Glasgow Film Festival — A–Z of films

The film delivers fairly well in terms of fights, the brutal realism of which will have strong appeal for some genre fans.

This is Angelou at her most magnetic.

There’s sadness here for isolation and a grief that goes beyond the loss of a single life once lived. There’s also a heightened sense of the smaller absurdities of existence.

Where other films might emphasise skill and natural ability, it's patience and persistence that are shown to pay off here.

Black Bear is a tremendously pretentious film but Plaza feels real and keeps it interesting, delivering one of 2020's most impressive performances.

At just 76 minutes, it has the feel of an extended short, that could either do with condensing back or extending further into the psychological drivers of the two main characters .

Alongside fascinating details of what their acts of espionage actually involved and how they went about them, this film explores the way that the Cuban skies built up their cover and the challenges they faced in maintaining it.

Wiseman has stuck around to the point where people forget that he's there, so we see people as they habitually present themselves to one another, rather than more self-conscious performances.

Rather than following somebody raised a girl who is learning to live as a boy, it's about a boy who, all too quickly, has to start learning to be a man.

Passably entertaining as long as you haven't seen any other films.

Lovingly rendered, however, with songs that have a clear appeal for K-rock fans.

The Icarus Oscar-winner's analysis is robust and well-illustrated and he moves at a pace, even if the scoring from Adam Peters is over-insistent in places.

This is one film about pursuing a dream that might actually be useful to people thinking of doing so themselves.

Almost everybody here is hiding something - sometimes from themselves.

In a festival selection that included a number of feminist works and perspectives this was a standout.

Morrison's work was created without prejudice and finds the same beauty in soot-stained stone as in stormy skies, if one is ready to see it. Director Anthony Baxter endeavours to take the same approach with this documentary.

Golubovic wants us to feel the weight of all this, and we certainly do, as cinematographer Aleksandar Ilic not only captures the countryside of Serbia but also a sense of dilapidation.

The simplest of pleasures bring the greatest moments of joy in Reichardt’s latest film.

Bathily is superb, approaching his role with confidence but capturing the freshness and naivety essential to the character.

The language captured here speaks volumes. The animals’ faces, their reactions and movements, remind doubters of their sentient nature in every shot.

Shot in a very straightforward and open style, this documentary never feels forced but simply allows stories to emerge naturally over time.

With a ready wit to balance the gentle melody of the language, these are tales that will sweep you away.

It's a far from perfect film, but it's a lot better than the critical consensus suggests, and at the heart of it is a fascinating character study.

For all the wealth of material here, it's ultimately the human story at its centre that makes the film so compelling.

The whole place feels dislocated, not just in its sense of place but also of time.

A film brimming with freshness in its ideas and their execution.

Everything is beautifully realised on screen and there are some simply stunning set pieces.

A film which is there not just to be watched, but to be experienced.

Despite Rahim's excellent work, the real standout here is Benedict Cumberbatch.

An eclectic but, generally, engaging mix.

The idea of a younger family member gradually forming a connection with an older one is a constant in cinema but it has a purity here that is shorn of unnecessary sentiment.

By keeping the secondary cast to a minimum, Young allows us to share Donna's loneliness.

Thoughtful and intriguing, while suitable for all ages.

My Wonderful Wanda picks just the right moments to introduce real emotion into the mix.

Canales gives an intensely committed performance in a role which saw her strapped down on a freezing cold floor for hours.

Park is on fine form throughout.

With a stunning central performance which draws viewers in against their will, this is a study of compulsive violence presented not as a source of thrills but as a tragedy.

With a focus throughout on Poly's achievements as a writer, the film makes room for her to speak for herself as much as possible: to be heard, not just seen.

Merricoffer's performance will keep you rivetted.

Calling it a plain melodrama would be reductive for such a thrilling piece of cinema.

Mixing very dark comedy with a distinctly Irish quirkiness, Redemption Of A Rogue will be altogether too much for some viewers, but if it works for you then it's likely to entertain you a good deal.

Mikkelsen anchors this movie with a performance that allows emotional turmoil to glint through Markus' regimented facade, playing off the impressive combination of anger and grief that Gaderberg brings to Mathilde.

With beautifully drawn characters and superb performances all round, Icíar Bollaín's enchanting comedy draws viewers into a world where romance is not dependent on a committed relationship and love takes many different forms.

The film fails to acknowledge its own absurdity and that, as it turns out, is okay, because May is more than capable of carrying it as it is.

The richness of all this is something that will intrigue viewers with an interest in the history of Glasgow, Aberdeen and Manchester as cities, as well as appealing to football fans.

Artfully confected and directed with a light touch, this is a layered yet knowingly insubstantial creation, un amour choux.

An interesting contribution to an increasing focus, in Chinese film, on women's lives lived outside traditional frameworks and without traditionally assumed comforts.

A cheery little film with a subject which will be dear to the hearts of many viewers.

A storyline that sometimes feels rushed or contrived is balanced here by a solid performance from Hartley and a tender one from Barlow.

A satisfying action thriller.

Rasoulof schools us in the ins and outs of a judicial system in which not only those who are directly sentenced to death can find themselves condemned as a result.

Right from the outset, this film zeroes in on Tina's natural charisma.

Much of the humour in the film depends on contrasting viewers' expectations of rural life with the paraphernalia of Sixties spy movies and Seventies cop shows.

This little known story will fascinate people with an interest in wartime history.

A remarkably candid and intimate look at two men who lived a good part of their lives in public.

The dystopian stories in Spanish director Chino Moya's feature debut nest within one another like a series of Russian dolls - dolls that have been carved by someone with a soft-spot for JG Ballard.

Particularly inspiring here are the collaborations between women, whether composers, musicians, engineers or a blend of these.

Silly though it my be on the surface, the film's success is not just down to luck.

Hong Eui-jeong directs with such assurance and such flair that it's hard to believe this is her first feature.

What comes across most clearly is the anger at its core.

Well realised and engaging, with impressive production design.

A superb example of art flourishing within constraints.

Heather Croall's film will charm Australian and Glaswegian audiences alike.