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Leeds International Film Festival · 2022

Leeds International Film Festival 2022

Official Selection

Programme

19 films · 15 reviews

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Aftersun

Review preview for Aftersun

Wells shows how interactions that were solid within their own moment become more ambiguous as time has gone by and the adult understanding of Sophie has grown.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
Sometime in the Nineties, somewhere in a Turkish coastal resort, a young, divorced father is spending the vacation with his daughter pre-teen daughter Sophie.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2022; Director: Charlotte Wells; Writer: Charlotte Wells; Stars: Paul Mescal, Frankie Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Kayleigh Coleman, Sally Messham, Harry Perdios, Ethan Smith, Ruby Thompson, Brooklyn Toulson)

Full review

Alcarràs

Review preview for Alcarràs

Simón takes a loose approach to the narrative, letting the small dramas of family play out alongside larger ones, giving as much value to the transient pleasures of fresh peach juice and cooked snails as the tensions between siblings.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The Solé family spends the summer picking peaches - but this year’s crop may well be their last as new owners plan to replace the peach trees with solar panels and the family’s livelihood is threatened.

(Country: Spain, Italy; Year: 2022; Director: Carla Simón; Writer: Carla Simón; Stars: Jordi Pujol Dolcet, Anna Otin, Xènia Roset, Albert Bosch, Ainet Jounou, Josep Abad, Montse Oró, Carles Cabós, Berta Pipó, Isaac Rovira, Joel Rovira)

Full review

America

Review preview for America

The performances are subtly realised by the three main stars.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
Eli works as a swimming coach in Chicago but news of his father’s death necessitates his return to his native Israel. His decision to contact a friend from his childhood sets in motion a series of events that have a lasting impact on everyone’s lives.

(Country: Israel, Germany, Czech Republic; Year: 2022; Director: Ofir Raul Graizer; Writer: Ofir Raul Graizer; Stars: Oshrat Ingadashet, Michael Moshonov, Ofri Biterman, Moni Moshonov, Irit Sheleg, Evelyn Kaplun, Ruba Blal, Lukas Henri Kropat, Seumas F. Sargent, Udi Razzin, Daniel Moreshset, Haim Cohen-Kagan, Josh Sagie, Ben Sela, Galy Reshef)

Full review

The Blue Caftan

Review preview for The Blue Caftan

Covert glances and dauntless gestures between the three protagonists, that keep us guessing about who knows what, weave a web as diaphanous as the stitching on fine cloth.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Halim and Mina own a small family tailor shop that specializes in sewing ceremonial caftans. Since traditional hand-crafted work is time-consuming, Halim decides to hire an assistant, Youssef. The presence of the attractive young man arouses long-suppressed feelings in Halim, something that does not go unnoticed by his wife Mina.

(Country: France, Morocco, Belgium, Denmark; Year: 2022; Director: Maryam Touzani; Writer: Maryam Touzani, Nabil Ayouch; Stars: Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missioui)

Full review See: Maryam Touzani on the inspiration for The Blue Caftan and its emotional fabric

Blue Jean

Review preview for Blue Jean

Everything about McEwen’s performance sings with stress, from the way she reacts to casual comments to the manner in which she lights increasing numbers of cigarettes.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A schoolteacher is forced to live a double life against the backdrop of Thatcher's Britain.

(Country: UK; Year: 2022; Director: Georgia Oakley; Writer: Georgia Oakley; Stars: Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes, Lydia Page, Stacy Abalogun, Deka Walmsley, Amy Booth-Steel, Gavin Kitchen, Farrah Cave, Lucy Halliday, Lainey Shaw, Aoife Kennan, Elizabeth Shaw, Edmund Wiseman, Emily Fairweather, Kate Soulsby)

Full review

Broker

Review preview for Broker

More pedantic than poetic, making for an unfulfilling watch.

Dora Leu · 2 out of 5
Drama following a group of people brought together by "baby post boxes" used to help abandoned babies.

(Country: Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda; Writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda; Stars: Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, Lee Ji-eun, Lee Joo-young)

Full review

Casque d'Or

Review preview for Casque d'Or

Becker trusts his actors and their small movements and gestures to portray meaning beyond the dialogue.

Robert Munro · 4 out of 5
In turn of the 20th century France, working girl Marie snubs the affections of the local gangsters for Georges Manda, a reformed hoodlum himself, with unpleasant consequences.

(Country: France; Year: 1952; Director: Jacques Becker; Writer: Jacques Becker, Jacques Companéez; Stars: Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Claude Dauphin, Raymond Bussières.)

Full review See: Bertrand Tavernier in conversation on Jacques Becker, Claude Sautet, Jean-Pierre Melville, Voyage À Travers Le Cinéma Français

Close

Review preview for Close

Loose camerawork from Frank van den Eeden enhances the intimate, raw spirit.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Two best friends find their bond upset by schoolmates.

(Country: Belgium, Netherlands, France; Year: 2022; Director: Lukas Dhont; Writer: Lukas Dhont, Angelo Tijssens; Stars: Émilie Dequenne, Léa Drucker, Kevin Janssens, Igor van Dessel, Marc Weiss, Eden Dambrine, Gustav De Waele)

Full review

Corsage

Review preview for Corsage

Vicky Krieps...is in excellent form and up to the task of presenting to us the icon in all her idiosyncrasies.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
A period drama about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as Sisi.

(Country: Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg; Year: 2022; Director: Marie Kreutzer; Writer: Marie Kreutzer; Stars: Vicky Krieps, Florian Teichtmeister, Katharina Lorenz, Finnegan Oldfield, Jeanne Werner, Alma Hasun, Manuel Rubey, Colin Morgan, Rosa Hajjaj, Lilly Marie Tschörtner , Aaron Friesz, Ivana Urban, Raphael von Bargen, Alexander Pschill, Regina Fritsch, Raphael Nicholas)

Full review See: Marie Kreutzer in conversation on Empress Elisabeth of Austria with King Ludwig II of Bavaria, Luchino Visconti, Finnegan Oldfield’s Louis Le Prince and the biographies of Sisi , Marie Kreutzer in conversation on Corsage, Vicky Krieps as Sisi, singer/songwriter Camille, and the look of the film , Vicky Krieps in conversation on Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, Romy Schneider, and Margarethe von Trotta’s Bachmann & Frisch

Godland

Review preview for Godland

To refer to something as ‘pure cinema’ is uninspired, but Godland is one of those rare films that has some untranslatable quality that speaks for itself.

Dora Leu · 4 out of 5
In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest travels to a remote part of Iceland to build a church and photograph its people. But the deeper he goes into the unforgiving landscape, the more he strays from his purpose, his mission and morality.

(Country: Denmark, Iceland, France, Sweden; Year: 2022; Director: Hlynur Pálmason; Writer: Hlynur Pálmason; Stars: Hilmar Guðjónsson, Ída Mekkín Hlynsdóttir, Elliott Crosset Hove, Jacob Lohmann, Waage Sandø, Vic Carmen Sonne)

Full review

Joyland

Review preview for Joyland

It is not so much individual people who cause the problems but rather the constricting cultural circumstances that dictate everyone must play their allocated role.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
As the Ranas, a happily patriarchal joint family, yearn for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theater and falls for an ambitious trans starlet. Their impossible love story illuminates the entire family's desire for a sexual rebellion.

(Country: Pakistan; Year: 2022; Director: Saim Sadiq; Writer: Saim Sadiq; Stars: Sana Jafri, Ali Junejo)

Full review See: Sounding it out - Nathan Ruyle on the new revolution in sound design , Oliver Ridge on Joyland and the Corner Office

Love Life

Taeko and her husband, Jiro, are living a peaceful existence with son, Keita. A tragic accident brings the boys' father, Park, back into her life, Taeko throws herself into helping this deaf and homeless man to cope with pain and guilt.

(Country: Japan, France; Year: 2022; Director: Kôji Fukada; Writer: Kôji Fukada; Stars: Fumino Kimura, Kento Nagayama, Atom Sunada)

My Small Land

Review preview for My Small Land

Arashi is a model with Middle Eastern roots, making her screen début, which is difficult to belief given the quality of her performance in this complex, multifaceted role.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A Kurdish girl in Japan finds her life turned upside down when her family loses its refugee status.

(Country: France, Japan; Year: 2022; Director: Emma Kawawada; Writer: Emma Kawawada; Stars: Lina Arashi, Takashi Fujii, Sei Hiraizumi, Chizuru Ikewaki)

Full review

Next Sohee (Da-eum-so-hee)

Review preview for Next Sohee

There’s a real sense of fury behind this film.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
High school student Sohee starts job training at a call centre, but she faces pressure of greedy company which leads to her death. Detective Oh Yu-jin, who has something in common with Sohee, starts to follow traces to reveal the truth.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: July Jung; Writer: July Jung; Stars: Kim Si-Eun, Bae Doona)

Full review See: Interview with July Jung about Next Sohee

No Bears

Review preview for No Bears

At one point it seems “Panahi” could easily step from one country to the other, but as his film shows, leaving is not always an easy option.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The director appears as himself, relocated to a rural border town to remotely oversee the making of a new film in Turkey, the story of which comes to sharply parallel disturbing events that begin to occur around him.

(Year: 2022; Director: Jafar Panahi; Writer: Jafar Panahi; Stars: Jafar Panahi, Mina Kavani, Bülent Keser, Vahid Mobasheri, Sinan Yusufoglu, Naser Hashemi, Bakhtiyar Panjeei, Reza Heydari, Mina Khosrovani)

Full review

A Piece Of Sky (Drii Winter)

Review preview for A Piece Of Sky

The film could not be more Swiss if it were made out of chocolate, yet it feels real, organic, a natural expression of the world in which it is set.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A young woman commits to standing by her husband after he is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.

(Country: Switzerland, Germany; Year: 2022; Director: Michael Koch; Writer: Michael Koch; Stars: Josef Aschwanden, Daniela Barmettler, Michèle Brand, Simon Wisler, Elin Zgraggen)

Full review See: Interview with Michael Koch and Michèle Brand about A Piece Of Sky

The Plains

Documentary about a Melbourne car share.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2022; Director: David Easteal; Writer: David Easteal; Stars: Andrew Rakowski, David Easteal, Cheri LeCornu, Inga Rakowski, Jon Faine, Sarah Jane Bell, Henry Belot, Julian McMahon, Christos Tsiolkas)

Return To Dust

In a rural Chinese village, reticent farmer Ma and a disabled woman named Guiying lead lives that are similarly sheltered and difficult. Their arranged marriage seems destined to make things worse, but instead they discover a shared purpose.

(Country: China; Year: 2022; Director: Li Ruijun; Writer: Li Ruijun; Stars: Wu Renlin, Hai-Qing)

We Might As Well Be Dead (Wir könnten genauso gut tot sein, Iris)

The disappearance of a dog and the sudden isolation of a security guard’s daughter start a bizarre chain of events in an apartment complex obsessed with keeping up appearances.

(Country: Germany, Romania; Year: 2022; Director: Natalia Sinelnikova; Writer: Viktor Gallandi, Natalia Sinelnikova; Stars: Ioana Iacob, Pola Geiger, Jörg Schüttauf, Siir Eloglu, Susanne Wuest, Knut Berger, Moritz Jahn, Mina Sadic, Felix Jordan, Ludwig Brix)