London Film Festival — A–Z of films

This is a delightful, multi-layered film which has much more to say than is apparent on the surface.

What comes through this epic tale of migration and hardship is the Pamir's sense of humour.

An astonishingly powerful story.

Assisted by the remarkable cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto, Iñárritu moves seamlessly from the arid isolation of a Moroccan village to the gleaming modernity of Tokyo to the colorful chaos of Tijuana, his camera alternately capturing scenes of hope and des

Issue-driven drama has rarely been so polemic as it is in this fierce attack on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s role in African poverty.

Uniformly brilliant.

Estevez uses Bobby’s words too much, but you can’t blame him, because Kennedy’s compassion and sympathy for the underprivileged shines.

The unconscious is never suppressed and the id runs riot

A hilarious screwball comedy

Black Gold presents a richly detailed portrait of the coffee industry, all the way from Ethiopia to the barista competitions and fashionable coffee houses of the West.

A tender, temperately dramatic look at a young person exploring his burgeoning feelings and adolescent sexuality.

Just as the constantly falling snow leaches the colour from the backdrop, so the emotion bleeds out of the film.

Breaking And Entering feels genuinely homegrown, with an intelligent script, beautifully handled by actors and director.

Director Eric Steel has made a wise decision to avoid the use of narrative voiceover, in favour of a well considered soundtrack.

Buenos Aires, 1977 is harrowing at times, terrifying at others.

The script is well layered and clearly is designed to secure repeat viewings.

A polished, satisfyingly involving whole that avoids any mainstream trappings and credits the audience with intelligence and maturity.

As a character study, this feels as real as a knife cut, slicing to the heart of shattered dreams, long-forgotten hopes and aspirations which may go unfulfilled.

Days of Glory is a great film, thoroughly deserving of the award attention that it has received.

Dans Paris is about love – between brothers, father, girlfriends – and suicide... adding dollops of languor and a good deal of sex.

The plotline’s complexity is matched by the depth of the issues explored, with the cast uniformly coming up trumps.

A rich tapestry, which delves into how our reminiscences work.

Despite all the blood on screen, Fast Food Nation is a strangely anaemic movie.

Its depictions of the callousness and paranoia which can develop in war are intelligently handled, yet they make it difficult for the viewer to feel much real concern for the fate of these people.

One of the finest book to film adaptations of all time.

Finely balanced and well-argued, this is a work, which like its protagonist Ai Qin, has a quiet strength.

The film is as introspective as the man, while explanation is as minimalist as the screenplay.

Half Nelson is a believeable film, depressing at times but smart and moving.

A film of exquisite beauty, shocking power, delirious intellect and wicked humour.

On paper, Invisible Waves may sound like just another Asian action policier or revenge thriller, but in reality it is altogether more abstract and elusive than that.

Tsai has erected a somnolent reverie on alienation, desire and restlessness.

How refreshing to see a film made there with care and attention to authenticity.

Though most of the story is unrelentingly grim, it's always watchable, absorbing despite its depressing atmosphere.

Brimming with superb performances.

A breath of fresh air for the British film industry.

It is a brave film that portrays Idi Amin not simply as a monster, but as a complex individual.

Longing is an interesting film in that it doesn't concern itself so much with the morality of its protagonist's actions as with their practical consequences. It provides a far more effective demonstration of the destructiveness of those actions.

Svankmajer makes the whole world a madhouse and all humanity its patients.

Gaying by numbers.

Finds humour in pushing the envelope of reality.

Henry Selick directs with clever staging and infinite patience. The musical numbers are catchy, boisterous and hugely entertaining.

A deft and intelligent film which uses its central romance as the key to a much more in-depth study of the way two lonely people fit into the world around them.

Kurt does all the talking, which can be annoying, because he’s a boring guy. Mark is boring, too, but in a passive way.

Prepare to be absorbed, fascinated, disturbed.

The minor characters are beautifully realised, intriguing and often sympathetic despite their sometime unpleasantness.

An emotional, thrilling, disturbing and beautiful film.

At nearly two and half hours long Placido has gone for an epic Italian sweep of friendship, violence and political corruption.

The film makes no compromises to its audience.

Reprise is difficult to watch. It demonstrates an originality and energy which requires control to make sense of itself.

Schmid's unsensational approach pays off, as Michaela's 'possession' reaches its climax.

These are the sort of people we usually look at from a distance, appearing briefly to be manipulated, laughed at and dismissed on TV talk shows. Here they get to speak on their own terms.

An affectionate, thoroughly enjoyable biography and tribute.

Funny, sensitive, engaging, and full of real characters whom you can really care about.

If you only see one short film this year - make it this one.

The Singer is a healthy reminder of the unequivocal natural force that Depardieu can summon when he's in focus and on target.

The real power lies in his singularly creative script.

There is a menacing undercurrent.

There are issues here and there are positive messages if you care to look, but the darkness before dawn lingers like a late mist and subplots tend to remain unresolved.

A superb testament to inventiveness.

Like a beautiful piece of filigree it is the detail that makes this short so beautiful, both in terms of its look and its narrative.

With painterly mise-en-scène and the subtlest of CG effects to aid the camera's fluid movements... Taxidermia always compels us to stare wide-eyed at the screen in awe as much as disgust.

This is storytelling in its truest sense and the cast rise to the occasion.

This is England is, quite simply, the best British film for years. If you're underage, sneak into this film.

An impressive array of commentators, peaceniks, politicians and writers... without exception, make valuable contributions.

O'Toole is simply remarkable. He reinvents himself once again, stealing the breath away with his learned quicksilver wit and charisma.

Rather too rarefied to begin with, Archer’s profound story soon shapes up into a reasonably gripping potboiler, beautifully shot and acutely tense.

At nearly three hours long, The Yacoubian Building often comes across more like a soap opera than a movie, but its richly drawn characters and the confident way it handles situations which could easily disintegrate into melodrama place it in a class of it