Locarno Film Festival — A–Z of films

If this weren’t a documentary, these five people would surely find themselves nestled in the pages of some postmodern epic.

Takes a bawdy idea and turns it into something far more complex.

It is by turns sad and disturbing - with occasional bouts of highly dubious dark humour.

Quiet and unassuming yet making some devastating points, Hamaguchi's film is shot with deceptive simplicity.

This film feels fresh and real even to those of us who have been there.

Lost And Beautiful is filmed on expired 16mm film stock, in keeping with its themes, and the result is a delicate, watery palette which gives it a unique beauty.

As cool as a multi-coloured popsicle.

Makes adroit use of the Beautiful Game's resonance in people's lives as a route in to a personal story.

There are elements of courthouse film and elements of police procedural here, but the overall mood is closer to that of a Cold War spy thriller.

The film persuades viewers to zero in on the details by using its second scenario to invite constant subconscious questioning of what has changed.

There’s lot of music along the way, thrown in to the mix in a none too subtle manner, although Streep manages to carry off most of it with verve and true grit.

Some just won't manage to connect but others will relish its intelligence and find it deeply moving.

Ever since Donnie Darko it's been clear that Gyllenhaal is something special, and here he really gets the chance to shine.

Though the events unfold forward, the feel of Summertime is that of a pleasantly painful memory recalled backwards, clutching you emotionally as if you were looking at a faded photo album.

Perfectly watchable and occasionally touching despite itself.

A beautifully modulated and measured odyssey.