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London Film Festival · 2016

London Film Festival 2016

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Programme

25 films · 7 reviews

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Apprentice

Prison drama about a young warden who befriends the jail's executioner.

(Country: France, Germany, Singapore; Year: 2016; Director: Boo Junfeng ; Writer: Boo Junfeng ; Stars: Wan Hanafi Su, Firdaus Rahman, Gerald Chew, Crispian Chan, Boon Pin Koh, Mastura Ahmad, Sean Tobin, Nickson Cheng, Ong Chao Hong)

By The Time It Gets Dark (Dao Khanong)

A film director and her muse who was a student activist in the 1970s, a waitress who keeps changing jobs, an actor and an actress are all connected to each other in hidden ways.

(Country: Thailand, Netherlands, France, Qatar; Year: 2016; Director: Anocha Suwichakornpong)

Christine

Review preview for Christine

Craig Shilowich's careful scripting avoids all the usual mental illness cliches and hystrionics to help us sympathise with her even in her most unpleasant moments.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
True story of a driven but troubled TV news reporter.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Antonio Campos; Writer: Craig Shilowich; Stars: Rebecca Hall, Michael C. Hall, Maria Dizzia, J. Smith-Cameron, Kim Shaw, Timothy Simons, Tracy Letts, Rachel Hendrix, John Cullum, Morgan Spector, Susan Pourfar, Kimberley Drummond, Ritchie Montgomery, Jayson Warner Smith, Masey McLain)

Full review See: Saunder Jurriaans and Danny Bensi talk about Christine, The Fits, Frank & Lola

Dearest Sister (Nong Hak)

A girl goes to the city to help care for her cousin, who is going blind, only to discover that the woman can now communicate with spirits.

(Country: Laos; Year: 2016; Director: Mattie Do; Writer: Christopher Larsen; Stars: Amphaiphun Phommapunya, Vilouna Phetmany, Tambet Tuisk, Manivanh Boulom, Yannawoutthi Chanthalungsy, Maluly Chanthalangsy, Brandon Hashimoto, Naliphone Siviengxay, Douangmany Soliphanh, Maneevone Chanthalungsy, Danouphonh Chanthakoummane, Oudomphone Pholsena, Namsoke Xayluesa, Latsamy Inoudome, Sivin Simala)

The Death of Louis XIV (La mort de Louis XIV, Last Days Of Louis XIV)

Drama about the final days of the Sun King.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Albert Serra; Writer: Thierry Lounas, Albert Serra; Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Filipe Duarte, Patrick d'Assumçao, José Wallenstein, Bernard Belin, Irène Silvagni, Philippe Crespeau, Marc Susini)

The Handmaiden (Agassi)

Review preview for The Handmaiden

One of the film’s leading forces is its stunning visual composition.

Evelin Toth · 5 out of 5
A handmaiden sets out to swindle an heiress but things don't go to plan.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2016; Director: Park Chan-wook; Writer: Based on Sarah Waters' Fingersmith; Stars: Ha Jung-woo, Kim Min-hee, Jo Jin-woong, Kim Tae Ri)

Full review

Dare gala.

Hema Hema: Sing Me A Song While I Wait

Masked campers go wild in the jungle at a gathering which only happens once every dozen years.

(Country: Bhutan, Hong Kong; Year: 2016; Director: Khyentse Norbu; Writer: Khyentse Norbu; Stars: Tshering Dorji, Sadon Lhamo, Thinley Dorji, Tony Chiu Wai Leung, Xun Zhou, Tshewang Dendup, Tenzin Dolma, Jamyang Dorji, Jigme Drukpa, Xin Liang, Rinchen Namgayel, Pema Namtruel, Gomchen Pema, Tandin Sonam, Kelsang Tobgay)

Junoon

An obsessed Indian Nawab falls for an Anglo-Indian woman against the backdrop of the 1857 Indian Mutiny.

(Country: India; Year: 1979; Director: Shyam Benegal; Writer: Shyam Benegal, Ruskin Bond, Ismat Chughtai, Satyadev Dubey; Stars: Jalal Agha, Nafisa Ali, Tom Alter, Shabana Azmi, Ismat Chughtai, Benjamin Gilani, Karan Kapoor, Kunal Kapoor, Sanjana Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Geoffrey Kendal, Jennifer Kendal, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Deepti Naval, Pearl Padamsee)

King Cobra

This ripped-from-the-headlines drama covers the early rise of gay porn headliner Sean Paul Lockhart, aka Brent Corrigan, before his falling out with the producer who made him famous. When Sean decides he’d be better off a free agent, a cash-strapped pair of rival producers aim to cash in by any means possible.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Justin Kelly; Writer: Justin Kelly; Stars: James Franco, Molly Ringwald, Alicia Silverstone, Christian Slater, Garrett Clayton, Keegan Allen, Spencer Lofranco, Sean Grandillo, Cabrina Collesides, Rosemary Howard, Edward Crawford, Ron Simons, James Kelley, Daniel Sinasohn, Joseph Baird)

La Noche

A journey through the sexual underworld of Buenos Aires.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2016; Director: Eduardo Castro; Writer: Eduardo Castro; Stars: Edgardo Castro, Federico Figari, Paula Ituriza, Luis Leiva, Dolores Guadalupe Olivares, William Prociuk)

On The Milky Road (Na Mlecnom Putu)

Story of a milkman's blossoming love against the backdrop of war.

(Country: Serbia, Mexico, US, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Emir Kusturica; Writer: Emir Kusturica; Stars: Monica Bellucci, Emir Kusturica, Sergej Trifunovic, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Maria Darkina, Bajram Severdzan, Davor Janjic, Zoran Cvijanovic, Sloboda Micalovic, Petar Mircevski, Ratka Radmanovic, Branislav Fistric, Darko Kurtovic)

Ovarian Psycos

Meet the Ovarian Psycos: an East L.A bold and unapologetic Riot-Grrrl-meets-Zapatista bike brigade of women of colour.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Joanna Sokolowski, Kate Trumbull-LaValle)

Personal Shopper

Review preview for Personal Shopper

Stewart valiantly tries to soldier through but cannot make her character spring to life.

Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
Ghost story set against the backdrop of the Paris fashion world.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Olivier Assayas; Writer: Olivier Assayas; Stars: Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Nora von Waldstätten, Anders Danielsen Lie, Pamela Betsy Cooper, David Bowles, Sigrid Bouaziz, Ty Olwin, Fabrice Reeves, Benoit Peverelli, Abigail Millar)

Full review See: Kristen Stewart and Olivier Assayas on Personal Shopper in Cannes

Planetarium

Two psychic sisters cross paths with a French producer while performing in 1930s Paris.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Rebecca Zlotowski; Writer: Rebecca Zlotowski, Robin Campillo; Stars: Natalie Portman, Lily-Rose Depp, Emmanuel Salinger, Amira Casar, Pierre Salvadori, Louis Garrel, David Bennent, Damien Chapelle, Jerzy Rogulski, Camille Lellouche, Christophe Odent, Kamel Abdelli, Michel Zlotowski, Talina Boyaci, Benoît Forgeard)

Private Property

Two drifters follow a rich housewife to her home and try to insinuate themselves into her house.

(Country: US; Year: 1960; Director: Leslie Stevens; Writer: Leslie Stevens; Stars: Kate Manx, Corey Allen, Warren Oates, Robert Ward, Jerome Cowan, Jules Maitland)

The Rehearsal

Coming-of-age story about a young actor searching for the truth of a character he’s playing onstage and the resulting moral dilemma in his personal life.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2016; Director: Alison Maclean; Writer: Alison Maclean, Emily Perkins; Stars: James Rolleston, Kerry Fox, Ella Edward, Alice Englert, Kieran Charnock, Scott Cotter, Evan Fenemor, Miranda Harcourt, Michelle Ny, Rachel Roberts, Erroll Shand, Marlon Williams, Tandi Wright)

Scarred Hearts

A young writer in a sanotorium falls in love with a fellow patient.

(Country: Romania, Germany; Year: 2016; Director: Radu Jude; Writer: M Blecher, Radu Jude; Stars: Gabriel Spahiu, Serban Pavlu, Sofia Nicolaescu, Florin Magureanu, Ivana Mladenovic, Lucian Teodor Rus, Iulian Marinescu, Eduard Vacariu, Dana Voicu, Ilinca Harnut, Mihai Comanoiu, Catalin Anchidin, Alexandru Dabija, Marius Damian, Fernando Klabin)

The Small World Of Sammy Lee

Review preview for The Small World Of Sammy Lee

Newley's acutely balanced performance lets us see the fear emerge in flashes as if he were coming up for air.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A seedy strip club compere tries to stay one step ahead of heavies out to collect his gambling debts.

(Country: UK; Year: 1963; Director: Ken Hughes; Writer: Ken Hughes; Stars: Anthony Newley, Julia Foster, Robert Stephens, Wilfrid Brambell, Warren Mitchell, Miriam Karlin, Kenneth J. Warren, Clive Colin Bowler, Toni Palmer, Harry Locke, Al Mulock, Cyril Shaps, Roy Kinnear, Derek Nimmo, Harry Baird)

Full review

Spaceship

A girl fakes her own alien abduction, leaving her dad to search for her.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Alex Taylor; Writer: Alex Taylor; Stars: Alexa Davies, Tallulah Rose Haddon, Antti Reini, Steven Elder, Harry Jarvis, Lara Peake, Lucian Charles Collier, Kristof Gerega)

Staying Vertical (Rester Vertical)

Review preview for Staying Vertical

He may provide too much shock detail for some audiences but the director proves himself a master story-teller.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A man is seduced by a free-spirited shepherdess and finds himself left holding the baby.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Alain Guiraudie; Writer: Alain Guiraudie; Stars: Laure Calamy, Damien Bonnard, India Hair, Christian Bouillette, Raphaël Thierry)

Full review

The Untamed (La región salvaje)

A mysterious young woman is convinced that something otherworldly could be the answer to all of her family's problems.

(Country: Mexico, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland; Year: 2016; Director: Amat Escalante; Writer: Amat Escalante, Gibrán Portela; Stars: Kenny Johnston)

Wild

Review preview for Wild

The phrase 'brave performance' is vastly overused but there's no doubt Stangenberg puts herself at some risk here.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A woman begins to disconnect with civilisation after an encounter with a wolf.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2016; Director: Nicolette Krebitz; Writer: Nicolette Krebitz; Stars: Lilith Stangenberg, Georg Friedrich, Silke Bodenbender, Saskia Rosendahl, Pit Bukowski, Tamer Yigit, Joy Maria Bay, Kotti Yun)

Full review

Wolf And Sheep

Story of Afghan shepherds set against the backdrop of war.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2016; Director: Shahrbanoo Sadat)

The Worthy

In a Dystopian world, a man becomes involved in a deadly game of survival.

(Country: United Arab Emirates; Year: 2016; Director: Ali F Mostafa; Writer: Nidal Morra, Vikram Weet; Stars: Ali Suliman, Samer Ismail, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Rakeen Saad, Ruba Blal, Habib Ghuloom, Samer Al Masry, Rashed Malhas, Mohammed Mostafa, Mohammad Al Ibrahimi, Mahmoud Al Atrash, Nabeel Ahmad Alkoni, Manal Shomaly, Salah Hanoun)

Zoology (Zoologiya)

Review preview for Zoology

This modern fairytale has its dark side, but it’s not as grim as something the Brothers Grimm would have concocted.

Luke Shaw · 3.5 out of 5
A quiet, middle-aged zoo employee wakes up to discover that she has grown a tail.

(Country: Russia, France, Germany; Year: 2016; Director: Ivan I Tverdovsky; Writer: Ivan I Tverdovskiy; Stars: Masha Tokareva, Natalya Pavlenkova, Aleksandr Gorchilin, Dmitriy Groshev, Anna Astashkina, Irina Chipizhenko, Zhanetta Demikhova, Yulia Pimkina, Anastasiya Baklanova, Katya Alexandrina, Ella Sanko, Nelly Vasilyeva, Valentina Popova, Ludmila Shestakova, Yuriy Vnukov)

Full review