Skip to main content

Flare · 2019

Flare 2019

Hearts

Programme

17 films · 8 reviews

Jump to a film

The Blond One

When the reserved Gabo moves in with self-assured ladies’ man Juan, the two are initially hesitant in getting to know each other. But as the bond between them slowly grows, so do the lingering glances and fleeting touches. As time passes, it becomes clear they are powerless to stop the inevitable.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2018; Director: Marco Berger; Writer: Marco Berger; Stars: Gaston Re, Alfonso Baron, Malena Irusta)

Carmen And Lola

(Country: Spain; Year: 2018; Director: Arantxa Echevarria; Writer: Arantxa Echevarria; Stars: Moreno Borja, Rafaela León, Zaira Morales, Rosy Rodriguez, Carolina Yuste, Moreno Borja, Rafaela León, Zaira Morales, Rosy Rodriguez, Carolina Yuste)

Consequences

Review preview for Consequences

Shooting under predominantly grey skies in landscapes built of concrete, chipboard and peeling plaster, director Darko Stante invites the audience to share Andrej's feelings of confinement and hopelessness.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A teenager is forced to choose between a charismatic young man he meets in a detention centre and his own sense of moral integrity.

(Country: Slovenia; Year: 2018; Director: Darko Stante; Writer: Darko Stante; Stars: Matej Zemljic, Timon Sturbej, Gasper Markun, Lovro Zafred, Lea Cok, Rosana Hribar, Dejan Spasic, Blaz Setnikar, Iztok Drabik Jug, Matjaz Pikalo, Igor Matijevic, Maja Sever, Jette Ostan Vejrup, Urban Kuntaric, Dominik Vodopivec)

Full review

Friend (Rafiki)

Review preview for Friend

Touching and brave.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
When they fall in love, two girls from rival families must choose between being together and being safe.

(Country: Kenya, South Africa; Year: 2018; Director: Wanuri Kahiu; Writer: Jenna Cato Bass, Wanuri Kahiu; Stars: Patricia Amira, Muthoni Gathecha, Jimmy Gathu, Nice Githinji, Charlie Karumi, Patricia Kihoro)

Full review

From Zero To I Love You

Review preview for From Zero To I Love You

Spearman draws his characters well, putting relatively little focus on the romance - which the actors convey just fine in the space they have - and instead exploring the way each of them is affected as a person.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
When Peter bumps into handsome businessman Jack in a gay bar, they begin a passionate relationship, in spite of Jack being married. Peter keeps ending up with married men and realises that if his life is ever going to get better, something needs to change.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Doug Spearman; Writer: Doug Spearman; Stars: Darryl Stephens, Scott Bailey, Keili Lefkovitz)

Full review

The Heiresses (Las Herederas)

Review preview for The Heiresses

This film displays a deftness of touch.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
When Chiquita is sent to prison for debt, her introverted girlfriend Chela is left to her own devices. Chela offers rich women a taxi service in her old car. As she explores the outside world she also starts to focus on her own desires.

(Country: Paraguay, Uruguay, Germany, Brazil, Norway; Year: 2018; Director: Marcelo Martinessi; Writer: Marcelo Martinessi; Stars: Ana Brun, Margarita Irún, Ana Ivanova, Nilda Gonzalez, María Martins)

Full review See: Marcello Martinessi on cultural conservatism and filmmaking honesty in The Heiresses

Men Of Hard Skin

A young man who has been abused by a priest for years embarks on a secret affair with one of the male workers on his father’s property.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2019; Director: José Celestino Campusano; Writer: José Celestino Campusano; Stars: Javier Wall, Germán Tarantino, Claudio Medina)

Papi Chulo

Review preview for Papi Chulo

Beautifully written and sensitively directed.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A TV weatherman in an emotional crisis strikes up a platonic friendship with a married migrant worker.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2018; Director: John Butler; Writer: John Butler; Stars: Matt Bomer, Alejandro Patiño, Elena Campbell-Martinez, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Michael Shepperd, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Shaughn Buchholz, Tom Beyer, Irene White, Caitlin Kimball, Marisa Szczepan, Brandon Kyle Goodman, Blaine Swen, Martin Morales, Nick Bush)

Full review

Red Cow

As her widowed father’s religious zeal becomes more extreme, a young woman finds herself falling for the new girl in her small Jewish community.

(Country: Israel; Year: 2018; Director: Tsivia Barkai; Writer: Tsivia Barkai; Stars: Avigayil Koevary, Gal Toren, Moran Rosenblatt)

Roman

50-year-old Román is comfortably married with a wife and daughter. His life seems simple until a young male colleague of his daughter’s appears on the scene and he falls head over heels for him - only to discover that young men often want more than one outlet for their desires.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2018; Director: Majo Staffolani; Writer: Majo Staffolani; Stars: Carlo Argento, Gastón Cocchiarale, Gabriela Izcovich)

Socrates

Review preview for Socrates

Not a huge amount may happen in terms of plot and Moratto keeps his storyline light on its feet, but the situation and emotions feel real and raw.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
After his mother’s sudden death, 15-year-old Socrates must learn how to fend for himself in São Paulo.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2018; Director: Alex Moratto; Writer: Thayná Mantesso, Alex Moratto; Stars: Christian Malheiros, Tales Ordakji)

Full review See: Interview with Alexandre Moratto about Socrates

Splinters

A confident lesbian who proudly came out in the years before she left home now faces unresolved feelings about her father, along with other family issues.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2018; Director: Thom Fitzgerald; Writer: Thom Fitzgerald; Stars: Sofia Banzhaf, Shelley Thompson, Callum Dunphy)

Sunburn

Set in a posh rental villa on a scorchingly hot summer day, four friends wait for a fifth.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2018; Director: Vicente Alves do Ó; Writer: Vicente Alves do Ó; Stars: Ricardo Pereira, Oceana Basílio, Nuno Pardal, Rafael Gomes, Ricardo Barbosa, Ricardo Pereira, Oceana Basílio, Nuno Pardal, Rafael Gomes, Ricardo Barbosa)

Tell It To The Bees

When mill worker Lydia is abandoned by her philandering husband, she struggles to pay the rent and feed herself and son Charlie. Local doctor Jean is one of the few to help and a friendship develops that blossoms into a romance that will scandalise the town.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Annabel Jankel; Stars: Anna Paquin, Holliday Grainger, Gregor Selkirk)

Tucked

Review preview for Tucked

Nesbitt is magnificent, letting us see the weight of all those years of regret and self-hatred but also the joy that comes from approaching life in a new way and helping somebody else gain confidence.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A ageing drag queen who has just received a terminal cancer diagnosis discovers a new love for life when he befriends a younger queen who is just starting out.

(Country: UK; Year: 2018; Director: Jamie Patterson; Writer: Jamie Patterson; Stars: Derren Nesbitt, Jordan Stephens, April Pearson, Steve Oram, Lucy-Jane Quinlan)

Full review See: Interview with Jamie Patterson about Tucked, part two , Interview with Jamie Patterson about Tucked, part one

Two In The Bush: A Love Story

A young bisexual woman discovers the joys of polyamory.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Laura Madalinski; Writer: Kelly Haas; Stars: Sarah Mitchell, Travis Delgado, Caitlin Aase)

We The Animals

Review preview for We The Animals

The story, such as it is, has the dreamy flow of childhood remembered, but though the honeyed tones of the magic hour are often used, there's never a glossing over the toughness of life being faced by these free-range kids.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Manny, Joel and Jonah tear their way through childhood and push against the volatile love of their parents as Jonah embraces a world of imagination.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Jeremiah Zagar; Writer: Daniel Kitrosser, Jeremiah Zagar, based on the book by Justin Torres; Stars: Raúl Castillo, Sheila Vand, Evan Rosado, Isaiah Kristian, Josiah Santiago)

Full review