Leeds International Film Festival — A–Z of films

The long wordless opening of 2001 remains one of the most beautiful sequences on film.

There's some great black comedy here, at times spectacularly cruel.

Every bit as interesting to listen to as it is to watch.

An authentic, no-holds barred roller coaster ride, which gives fresh hope for a new wave of British cinema.

There’s is some intriguing material about the history of science here.

Basatneh is a compelling presence in the film and a strong reminder that youth activism is alive and well.

Praised in some quarters for young writer/director Buddy Giovinazzo's virulent veracity, it's the sort of unapologetic scuzz-fest whose ultra-low budget becomes a serendipitous badge of honour.

A collage of archival footage, carefully curated to create a provocative think piece.

Ovashvili tells the story with spare dialogue and absorbing attention to detail.

Saura's film acquires much of its lasting power from the combination of Torrent's dark-eyed, solemn gaze and its representation of how an impressionable child can have their imagination activated by events they don't fully understand.

Arguably, the film feels the absence of the broader context of Garrell's life.

The film contains grotesque violence and slapstick humour in a nonetheless affectionate take on the horror genre.

Both a judgement on a country and the arrival of a new voice in Spanish cinema.

Bob may have the beefed up body of a bouncer but Hardy continually emphasises his softer, hesitant side, his body language screaming flight even though he is built to fight.

The film is laced with both deadpan and sly humour, and is laugh out loud funny.

It is one of the most shattering anti-war movies ever made, a masterpiece so deeply sad and unrelenting that some may find it hard to watch.

It will revolt some viewers, who won't see what's funny about it at all, but others will love it.

The kind of period drama that screams “festival launch” but doesn’t trust its audience enough to tell its story subtly or with any surprises.

The story is sillier than any animation since Jem & The Holograms, but is perfectly crafted to mix with Daft Punk's music.

You should be puzzled.

A meditative miniature of hypnotic grace.

The mood is that of an office in which at any moment, anything is possible, a little bit like in the films created here.

The performances are powerful, unforgettable, like ice in the wind

The Last Circus is worth a watch for the unbridled imagination on display but ultimately it falls apart as much as its main protagonist.

The comedy shifts and jumps with ease from the wintry beach to the pool and into our hearts due to the acute timing of the performances.

Purely observational though it is, this is a film that becomes devastating in its intensity.

The film, like the cable car, is suspended and moving constantly between two points - not the embarkment station, which gives way to the lives of the present or the exit gateway to the temple of the past - but a continuum of fact and construction.

Berlanga excels at the chaos of everyday life - the messiness of human interactions and the way in which lives randomly interconnect.

As a study of one man's narcissistic motivations, Curry's film is taut but the bigger picture remains frustratingly out of reach.

It is funny and serious by turns... full of striking and humorous images.

Considerably more enjoyable than it ought to be.

The flowing feel of the sea runs through Moore's animation, just as illuminated manuscript ran through Kells.

Although an undoubted classic of the period - and featuring one of cinema's best child performances in Torrent - the allusive and elusive style of the film is difficult to engage with.

Almost perfectly constructed... a stunning piece of filmmaking.

The film's combination of comedy (Berlanga) and melodrama (Bardem) is rooted in a realistic, cash-strapped milieu that was unusual in Spanish cinema at the time.

The way Sissako exposes the double standard makes the Jihadists' behavior no less threatening, on the contrary.

Like rap without rhythm, Tokyo Tribes is missing something vital: plot and characters.

A lot of the film's subversiveness comes from the juxtaposition between what the narrator says (and you can almost hear the chuckle in Rey's voice) and what we see.

Although darkly funny the film also has strong undercurrents of genuine emotion - Gloria's despair is real rather than comic.

Brings a sense of immediacy to events now far away in time.

In this fish-out-of-water comedy, mundanity is key.

Witherspoon completely inhabits the role.

Ceylan explores such themes as moral responsibility, class and altruism with rigour.

A messy but highly enjoyable romp that takes a sideswipe at modern Spanish attitudes and the country's economic turmoil.

It takes real skill to make a film this stupid this effectively.

A strong film with an impressive central performance by up and coming star Asa Butterfield.