Cheltenham International Film Festival — A–Z of films

Binoche gives her all, stripping away any vestiges of actressy pretence to assimilate herself in the community while at the same time investing her performance with an authentic conviction.

Although this film has no body count, it carries with it all the danger of an erotic thriller.

Jordan's film stands out as a beacon of humanity.

The performances are all first class, with any one of the three leads capable of carrying a film on her own.

A crisp, downbeat, clever exploration of the issues, combined with a whodunnit.

The balance of Javier Bardem's central performance as the CEO of the title is what elevates this from being another run-of-the-mill satire.

Panahi and his actors shift through emotions so smoothly, you barely notice them until they have immersed you.

Writer/director Hany Abu-Assad emphasises the menace in the mundane.

With impressive cinematography at every stage, the film hinges on two magnificent slow, circular sequences, one in the middle and one at the end, each of which resets the narrative.

Jones has been turning in consistently good work for years now and it’s high time he had a role like this. The art of it lies in how he keeps us alert to his character’s dangerous potential without ever letting us lose sight of his humanity.

The movie's two main strengths are Max Schreck's compelling performance, as the eerily inhuman vampire, and Murnau's unparallelled ability to blend naturalistic and expressionistic elements.

Eyre’s direction is flawless and Patrick Marber’s screenplay perfectly pitched.

The first-time director shows an adept grip when it comes to the rhythms of her craft, letting silence or specific sounds break out at unexpected moments, including a gripping scene when all we can hear is the spring and creak of the uneven bars.

A potent rejoinder to the hypermasculine, explicitly transphobic values of the Bolsonaro regime.

What Sentsov does really well here is to show us the humanity which lies within even the most monstrous of these men.

The air is heavy with irony, light with laughter and alive with love.

When Martin demonstrates his talent he is celebrated, but what Sandahl is interested in is the weight of all this other experience which fans don’t normally see.

Profoundly unsettling, richly atmospheric, a milestone in the development of cinematic ‘grammar’ as well as an edge-of-the-seat horror movie to rival the best.

Both girls deliver exceptional performances in the powerful opening section, and if the film struggles to make the same impact afterwards, that serves to bring Hasna’s loss into sharp relief.

Pourfaraj is superb in the lead, his Massoud stiff-backed, primly moustached, yet achingly human.