Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival — A–Z of films

The five-minute nature of the loop is perfect for escalating humour.

A fourth doctor, unsuccessful in his efforts to get to Gaza, helps in whatever ways he can. This enables the film to move between intense scenes within Gaza itself, and the US, where it’s easier to breathe.

The directors with their fifth feature take a humane view of the plight of their subjects but spare us any over-sentimentality

Even the presence of a sauna does little to raise the film’s temperature.

La Bola Negra was an unfinished work in a life cut short but the film named (variously) for it is extension and tribute and triumph.

Kernell’s drama feels embedded within the community and the landscape.

Candidates Of Death becomes a quiet celebration of all the positive things that can come from creative endeavour besides the end product itself.

The Polish director understands that the work of searching is also the work of deciding what not to show.

The 2D artwork, which uses oil pastel, gives the animation a "shimmering" style that fills every frame with movement

Much more tightly structured than its style might suggest, and much, much darker.

As the story glides gracefully from pitch-black comedy to complicated tragedy, you are in no doubt this is a film which happened at the right time in the careers of its two central stars, and for cinema.

Innately melodramatic, unremittingly langurous, Death In Venice is as complete a film as can be, existing in its own space and on its own terms.

Eisenberg’s obvious love of amateur dramatics provides The Debut with a foundation that feels akin to a warm hug.

Like Milton's, Zebrunias’ devil is cast in semi-heroic mode, a comic character against whom events continually seem to conspire.

Although there are tonal inconsistencies, Dice-Ching-O-Mat radiates the personal touch and deep affection that drive Vildžiūnas’ storytelling.

The way Zischler and Hüller play their relationship is so wonderfully real and subtle and appropriately opaque for all us non-Mann family members, that it at times brought tears to my eyes.

Pompeii becomes a place where fantasy is tested against historical violence, and where looking too closely can break the story one came to preserve.

Grounded in whimsy and wonder but willing to embrace a dark edge

Anchored by Anthony Ippolito’s performance – he not only bears a striking resemblance to Stallone, but his physical and verbal mimicry is uncanny.

De Araújo is particularly good at evoking the emotional turmoil Jo feels.

Here, ideas do not flow hierarchically: they are conceived in the space between two individuals; they emerge from conversation and are endlessly recycled, coming to seem more like the obvious truth every time.

Fear... runs through Letters like a dangerous and unpredictable electric current, emphasised by the stark black and white animation, the black crosshatching and sharp strokes of which feel like distilled violence in themselves.

Worse than incomplete, Haigh's film lacks a fully developed soul. This is in spite of striking aesthetic moments and sharply written scenes complemented by strong performances from the cast.

The plot begins where screenwriting manuals would suggest a cut, in the aimless downtime of everyday life.

Well crafted, brilliantly delivered, and lots of fun to watch.

The set pieces are beautiful, with wondrous scenery and lavish costumes, which bring this period drama to life.

Zvyagintsev handles this material with his familiar control: psychological realism, cold visual restraint and an aversion to overt flourish.

There’s plenty going on but this story of naughtiness and friendship unfolds in a way that is easy to follow for even the youngest audiences.

The 40-something director is sensible enough not to sensationalise

By viewing the situation, at least initially, mostly from the perspective of the bears, the directors ask us to consider who exactly is trespassing on whose turf.

Told entirely without dialogue but with an upbeat, summery score from Talita Del Collado, it has an eco-conscious vibe.

Up until the end laced with cheap pseudo-biblical references, this horror-drama serves as a fun and thrilling ride.

Anderson and Einbinder are a terrific pairing.

Murphy lets the family’s lives shine out without romanticising the situation.

In his modern world of apartment blocks and estranged family members, even comfort is cold.

Malkovich and Rockwell are magnetic.