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London Film Festival · 2014

London Film Festival 2014

Documentary Competition

Programme

12 films · 5 reviews

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The Green Prince

Review preview for The Green Prince

Arguably, the story would benefit from the inclusion of other voices, to verify or expand upon what we're told, but despite this there is no shortage of excitement in the tale.

Rebecca Naughten · 3 out of 5
How the son of a senior leader of Hamas spied for the Israeli secret services over the course of a decade.

(Country: Germany, UK, Israel; Year: 2013; Director: Nadav Schirman; Writer: Nadav Schirman, Mosab Hassan Yousef; Stars: Mosab Hassan Yousef, Gonen Ben Yitzhak)

Full review

Guidelines (La marche à suivre)

Documentary about youngsters on the cusp of adolescence.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2014; Director: Jean-François Caissy)

Hockney

Portrait of the artist.

(Country: UK; Year: 2014; Director: Randall Wright)

The Immortalists

Story of two scientists set on finding a way to prolong life.

(Country: UK, US, India; Year: 2013; Director: David Alvarado, Jason Sussberg; Writer: Jason Sussberg)

In The Basement (Im Keller)

A film which seeks to depict Austrians’ relationship with their basements.

(Country: Austria; Year: 2014; Director: Ulrich Seidl; Writer: Ulrich Seidl)

Maidan

Review preview for Maidan

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

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary about the unrest in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014.

(Country: Ukraine, Netherlands; Year: 2014; Director: Sergei Loznitsa)

Full review

National Gallery

Review preview for National Gallery

What comes through is a sense of the vast number of tasks the museum must carry out to cover its remit as a public service.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
A documentary exploring the National Gallery in London.

(Country: France, USA, UK; Year: 2014; Director: Frederick Wiseman)

Full review

Ne Me Quitte Pas

Left by his wife for another man, Marcel falls into alcoholism and a deep depression, with only his friend Bob, also an alcoholic, to look after him. The friendship between the two men captures the frailty of the male ego and the natural comedy borne from their candid conversations. Ne Me Quitte Pas follows this downward spiral of mid-life crisis in a tender, often humorous, sometimes disturbing, examination of the ‘crisis of masculinity,’ alongside a mesmerizing exploration of mundane rural existence.

(Country: Netherlands, Belgium; Year: 2013; Director: Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Niels van Koevorden; Writer: Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Niels van Koevorden)

The Possibilities Are Endless

Account of singer Edwyn Collins’ long and difficult recovery from a stroke.

(Country: UK; Year: 2014; Director: James Hall, Edward Lovelace; Stars: Edwyn Collins, William Collins, Grace Maxwell, Yasmin Paige)

Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait (Ma'a al-Fidda, Eau Argentee)

A portrait of Syria.

(Country: Syria; Year: 2014; Director: Mohammed Ossama; Writer: Wiam Bedirxan, Mohammed Ossama)

Stray Dog

Review preview for Stray Dog

Stray Dog is really a very ordinary guy, but there's one thing that's extraordinary about him... he truly believes in America.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Portrait of American war vet and biker Ronnie ‘Stray Dog’ Hall.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Debra Granik; Writer: Debra Granik; Stars: Ronnie Hall)

Full review

Tender

Review preview for Tender

Uncovering extraordinary spirit in an ordinary community.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A close-knit community in Australia start up a not-for-profit funeral service.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2013; Director: Lynette Wallworth; Writer: Lynette Wallworth)

Full review