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Cambridge Film Festival · 2017

Cambridge Film Festival 2017

Features

There are a number of additional shorts programmes running alongside the features below.

Programme

90 films · 37 reviews

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120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (120 Battements Par Minute, 120 Beats Per Minute)

Review preview for 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute)

Campillo has a weakness in not knowing when to trim all the talking.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
Portrait of the ACT UP activist group, a direct action collective aiming to impact the lives of people with AIDS.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Robin Campillo; Writer: Robin Campillo; Stars: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois, Adèle Haenel, Yves Heck, Emmanuel Ménard, Rahim-Silvioli Mehdi, Antoine Reinartz, Caroline Piette, Marco Horanieh, Pascal Tantot, François Rabette, Naelle Dariya, Ariel Borenstein, Coralie Russier, Saadia Bentaïeb)

Full review See: 120 Beats Per Minute award-winner Nahuel Biscayart on sexuality, activism and the pink condom , Robin Campillo on AIDS drama 120 BPM, writing from the heart and collaboration

78/52 (Hitchcock's Shower Scene 78/52)

Review preview for 78/52

Essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the craft of filmmaking.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary about the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Alexandre O Philippe; Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Elijah Wood, Guillermo del Toro, Danny Elfman, Leigh Whannell, Peter Bogdanovich, Oz Perkins, Neil Marshall, Karyn Kusama, Bret Easton Ellis, Richard Stanley, Walter Murch, Mali Elfman, Fred Raskin, Josh C Waller)

Full review

A157

A documentary ocusing on three Syrian Kurd girls who had lost their fathers a day before Daesh terrorists attacked their city and are now living in a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border in the UNHCR tent number 157, not knowing what has happened to their mothers.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2015; Director: Behrouz Nooranipour)

Amateurs In Space

A documentary about two passionate eccentrics decide to send the first Dane into space so set about building their rocket.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2016; Director: Max Kestner; Stars: Kristian von Bengtson, Peter Madsen, Steen Andersen)

Anishoara

A year in the life of a 15-year-old in a remote village, as childhood gives way to adulthood.

(Country: Germany, Moldova; Year: 2016; Director: Ana Felicia Scutelnicu; Writer: Ana Felicia Scutelnicu; Stars: Anisoara Morari)

Ask The Sexpert

Documentary about a nonagenarian and his long-time newspaper column offering sex advice.

(Country: US, India; Year: 2017; Director: Vaishali Sinha)

The Ballad Of Shirley Collins

Documentary about the life and work of the folk musician.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Rob Curry, Tim Plester; Stars: Hannah Arterton, Stewart Lee, Elle Osborne, Sam Amidon, David Tibet, Shirley Collins)

The Battleship Island (Gun-ham-do)

As the Second World War nears its end, at the site of a huge coalmine on the small island of Hashima, tensions run high between the Japanese soldiers and roughly 400 Korean people who were tricked or forced into working there

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2017; Director: Seung-wan Ryoo; Stars: Jung-min Hwang, Joong-ki Song, Ji-seob So, Su-an Kim, Jung-hyun Lee)

Battle Of The Sexes

Review preview for Battle Of The Sexes

Everything feels alive and the production design by Judy Becker is impeccable.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
True story of the tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2017; Director: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris; Writer: Simon Beaufoy; Stars: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Elisabeth Shue, Bill Pullman, Andrea Riseborough, Alan Cumming, Chris Parnell, Martha MacIsaac, Sarah Silverman, Eric Christian Olsen, Jessica McNamee, Natalie Morales, Austin Stowell, Wallace Langham, Mark Harelik)

Full review

Becoming Cary Grant

Review preview for Becoming Cary Grant

An accomplished portrait that presents something much more human than we're used to in this context.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The star's own words are used to tell his life story.

(Country: US, UK, France; Year: 2016; Director: Mark Kidel; Writer: Mark Kidel, Nick Ware; Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Judy Balaban, David Thomson, Barbara Jaynes, Mark Glancy)

Full review

The Breadwinner

Review preview for The Breadwinner

Intelligent, humane and multi-layered, The Breadwinner is a much more substantial film than its central heroic narrative might suggest.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A young girl in Afghanistan disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family.

(Country: Canada, Ireland, Luxembourg; Year: 2017; Director: Nora Twomey; Writer: Anita Doron, Deborah Ellis; Stars: Saara Chaudry, Laara Sadiq, Shaista Latif, Ali Badshah, Noorin Gulamgaus, Kawa Ada, Soma Chhaya, Kanza Feris, Kane Mahon, Ali Kazmi, Reza Sholeh, Mran Volkhard)

Full review

Buena Vista Adios (The Flowers Of Life: Social Club Buena Vista)

A fond farewell chronicling the late-life careers of the Buena Vista Social Club musicians, many of whom have since passed away.

(Country: US, Cuba; Year: 2017; Director: Lucy Walker; Stars: Omara Portuondo, Jesus 'Aguaje' Ramos, Barbarito Torres, Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal)

Casanova

The amorous escapades of an 18th Cenntury adventurer take him from decadent Venice, via Austria, to the Imperial Court of St Petersburg.

(Country: France; Year: 1927; Director: Alexandre Volkoff; Stars: Ivan Mosjoukine, Diane Karenne, Jenny Jugo, Rudolf Klein-Rogge)

Cause Of Death: Unknown (Dødsårsak: Ukjent)

Review preview for Cause Of Death: Unknown

Quiet and focused where US documentaries on similar themes tend to be aggressive, it brings a distinctly Scandinavian sensibility to its subject, and is stronger for it.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A filmmaker investigates her sister's death from prescribed medication and asks if the pharmaceutical industry is culpable in relation to thousands of other such cases.

(Country: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, US, UK; Year: 2017; Director: Anniken Hoel; Writer: Anniken Hoel; Stars: Anniken Hoel) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Le Cercle Rouge (The Red Circle)

Review preview for Le Cercle Rouge

Thanks to Melville's spare approach, the film feels cool in both senses of the phrase and there's time to really focus on the look.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
After leaving prison, a thief crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot a heist.

(Country: France, Italy; Year: 1970; Director: Jean-Pierre Melville; Writer: Jean-Pierre Melville; Stars: Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè, Yves Montand, Paul Crauchet, Paul Amiot, Pierre Collet, André Ekyan, Jean-Pierre Posier, François Périer, Yves Arcanel, René Berthier, Jean-Marc Boris, Jean Champion, Yvan Chiffre)

Full review

The Cinema Travellers

Review preview for The Cinema Travellers

Though it focuses on one company, this film encapsulates a struggle faced by travelling cinemas across India and in other parts of the world.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary about travelling cinemas in India.

(Country: India; Year: 2016; Director: Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya)

Full review

The Cloud-Capped Star (Meghe Dhaka Tara)

Drama about a sister trying to keep her family together.

(Country: India; Year: 1960; Director: Ritwik Ghatak; Writer: Ritwik Ghatak, Shaktipada Rajguru; Stars: Supriya Choudhury, Anil Chatterjee, Niranjan Ray, Gita Ghatak, Bijon Bhattacharya, Gita Dey, Dwiju Bhawal, Gyanesh Mukherjee, Ranen Ray Choudhury, Abhi Bhattacharya)

Conditional Release

A man given conditional release from prison finds not getting into trouble proves problematic.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2017; Director: Hossein Shahabi; Writer: Hossein Shahabi; Stars: Ali Habibpoor, Shaghayegh Farahani, Amir Jafari, Leila Otadi, Vahid Rostampoor, Reza Delavari, Mohammad Karhemmat, Amir Jafari, Diba Zahedi, Mohammad Akbari, Mohammad Bozorgi, Ahmad Shahabi, Ramin Rastad, Ahmad Nikpour, Amir Reza Delavari)

Dawson City: Frozen Time

A history in still and moving images charting the transformation of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in fishing camp at the confluence of the Yukon and Klondike Rivers.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Bill Morrison)

The Desert Bride (La Novia del Desierto)

Review preview for The Desert Bride

Capturing this moment, this opening up, writer/director team Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato demonstrate that there's room on the big screen for small things.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
When a live-in maid's path crosses that of a travelling salesman, her life will change forever.

(Country: Argentina, Chile; Year: 2017; Director: Cecilia Atán, Valeria Pivato; Writer: Cecilia Atán, Valeria Pivato; Stars: Paulina García, Claudio Rissi)

Full review

The Faces We Lost

Documentary about the use of photographs to remember loved ones lost in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

(Country: UK, Rwanda; Year: 2017; Director: Piotr Cieplak)

A Fantastic Woman (Una mujer fantástica)

Review preview for A Fantastic Woman

Lelio makes no bones about how he wants us to feel, to the point where it sometimes feels as though he is stating the obvious is six-foot neon letters.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A transgender woman fights for the right to grieve after the death of her partner.

(Country: Chile, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Sebastián Lelio; Writer: Sebastián Lelio, Gonzalo Maza; Stars: Daniela Vega, Francisco Reyes, Luis Gnecco, Aline Küppenheim, Amparo Noguera)

Full review

Fashionista

Review preview for Fashionista

Fuller is absorbing in the central role, really giving it her all.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A woman who uses clothes as an emotional crutch discovers her life isn't as ideal as she thought.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Simon Rumley; Writer: Simon Rumley; Stars: Amanda Fuller, Ethan Embry, Eric Balfour, Alex Assoe, Alexandria DeBerry)

Full review

The Forest Of The Lost Souls (A Floresta das Almas Perdidas)

Review preview for The Forest Of The Lost Souls

Instead of engaging the viewer through emotion, the film becomes a predictable horror that barely scrapes the surface with the theme of suicide.

John-Anthony Disotto · 2.5 out of 5
Ricardo, a grieving father, and Carolina, a cynical young woman, meet in a notorious Portuguese suicide forest, where a mutual fascination develops.

(Country: Spain, Portugal, Russia, United Arab Emirates; Year: 2017; Director: José Pedro Lopes; Writer: José Pedro Lopes; Stars: Daniela Love, Jorge Mota, Mafalda Banquart, Lígia Roque, Lília Lopes, Tiago Jácome, Débora Ribeiro)

Full review

Félicité

Review preview for Félicité

The film’s most gripping aspect is the delicacy with which it handles its extraordinary emotional depth

Evelin Toth · 3.5 out of 5
Story of a singer who finds herself in desperate circumstances after her son has an accident.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Alain Gomis; Writer: Alain Gomis, Olivier Loustau, Delphine Zingg; Stars: Véro Tshanda Beya Mputu, Gaetan Claudia, Papi Mpaka, Nadine Ndebo, Elbas Manuana, Diplome Amekindra, Célestin Mokono, François Kasonga, Prince Mbasi, Ferdinand Minga, Aziza Kengumbe, José Lusala, Plaisir Mumbula, Nathan Mulumba, Claudine Lumbu)

Full review

Flicker + Pulse

Documentary, shows time passing in an English walled garden.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Brian McClave, Tom Wichelow; Writer: Brian McClave, Tom Wichelow)

The Florida Project

Review preview for The Florida Project

The script doesn't patronise its characters, showing they're just as capable of the best of actions and the worst as anybody else, but makes sure we understand the additional pressures they face.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
The story of a precocious six-year-old and her rag-tag group of close friends whose carefree lives contrast with those of their struggling parents.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Sean Baker; Writer: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch; Stars: Willem Dafoe, Brooklynn Prince, Valeria Cotto, Bria Vinaite, Christopher Rivera, Caleb Landry Jones, Macon Blair, Karren Karagulian, Sandy Kane, Cecilia Quinan, Betty Jeune, Lauren O'Quinn, Giovanni Rodriguez, Carl Bradfield, Gary B. Gross)

Full review

Habit

After witnessing a murder in a massage parlour, a Manchester man beings to have strange, violent dreams.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Simeon Halligan; Stars: Elliot James Langridge, Jessica Barden, Roxanne Pallett, William Ash, Louis Emerick, Sally Carman, Joanne Mitchell, Robert Beck)

The Impossible Hour (Den umulige time)

Study of Danish cyclist Ole Ritter’s attempts to recapture his world hour record.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 1974; Director: Jørgen Leth; Writer: Jørgen Leth; Stars: Ole Ritter)

India In A Day

On October 10, 2015, Ridley Scott, Anurag Kashyap, Richie Mehta and Google invited the people of India to share their stories about life in an evolving country - from the ordinary to the extraordinary; personal to profound. This is the result.

(Country: India; Year: 2016; Director: Richie Mehta)

In The Same Boat

Charting the effects of globalisation.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2016; Director: Rudy Gnutti; Writer: Rudy Gnutti, Francisco Mir, Bernat Udina; Stars: Zygmunt Bauman, Alex Brendemühl, Nick Hanauer, Serge Latouche, Pepe Mujica)

It's Not Yet Dark

This is the incredible story of Simon Fitzmaurice, a young filmmaker who becomes completely paralyzed from motor neurone disease but goes on to direct an award-winning feature film through the use of his eyes.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2016; Director: Frankie Fenton)

Journeyman

After a boxer suffers a head injury in a fight, it has a major impact on his family life.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Paddy Considine; Writer: Paddy Considine; Stars: Paddy Considine, Jodie Whittaker, Paul Popplewell, Tony Pitts, Anthony Welsh, Craig Thomas Lambert, Paul Donnelly, Jonny Masters, Richard Varley, Emelia Spencer, Shamir Masri, Kris Athey, Jonathan Cheetham, Nigel Passey, Jacob Smyth)

Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait

Portrait of the artist and director.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2017; Director: Pappi Corsicato; Writer: Pappi Corsicato)

Kati Kati

When Kaleche wakes up in the middle of the wilderness, she has no idea how she got there. She makes her way to a lodge called Kati Kati – a type of purgatory, not Heaven or Hell, but somewhere in between – where souls find themselves with no explanation or reason.

(Country: Kenya; Year: 2017; Director: Mbithi Masya; Stars: Nyokabi Gethaiga, Elsaphan Njora, Paul Ogola)

The Killing Of A Sacred Deer

Review preview for The Killing Of A Sacred Deer

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

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A teenage boy tries to integrate a surgeon into his broken family but his motives become increasingly sinister.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2017; Director: Yorgos Lanthimos; Writer: Efthymis Filippou, Yorgos Lanthimos; Stars: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Alicia Silverstone, Raffey Cassidy, Bill Camp, Barry Keoghan, Anita Farmer Bergman, Sunny Suljic, Denise Dal Vera, Megan Chelf Fisher, Lea Hutton Beasmore, Rachael Mcadams, Michelle Poole, Nathaniel Sizemore, Jerry Pope)

Full review See: Nicole Kidman on The Killing Of The Sacred Deer in Cannes

King Of The Belgians

During the king's diplomatic visit to Turkey, the news that Wallonia has declared independence warrants his immediate return, but he cannot make the journey.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Jessica Woodworth, Peter Brosens; Stars: Peter Van Den Begin, Bruno Georis, Lucie Debay, Titus De Voogdt, Pieter Van Der Houwen)

Kékszakállú

Portrait of spiritual lethargy.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2016; Director: Gastón Solnicki)

The Lego Ninjago Movie

Review preview for The Lego Ninjago Movie

How the film avoids animation overload is with a script that apes cynical teenspeak and a voice cast that is ensemble perfection.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
A battle royal in the city of teenage ninjas with special powers and a fine line in witty dialogue in the plastic world of Lego.

(Country: US, Denmark; Year: 2017; Director: Charlie Bean, Paul Fisher, Bob Logan; Writer: Bob Logan, Paul Fisher, William Wheeler, Tom Wheeler, Jared Stern, John Whittington; Stars: Jackie Chan, voices of Dave Franco, Fred Armisen, Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Peña, Abbi Jacobson, Zach Woods, David Burrows, Alex Kauffman, Justin Theroux, Ali Wong, Garret Elkins, Todd Hansen, Doug Nicholas, Charlyne Yi)

Full review

The Lonely Wife (Charulata)

A woman neglected by her husband finds herself falling for a younger man.

(Country: India; Year: 1964; Director: Satyajit Ray; Writer: Satyajit Ray, Rabindranath Tagore; Stars: Soumitra Chatterjee, Madhabi Mukherjee, Shailen Mukherjee, Tarapada Basu, Gopaldas Bhattacharya, Dilip Bose, Ramesh Chandra Chandra, Sunilkanta Dasgupta, Nilotpal Dey, Bankim Ghosh, Shyamal Ghoshal, Ajit Gupta, Bholanath Koyal, Kamu Mukherjee, Suku Mukherjee)

Loveless

Review preview for Loveless

Though the filmmaking is good, the bleakness of the message is unremitting.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A couple go looking for their young son after he disappears during one of their bitter rows.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev; Writer: Oleg Negin; Stars: Maryana Spivak, Alexei Rozin)

Full review

Love, Cecil

A documentary about Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton CBE, the fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and Academy Award–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Lisa Immordino Vreeland; Stars: Cecil Beaton, Hamish Bowles, Leslie Caron)

Manifesto

Can history’s art manifestos apply to contemporary society? An homage to the 20th Century’s most impassioned artistic statements and innovators, from Futurists and Dadaists to Pop Art, Fluxus, Lars von Trier and Jim Jarmusch, this series of reenactments performed by Cate Blanchett explores these declarations’ performative components and political significance.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Julian Rosefeldt; Writer: Julian Rosefeldt; Stars: Cate Blanchett, Erika Bauer, Carl Dietrich, Marie Borkowski Foedrowitz, Ea-Ja Kim, Marina Michael, Hannelore Ohlendorf, Ottokar Sachse, Ralf Tempel, Jimmy Trash, Andrew Upton)

See: Article about Cate Blanchett in Manifesto and The Present

Menashe

Review preview for Menashe

Rather than pick apart rituals... Weinstein simply lets us see them in action as part of the natural fabric of his life

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A man faces losing custody of his son after the death of his wife.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Joshua Z Weinstein; Writer: Joshua Z Weinstein, Alex Lipschultz, Musa Syeed; Stars: Menashe Lustig, Ruben Niborski, Yoel Weisshaus) , Trailer

Full review See: Menashe co-writer/producer Alex Lipschultz on the challenges of making the film

Midnight Runners

Two police university students witness a kidnapping and decide to join forces to track the perpetrator.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2017; Director: Kim Joo-Hwan; Writer: Kim Joo-Hwan; Stars: Seo-joon Park, Ha-Neul Kang, Ha-seon Park, Dong-il Sung, Yoo-ram Bae, Joon Go, Lee Ho-Jung, Min-tae Kang)

Mildred Pierce

Review preview for Mildred Pierce

A sharp script full of camp and an emotional punch that knocks us over at the end.

Chris · 5 out of 5
When a murdered man gasps out her name, is our heroine's remarkable survival story finally at an end?

(Country: US; Year: 1945; Director: Michael Curtiz; Writer: Ranald MacDougall, from the book by James M. Cain.; Stars: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett)

Full review

Moana

Review preview for Moana

The truth is, as much as Disney wants to inspire its young viewers, it also knows what sells.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
A young woman goes on an adventure with a demi-god.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Ron Clements, Don Hall, John Musker, Chris Williams; Writer: Jared Bush, from a story by Ron Clements, John Musker, Don Hall, Chris Williams, Pamela Ribon, Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell; Stars: Auli'i Cravalho, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger, Alan Tudyk, Oscar Kightley, Troy Polamalu, Puanani Cravalho, Louise Bush)

Full review

Morvern Callar

Review preview for Morvern Callar

For a slow film, there is too much plot.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
After her boyfriend commits suicide, Samantha Morton runs away to Spain with her best pal.

(Country: UK, Canada; Year: 2002; Director: Lynne Ramsay; Writer: Lynne Ramsay, Liana Dognini, based on the novel by Alan Warner; Stars: Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott, Raife Patrick Burchell, Carolyn Calder, Dan Cadan, Jim Wilson)

Full review

Mountains May Depart (Shan He Gu Ren)

Review preview for Mountains May Depart

A bold study of what it means to be Chinese in the modern age.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A young woman chooses between two men as China is torn between its traditional values and a capitalist future.

(Country: China, Japan; Year: 2015; Director: Jia Zhangke; Writer: Jia Zhangke; Stars: Zhao Tao, Zhang Yi, Dong Jing, Dong Zijian)

Full review

My Fair Lady

An aristocratic professor takes on a bet that he can pass off a humble flower girl as a high society lady, but falls in love with her in the process.

(Country: US; Year: 1964; Director: George Cukor; Writer: Alan Jay Lerner, based on his own book, based on the play by George Bernard Shaw.; Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Gladys Cooper, Jeremy Brett) , Trailer

The Net

Story of a North Korean fisherman who accidentally drifts down to South Korea and what happens afterwards.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2016; Director: Kim Ki-duk; Writer: Kim Ki-duk; Stars: Ryoo Seung-bum, Lee Wong-geun, Kim Young-min)

The New Fire

Nuclear engineers try to find safe alternatives to the energy generation systems causing climate change.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: David Schumacher; Stars: Jeffrey Sachs, James Hansen, Ken Caldeira, Leslie Dewan, Jacob DeWitte)

The Next Skin (La Propera Pell)

A teenager appears claiming to have amnesia and to be Gabriel, who went missing in the mountains aged nine. Should the family believe him?

(Country: Spain, Switzerland; Year: 2016; Director: Isaki Lacuesta, Isa Campo)

No Land's Song

Review preview for No Land's Song

It is significant that No Land's Song in some ways mirrors that inclination for layering female voices by only presenting Sara's thoughts and opinions through conversation with others.

Rebecca Naughten · 3 out of 5
The Islamic revolution of 1979 banned female singers from appearing in public in Iran. Now Ayat Najafi tries to revive tradition, planning an evening of Iranian and French female soloists to rebuild shattered cultural bridges - but can it work?

(Country: Germany, France, Iran; Year: 2014; Director: Ayat Najafi; Writer: Ayat Najafi; Stars: Imed Alibi, Parvin Azimi, Elise Caron, Jeanne Cherhal, Chakad Fesharaki, Sébastien Hoog, Ali Kazemian, Emel Mathlouthi, Sara Najafi, Edward Perraud, Ali Rahimi, Sayeh Sodeyfi, Maryam Tajhdeh)

Full review

The One-Eyed King

A young man, who lost his eye to a rubber bullet in a street protest, and his partner are invited to a dinner party. The husband of the host is a riot policeman, who has fired rubber bullets whilst carrying his duties.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2016; Director: Marc Crehuet; Stars: Alain Hernández, Miki Esparbé, Betsy Túrnez, Ruth Llopis)

Operation Syncopation

Documentary follows Professor Amelia Oldfield as she revisits ten families who received music therapy from her more than 15 years ago, and explores the impact of the therapy on their lives.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Maxim Thompson)

Psycho

Review preview for Psycho

No amount of experience watching modern slasher films will inure you to the fear that Hitchcock could instill with his masterly pacing and restraint.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A woman on the run stops in at the wrong motel.

(Country: US; Year: 1960; Director: Alfred Hitchcock; Writer: Joseph Stefano, based on the book by Robert Bloch.; Stars: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam, John McIntire, Janet Leigh) , Trailer

Full review

The Prince Of Nothingwood

Review preview for The Prince Of Nothingwood

Even if the facts are fiction, you still get the sense of a man who is driven, at least in part, by an urge to bring some sort of happiness by shooting film rather than bullets.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The story of Salim Shaheen, the most prolific and popular actor-director-producer in Afghanistan.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Sonia Kronlund; Stars: Salim Shaheen)

Full review

The Pruning Season

A character study of Ghassem Takdehgham, a man who believes he’s found a cure for cancer.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2017; Director: Loghman Khaledi)

The Red Balloon (Le Ballon Rouge)

Review preview for The Red Balloon

In 30 minutes we are treated to a story that teaches us more about the resilience of the human spirit and the triumphs it can achieve over hardships and injustices than many films three or four times as long.

Caro Ness · 5 out of 5
Classic short film about a boy and his friendship with a balloon.

(Country: France; Year: 1956; Director: Albert Lamorisse; Writer: Albert Lamorisse; Stars: Pascal Lamorisse, Georges Sellier, Vladimir Popov, Paul Perey, René Marion, Sabine Lamorisse, Michel Pezin, Renaud, David Séchan)

Full review

The Red Turtle (La Tortue Rouge)

Review preview for The Red Turtle

Some of the art is truly breathtaking, especially the star-filled skies, and the movement of the various animals we meet is beautifully observed.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The life of a castaway on a desert island.

(Country: France, Japan; Year: 2016; Director: Michael Dudok de Wit; Writer: Michael Dudok de Wit, Pascale Ferran; Stars: Emmanuel Garijo, Tom Hudson, Baptiste Goy)

Full review See: Michaël Dudok de Wit in conversation on The Red Turtle (La Tortue Rouge) and Studio Ghibli

Rescue Under Fire

The crew of a medical helicopter suffers an accident when helping a joint force of USA and United Nations troops under Spanish command division in Afghanistan. The Spanish army has only one night to organize the rescue of the crew and injured, but what seems routine turns into hell once they receive the order to rescue the helicopter as well.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Adolfo Martinez; Stars: Ariadna Gil, Roberto Álamo, Raúl Mérida, Antonio Garrido, Ingrid García Jonsson, Jacobo Dicenta, Younes Bachir)

Resistance Is Life

A documentary about a girl living in a refugee camp on the border between Turkey and Syria.

(Country: Turkey, US; Year: 2017; Director: Apo W Bazidi; Stars: Evlin Newroz, Aladdin Hemude, Mustafa Azad, Ennio Helbest, Diyala Silava Verhan, Menal Ilker, Arin Hevjin, Delila Meco, Nemir Nergiz)

Rift (Rökkur)

Two men in a secluded cabin are haunted by their dead relationship.

(Country: Iceland; Year: 2017; Director: Erlingur Thoroddsen; Writer: Erlingur Thoroddsen; Stars: Björn Stefánsson, Sigurður Þór Óskarsson, Guðmundur Ólafsson, Aðalbjörg Árnadóttir, Anna Eva Steindórsdóttir, Böðvar Óttar Steindórsson)

Ratcatcher

Review preview for Ratcatcher

There is an artistic sensibility in Ramsay's approach to film.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 5 out of 5
An insight into the anguish of a young boy in the wake of a tragic accident.

(Country: UK; Year: 1999; Director: Lynne Ramsay; Writer: Lynne Ramsay; Stars: William Eadie, Tommy Flanagan, Mandy Matthews, Michelle Stewart, Lynne Ramsay Jr., Leanne Mullen, John Miller, Jackie Quinn)

Full review

Sex, Pity And Loneliness (Einsamkeit und Sex und Mitleid)

How do you retain dignity in a world that’s growing harsher and more unfeeling?

(Country: Germany; Director: Lars Montag; Writer: Helmut Krausser, Lars Montag; Stars: Rainer Bock, Peter Schneider, Friederike Kempter, Maria Hofstätter, Jan Henrik Stahlberg, Aaron Hilmer, Eugen Bauder, Gisa Flake, Lara Mandoki, Katja Bürkle, Buenaventura Braunstein, Yamen Masoud, Knud Riepen, Lisa Adler)

Shiraz: A Romance Of India

A pioneering silent film based on the 17th-century love story that inspired the building of the Taj Mahal.

(Country: UK, Germany, India; Year: 1938; Director: Franz Osten; Stars: Himansu Rai, Charu Roy, Seeta Devi)

Son Of Sofia (O Gios tis Sofias)

Set during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games, 11-year-old Misha is travelling from Russia to live with his mother in Athens in the home of an elderly Greek man she works for. When he learns this man is actually his new father, Misha runs away but doesn’t have the stomach for life on the streets. Returning to his new home, he clings to the stories he grew up with, melding them with reality to create a dark urban fairy tale.

(Country: France, Greece, Bulgaria; Year: 2016; Director: Elina Psikou; Writer: Elina Psikou; Stars: Viktor Khomut, Valery Tcheplanowa, Thanasis Papageorgiou, Artemis Havalits, Christos Stergioglou, Iro Maltezou)

The Square

Review preview for The Square

While satirically entertaining in places it has too many threads competing for attention and ultimately runs out of steam.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
An art exhibit invites passers by to altruism, but things don't go as planned for its curator.

(Country: Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark; Year: 2017; Director: Ruben Östlund; Writer: Ruben Östlund; Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West, Terry Notary, Linda Anborg, Claes Bang, Annica Liljeblad, Christopher Læssø, Emelie Beckius, Sarah Giercksky, Jan Lindwall, Marina Schiptjenko, John Nordling, Denise Wessman, Lilianne Mardon, Peter Diaz)

Full review See: Interview with Ruben Östlund, Claes Bang and Elisabeth Moss about The Square in Cannes

Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

Review preview for Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs

Snow White, the first full-length animated feature, shows a class that Disney has since run out of.

Gator MacReady · 4 out of 5
Disney classic about a wicked queen's attempts to slay "the fairest of them all".

(Country: US; Year: 1937; Director: David Hand; Writer: Ted Sears, Otto Englander, Earl Hurd, Dorothy Ann Blank, Richard Creedon, Dick Richard, Merrill de Maris, Webb Smith, based on the fairy story by the brothers Grimm; Stars: voices of Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne, Billy Gilbert)

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Standing Start

Review preview for Standing Start

Like a complex jigsaw, each piece slots into place perfectly, completing a richly detailed picture of one man and his determination.

Amber Wilkinson · 5 out of 5
Documenting world champion Craig MacLean's preparation for a cycle race.

(Country: UK; Year: 2007; Director: Finlay Pretsell, Adrian McDowall; Writer: Des Dillon; Stars: Craig MacLean)

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Strangled (A martfüi rém)

Review preview for Strangled

We see the killer at home, observe him moving through life like an ordinary man, but something is always subtly off key.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Seven years after a killer is jailed, a murder occurs in town - is it a copycat or has the wrong man been jailed?

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2016; Director: Árpád Sopsits; Writer: Árpád Sopsits; Stars: Károly Hajduk, Gábor Jászberényi, Zsolt Anger, Péter Bárnai, Zsolt Trill, Zsófia Szamosi, Mónika Balsai, András Réthelyi, Piroska Móga, Valentin Venczel, Dóra Sztarenki, Péter Barbinek, Eszter Csépai, Zsolt Dér, Gergely Kaszás)

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A Sunday In Hell (En forårsdag i Helvede)

The film follows the French Paris-Roubaix spring classic.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 1977; Director: Jørgen Leth; Writer: Jørgen Leth; Stars: David Saunders, Roger De Vlaeminck, Marc Demeyer, Freddy Maertens, Eddy Merckx, Ole Ritter)

A Taste Of Ink (Compte tes blessures)

Vincent hasn't lived a third of his life yet, but he's already tattooed half of his body and hoarsened his voice with his post-hardcore band. Since his mother died, he shares his time between a piercer job he's not happy with and a fishmonger father trying to start a new life with a younger woman. And it's driving him insane.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Morgan Simon; Writer: Morgan Simon; Stars: Kévin Azaïs, Monia Chokri, Nathan Willcocks, Julien Krug, Selim Aymard, Cedric Laban)

This Is Our Land (Chez Nous)

Political drama about a woman who becomes involved with the far right.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Lucas Belvaux; Writer: Lucas Belvaux, Jérôme Leroy; Stars: Émilie Dequenne, André Dussollier, Guillaume Gouix, Catherine Jacob, Anne Marivin, Patrick Descamps, Charlotte Talpaert, Mateo Debaets, Coline Marcourt, Corentin Lobet, Thibault Roux, Michel Ferracci, Stéphane Caillard, Cyril Descours, Julien Roy)

Tonight She Comes

After a girl goes missing, two of her friends and a mysterious set of strangers will find themselves drawn to the cabin in the woods where she disappeared. They will laugh, they will drink, they will kiss, they will have sex, and they must all die.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Matt Stuertz; Stars: Frankie Ray, Adam Hartley, Larissa White, Jenna McDonald)

Uncertain Glory (Incerta glòria)

In war-torn Spain a young Republican falls for a femme fatale.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Agustí Villaronga; Writer: Coral Cruz, Joan Sales, Agustí Villaronga; Stars: Terele Pávez, Marcel Borràs, Roger Casamajor, Oriol Pla, Juan Diego, Bruna Cusí, Luisa Gavasa, Núria Prims, Fernando Esteso, Bruno Bergonzini, Jorge Usón, Francesca Piñón, David Bagés, Xavier Capdet, Hamid Krim)

Untitled

“This film is intended to show an image of the world that can only be created when one does not pursue any subject, or make any value judgement or follow any objective. When one lets one’s self be carried along by nothing more than one’s own curiosity and intuition.”

(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi; Writer: Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi)

Vaya

A journey to Johannesburg has an unexpected ending for four people.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2016; Director: Akin Omotoso; Writer: Craig Freimond, Tshabalira Lebakeng, Antony Mafela, David Majoka, Madoda Nthuli, Harriet Perlman, Robbie Thorpe; Stars: Warren Masemola, Phuthi Nakene, Sihle Xaba, Harriet Manamela, Zimkhitha Nyoka, Nomonde Mbusi, Azwile Chamane-Madiba, Mncedisi Shabangu, Emmanuel Nkosinathi Gweva, Msimang Sibusiso, Jabulani Mthembu)

The Wages Of Fear

Four men are hired to transport a dangerous nitroglycerine shipment.

(Country: France, Italy; Year: 1953; Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot; Writer: Georges Arnaud, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Jérôme Géronimi; Stars: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Folco Lulli, Peter van Eyck, Véra Clouzot, William Tubbs, Darío Moreno, Jo Dest, Antonio Centa, Luis De Lima, Grégoire Gromoff, Joseph Palau-Fabre, Faustini, Seguna, Darling Légitimus)

Well (Kút)

At a remote petrol station, a man arrives in a bid to reconcile with his estranged father.

(Country: Hungary; Year: 2016; Director: Attila Gigor; Stars: Roland Tzafetás, Nóra Trokán, Niké Kurta, Lia Pokorny, Ferenc Pusztai, Zsolt László, Dorottya Udvaros, Péter Jankovics, Irma Milovic, Zsolt Kovács)

We're Going On A Bear Hunt

Animated adventure.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Joanna Harrison, Robin Shaw; Writer: Joanna Harrison, Joanna Harrison, Helen Oxenbury, Michael Rosen; Stars: Elsie Cavalier, Olivia Colman, Pam Ferris, Ozzie Latta, Macready Massey, Michael Rosen, Heather Shaw, Mark Williams)

Wilderness

It's love at first sight for John and Alice, but then they come into contact with strangers and friends and the bubble threatens to burst as they discover the vulnerabilities, flaws and manipulations that were previously masked by the blissful waves of new love.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Justin John Doherty; Stars: Katharine Davenport, James Barnes, Sebastian Badarau, Bean Downes)

Wùlu

A Malian bus driver faces a stark choice when he discovers crime pays more than honesty.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Daouda Coulibaly; Writer: Daouda Coulibaly; Stars: Quim Gutiérrez, Dembele Habib, Ndiaye Ismaël, Ibrahim Koma, Ndiaye Mariame, Inna Modja, Olivier Rabourdin, Jean-Marie Traoré)

The Woman That Men Yearn For

The mysterious Stascha is bound to her lover, the sinister Dr Karoff, by a terrible secret. But one night, on a crowded train, she catches the eye of a young man who abandons everything, including his new bride, to pursue her.

(Country: Germany; Year: 1929; Director: Kurt Bernhardt; Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Fritz Kortner)

Wonderstruck

Review preview for Wonderstruck

This creative and visually arresting adaptation of Brian Selznick’s critically acclaimed novel marks a filmmaker at the top of his game.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
Ben and Rose are children from two different eras who secretly wish their lives were different. Both set out on quests.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Todd Haynes; Writer: Brian Selznick, based on his novel; Stars: Amy Hargreaves, Michelle Williams, Julianne Moore, Oakes Fegley, Tom Noonan, Cory Michael Smith, James Urbaniak, Marko Caka, Damian Young, Hays Wellford, Morgan Turner, Ekaterina Samsonov, Brian Berrebbi, Michael Wren Gucciardo, Jaden Michael)

Full review

We Need To Talk About Kevin

Review preview for We Need To Talk About Kevin

Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of the book perfectly matches its intimacy, too close for comfort for some, and manages to make aspects of it even darker.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
The much-anticipated film based on Lionel Shriver's Orange Prize-winning novel about a mother at odds with her dangerous son.

(Country: UK, USA; Year: 2011; Director: Lynne Ramsay; Writer: Lynne Ramsay, Rory Stewart Kinnear, based on the novel by Lionel Schriver; Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rock Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich) , Trailer

Full review See: Q&A with Lynne Ramsay and Ezra Miller about We Need To Talk About Kevin

The Wound

Review preview for The Wound

Trengove strikes a good balance between showing the cultural importance, even though on the wane, of old-fashioned masculinity and personal drama between Xolani and Kwanda, slowly ratcheting up the tension to breaking point.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Sexual repression and coming of age prove a dangerous mix for a small community.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2017; Director: John Trengove; Writer: John Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana, Malusi Bengu; Stars: Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini)

Full review See: John Trengove interview about The Wound

You Were Never Really Here

Review preview for You Were Never Really Here

Nothing plays out as you expect, with Ramsay maintaining an unsettling staccato that keeps both the action and the viewer on edge.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A tormented assassin tries to rescue a girl but trouble lies ahead.

(Country: US, France; Year: 2017; Director: Lynne Ramsay; Writer: Lynne Ramsay, based on the novel by Jonathan Ames; Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov, Alessandro Nivola, Alex Manette, John Doman, Judith Roberts, Jason Babinsky, Kate Easton, Frank Pando, Leigh Dunham, Madison Arnold, Dante Pereira-Olson, Jonathan Wilde, Scott Price, Silvia Pena)

Full review