made in North Korea, you could be forgiven for thinking it is a South Korean parody of a propaganda movie.

A powerful piece of work, beautifully depicted.

McConaughey's performance is a tour de force.

Brontis really does steal the show, offering a multi-layered, sensitive performance that begs the question why we haven't seen more of him over the years.

It's hard to know who exactly will willingly sign up to watch quite so much sex couched in quite such a disturbing set up.

Szabó's film - co-written with Andrea Vészits - is concerned with the way in which, after a major switch in a political system, there is a period in which it takes people time to find their voices.

The Dirties... has two leads who work well with each other and whose naturalism and likeability draws us in

I wished for Billy Wilder's spirit from The Apartment to take over the tone just a little bit.

What comes over very strongly in the film is that Vivienne is an endearing mixture of the anarchic and the down to earth.

Refreshing and breezy - but also forgotten almost as soon as it has wafted by.

Finsterwalder gets remarkable performances out of her first-rate ensemble.

You can enter through the objects, like an Eames chair or three pairs of Ray Bans, bought online. Or through the religious conflict inherent in a bacon bagel.

Archambault has succeeded in making a film with her subjects and not simply about them – imperfections and all, while the musical element serves her purpose perfectly.

Gloria has the instincts of an eagle and the courage to fly.

A flowing, lyrical film, at times startlingly beautiful, The Golden Dream hypnotises the viewer with its constant movement, its unceasing rhythm.

Wong Kar Wai knows how to frame faces like no other, with embroidered collars, white straw fedoras, a rowdy monkey, cotton flowers and words escaping lips that are like song.

Sorrentino dares to tread where the great have gone before and leaves his own distinctive mark.

A poetic and tense debut that explores not so much the coming of age as the coming of mortality.

Though each filmmaker provides typical servings of his own respective style in responding to the brief at hand, this portmanteau piece is predictably uneven.

For Hult, home is a place where you can be yourself and where you'll always be welcome, no change required.

Although other films have dealt with the subject of euthanasia none so far has looked at the emotional difficulties of the perpetrator.

A still, painterly vision in silvery monochrome - capturing the quiet contemplation of the two women and simultaneously encouraging the same on the part of the viewer.

Ilo Ilo is a quietly assured first feature that marks the director out as a bright new talent.

The pace may seem deliberate but the Coens obviously want us to uncover the character's layers gently rather than him being delivered ready-made.

Jealousy is a carefully constructed film with plenty of family ties for the director.

A movie that lets you be the judge of inappropriate behaviors and risks worth taking.

The film, like their trip, is intermittently interesting but the journey becomes wearing.

Krikodas should be wary of letting his style run rampant over material that could have been both resonant and disturbing given some restraint.

A sweet and relatable film with an evocative setting, ultimately very hard to dislike.

Shuttling back and forth between the families, Like Father, Like Son scrutinises words, deeds, allegiances.

This is a serious and entertaining character study - stripping down the lives of Soho and Raymond - that has the looks and acting talent to win over a crowd.

The comedy shifts and jumps with ease from the wintry beach to the pool and into our hearts due to the acute timing of the performances.

Fabien Constant's meticulously dashing portrait of Carine Roitfeld in Mademoiselle C works as a triple treat with style, beauty and grace.

The documentary ultimately chronicles a provocateur in his quest against indifference and the conventions of an obscene normality.

Opens your eyes to fresh fields of possibility

As a personal and political masterpiece, Mephisto has few challengers.

Intensely erotic throughout, even in the absence of what most people would think of as sexual, this feels like the culmination of a number of threads that have run throughout Kim's work.

Nords gets an excellent performance from Konovalovs - contrasting the enjoyment of the wide open spaces of his home city at night with the stress that waits for him inside his home or school.

The film doesn’t seem to have much to say about racism, and even less about its potential links to family, class and gender – all of which hang in the background, threatening to force the filmmakers to make a more serious and challenging film.

Each of the performances adds to the whole but it's Won-sang Park who carries the film on his increasingly damaged shoulders.

Behind the surface simplicity of a father and son road trip lurks a sharp and bitter-sweet odyssey with a strong sense of satire.

This apparently meandering, unfocused story conceals an acutely observed portrait of a society in flux.

A well-shot and occasionally sweaty run around the same old block.

Cinematographer Bergsteinn Björgúlfsson captures Iceland at its wildest and yet this is also a tale of intimacy without romanticism.

What is so disarming about Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive is a scarce sense of appreciation - of the vampire couple for each other and the appreciation by both of them for what is great in the world.

The veteran director brings more than enough to the table to make his version well worth watching.

Managing for the most part to avoid the clichés of portraying the gypsy milieu, it has the stamp of authenticity.

Farhadi peels away the layers with simplicity, revealing the complicated and detailed emotions which lurk very close to the surface.

From Coca Cola as the perfect commodity, full of metaphysical reality ("The real thing!"), to the Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs with the toy inside... Fiennes and Zizek do their best to make theoretical concepts understandable.

Pluto is an oddly funny film - inhabiting as isolated a world as its titular celestial body.

Extremely engaging and frequently side-splittingly funny

Undoubtedly a classy mainstream product.

Rosi's panorama manages to circle back, making you love humanity.

This is a film that is worth looking closely at, as everything shows signs of great care and consideration, and Sanctuary is certainly worthy of it.

Apart from Mike Eley's lustrous, lyrical cinematography, The Selfish Giant is also elevated by the central performances of Chapman and Thomas.

The film’s simplicity is its strength.

Director Jonathan Gurfinkel's film rides a deeply uncomfortable societal line between misogynistic conservatism and liberation through feminism.

Feels more like an exercise in personal therapy than a fully fledged film.

Roehler casts a distinctly critical and jaundiced eye over his compatriots across three generations but he leaves room for compassion and even a touch of sentimentality.

For all that its often said "they don't make them like they used to" this is very, very close.

Not still, but gently moving.

What is not in doubt is the raw emotion in this work - from Polley quivering with nervous energy as she watches her father read some of the more revelatory pieces of script - to the visible impact airing the family's dirty linen in public has on her sibli

This is a film of two halves, with the half involving sweetness and light muddled and limp in comparison to its tougher, more sinister flipside, while the ending is almost unforgivably trite.

The film is a great example of how powerful and universal small but well-crafted stories can be.

As the teacher, Lindsay Burdge gives a stunning performance.

A complex portrait of grief, Tom At The Farm is Dolan's strongest work to date, not least because of the performance he gives in the lead.

The film's aware that it's an improbable story, so it does everything in its power to couch it as being based on a true story, but for all that it's ironically unconvincing.

Côté has always had a skill for subverting expectations and here he manages to slide his film from black comedy to outright horror with the smoothness of a snake.

It is a pity that with inconsequential storytelling Christian Schwochow wastes quite a bit of the story’s potential.

We Are The Best! is a rebel yell of positivism - with exclamation mark - that brings a fuzzy warmth to all the wintry Stockholm locations.

The absurdly marvellous timing Haden Church has with Labrèche when they discuss glass eyes or the future, makes Whitewash also wonderfully, desperately funny.

It's bold, impetuous and willing to bite off far more than it can chew. One doesn't see enough of this sort of thing these days.

The Zero Theorem is a messy mélange of broad pratfalls, challenged idealism, dark satire, and expansive, indeed cosmic allegory - but it also .cannot escape being seen as a kind of Brazil vers. 2.0.