Flare — A–Z of films

There is plenty here for viewers to relate to, whether or not they’ve ever gone to those extremes. There’s also an ample supply of humour, with laugh-out-loud moments occurring in the bleakest situations.

Despite the anger at the unfairness of what has gone before, this is ultimately a warm-hearted, life-affirming film.

Mackey is a simmering, sullen, potent lead, keeping viewers on edge even as she lounges in the sun.

From the start, there is something different about this film.

It tells what could be a goofy story, about awkward teenagers obsessed with a TV series called The Pink Opaque, but portrays it as an ominous, nightmarish mindfuck.

Thorne still comes across as being at the stage where many aspects of her work are experimental. She’s yet to settle into her style.

The film is shot in gorgeous shades of noir by Luciana Baseggio, and has a deliciously dark, sultry score.

Throughout the film there is a sense of play, and even as the story evolves to take on darker material, something of that lightness, that happy-go-lucky quality remains.

Shot over 17 years, it mingles intimate personal moments with visceral concert footage, its musical sequences knitted together with some of the best editing you’re likely to see this year.

There’s also an emperor’s new clothes feeling to the general style, look closely and there's very little there.

The film hinges on amazing vocal work by Lalama.

Sandbag Dam is powered by stellar, deeply lived-in performances by the young and budding actors.

Sung’s own camera plays tricks, placing objects too close in the foreground so that parts of an image are out of focus, like an incomplete memory.

While Verseau talks about how crucial the surgery was to her mental health, the complexity of the emotions experienced afterwards is also made clear.

Through the lens of the men’s romance, Onir takes in a good deal more, exploring the complex realities behind assumptions of prejudice and the myriad factors that go into making each of us who we are.

Greenbaum pinpoints the tension between the hate eating away at parts of US society and the tremendous potential that the country still has.