Skip to main content

London Film Festival · 2016

London Film Festival 2016

Journey

Programme

29 films · 12 reviews

Jump to a film

The Bait

Three people's lives intertwine in a tale of power games.

(Year: 2016; Director: Buddhadev Dasgupta; Writer: Buddhadev Dasgupta; Stars: Sudipto Chaterjee, Kajal Kumari, Paoli Dam)

Daughters Of The Dust

Review preview for Daughters Of The Dust

Dash gracefully binds together her connections and contradictions - the point where the past meets the present, where the decision to stay or go is made, where both belief systems can combine.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Portrait of Gullah family on the brink of migration.

(Country: US, UK; Year: 1991; Director: Julie Dash; Writer: Julie Dash; Stars: Cora Lee Day, Alva Rogers, Barbarao, Trula Hoosier, Umar Abdurrahamn, Adisa Anderson, Kaycee Moore, Bahni Turpin, Cheryl Lynn Bruce, Tommy Redmond Hicks, Tony King, Cornell Royal, Vertamae Grosvenor, Sherry Jackson, Ervin Green)

Full review

Don't Blink - Robert Frank

Review preview for Don't Blink - Robert Frank

Frank's energy, together with Israel's rapid fire editing, keep the film appealing, though they may leave some viewers feeling worn out.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Documentary about the photographer.

(Country: Canada, France, US; Year: 2015; Director: Laura Israel; Writer: Laura Israel, Melinda Shopsin; Stars: Robert Frank, June Leaf)

Full review

Don't Call Me Son (Mãe Só Há Uma)

A teenager discovers the woman he thought was his mother abducted him at birth.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2016; Director: Anna Muylaert; Writer: Anna Muylaert; Stars: Naomi Nero, Daniel Botelho, Daniela Nefussi, Matheus Nachtergaele, Lais Dias, Luciana Paes, Helena Albergaria, Luciano Bortoluzzi, June Dantas, Renan Tenca, Marat Descartes, Douglas Luckiys, Ulisses Sakurai)

George Best: All By Himself

Portrait of the Manchester United and Northern Irish footballer.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Daniel Gordon)

The Innocents (Les Innocentes, Agnus Dei)

Review preview for The Innocents

The Innocents may well be a historical film but it still has plenty of relevance today.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A young doctor becomes the soul hope for traumatised nuns.

(Country: France, Poland; Year: 2016; Director: Anne Fontaine; Writer: Pascal Bonitzer, Anne Fontaine, Sabrina B. Karine, Alice Vial; Stars: Lou de Laâge, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza, Vincent Macaigne, Joanna Kulig, Anna Próchniak, Dorota Kuduk, Eliza Rycembel, Katarzyna Dabrowska, Klara Bielawka, Helena Sujecka)

Full review

Journey Through French Cinema (Voyage à travers le cinéma français, My Journey Through French Cinema)

Review preview for Journey Through French Cinema

This film is not an encyclopedia entry but a living, breathing adventure ride into French cinema through the eyes and ears of the filmmaker.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
A personal look at French cinema, the films, directors and composers.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Bertrand Tavernier)

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

Letters From Baghdad

Review preview for Letters From Baghdad

As the voice of Gertrude, Tilda Swinton seductively pulls us in, reading her letters sent from afar.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
The story of Gertrude Bell, who shaped the destiny of Iraq after the First World War.

(Country: US, UK, France; Year: 2016; Director: Sabine Krayenbühl, Zeva Oelbaum; Stars: Ammar Haj Ahmad, Adam Astill, Tom Chadbon, Simon Chandler, Joanna David, Anthony Edridge, Michelle Eugene, Ahmed Hashimi, Andrew Havill, Michael Higgs, Jasper Jacob, Jürgen Kalwa, Hayat Kamille, Zaydum Khalad, Eric Loscheider)

Full review See: Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum in conversation on Letters From Baghdad

Lupe Under The Sun (Lupe Bajo El Sol)

Review preview for Lupe Under The Sun

Reyes establishes a sense of the well-worn ritual that Lupe has acclimatised to, as well as showcasing the restraints on his existence due to poverty and his outsider status.

Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
Portrait of a Mexican migrant who spent his life working in California, away from his family back home.

(Country: US, Mexico; Year: 2015; Director: Rodrigo Reyes; Writer: Rodrigo Reyes; Stars: Daniel Muratalla)

Full review

Magnus

Review preview for Magnus

Ree embraces the music as a collaborator, a voice that can channel the feelings of both the character and the story.

Paul Risker · 4 out of 5
Documenting the 'Mozart of Chess'.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2016; Director: Benjamin Ree; Writer: Linn-Jeanethe Kyed, Benjamin Ree; Stars: Magnus Carlsen, Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand)

Full review See: Benjamin Ree interview about documentary Magnus

Mercenary (Mercenaire)

Story of a migrant who joins a French rugby team.

(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Sacha Wolff; Writer: Sacha Wolff; Stars: Toki Pilioko, Iliana Zabeth, Laurent Pakihivatau, Mikaele Tuugahala, Petalo Sealeu)

Mimosas

Review preview for Mimosas

Mauro Herce's cinematography is stunning and merges perfectly with the soundscape created by Emilio García Rivas.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Faust meets Arabic myth in the Moroccan desert.

(Country: France, Spain, Morocco; Year: 2016; Director: Oliver Laxe; Writer: Oliver Laxe, Santiago Fillol ; Stars: Abdelatif Hwidar, Ilham Oujri, Shakib Ben Omar, Ahmed Hammoud, Hamid Farjad, Said Agli, Margarita Albores, Laaziza Ikram, Moe Mohamed Oummad, Ahmed El Othmani)

Full review See: Interview with Oliver Laxe about Mimosas

Orange Sunshine

The story of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a spiritual group of surfers and hippies in Southern California that became the largest suppliers of psychedelic drugs in the world during the 1960s and early 1970s.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: William A Kirkley; Writer: William A Kirkley; Stars: Austin Arnold, Tyler Mauro, Francesca Galassi, Douglas M. Eames, Taylor Bottles, Michael Delgado, Gunner Greyson, Michael John Wagner, Dan D.W. McCann, Gavyn Straus, Sam Johnson)

The Ornithologist (O Ornitólogo)

Review preview for The Ornithologist

In keeping with the hagiographic tradition, Hamy keeps his performance rather flat, but this is problematic for The Ornothologist as a film; its success as a piece of art is somewhat at odds with audience appeal.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
An ornithologist searching for black storks is swept away by rapids and awakens in a mysterious, dark forest.

(Country: Portugal, France, Brazil; Year: 2016; Director: João Pedro Rodrigues; Writer: João Pedro Rodrigues, João Rui Guerra da Mata; Stars: Paul Hamy, Xelo Cagiao, João Pedro Rodrigues, Han Wen, Chan Suan, Juliane Elting )

Full review

Paterson

Review preview for Paterson

After the initial disbelief that Jarmusch has written and directed a movie as simple and quiet as this, you settle into the rhythm of the piece and begin to appreciate the secret

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
Story of a bus driver and a poet and a maker of cup cakes and a dog walker and a week in New Jersey where small things happen

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Jim Jarmusch; Writer: Jim Jarmusch; Stars: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Kara Hayward, Sterling Jerins, Jared Gilman, Luis Da Silva Jr., Frank Harts, Rizwan Manji, Jorge Vega, William Jackson Harper, Masatoshi Nagase, Jaden Michael, Trevor Parham, Brian McCarthy, Troy T. Parham)

Full review See: Interview with Neal Huff about Spotlight, Wes Anderson, Hitchcock/Truffaut and Kimberly Levin

Journey gala

The Red Turtle (La Tortue Rouge)

Review preview for The Red Turtle

Some of the art is truly breathtaking, especially the star-filled skies, and the movement of the various animals we meet is beautifully observed.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The life of a castaway on a desert island.

(Country: France, Japan; Year: 2016; Director: Michael Dudok de Wit; Writer: Michael Dudok de Wit, Pascale Ferran; Stars: Emmanuel Garijo, Tom Hudson, Baptiste Goy)

Full review See: Michaël Dudok de Wit in conversation on The Red Turtle (La Tortue Rouge) and Studio Ghibli

Richard Linklater - Dream Is destiny

This is an unconventional look at a fiercely independent style of filmmaking that arose in the 1990s from Austin, Texas, outside the studio system. The film blends rare archival footage with journals, exclusive interviews with Linklater on and off set, and clips from Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Boyhood, and more.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Louis Black, Karen Bernstein)

Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang

Having reached the pinnacle of the global art world with his signature explosion events and gunpowder drawings, Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang is still seeking more. We trace his rise from childhood in Mao’s China and his journey to attempt to realise his lifelong obsession, Sky Ladder.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Kevin Macdonald)

Stockholm, My Love

A woman walks through her native city on a journey of recovery from a bad thing that happened to her exactly one year before.

(Country: Sweden, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Mark Cousins; Writer: Mark Cousins, Anita Oxburgh; Stars: Neneh Cherry)

Sweet Dreams (Fai Bei Sogni)

A journalist struggles to cope with the death of his mum, who passed away when he was only nine years old.

(Country: Italy, France; Year: 2016; Director: Marco Bellocchio; Writer: Massimo Gramellini; Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Valerio Mastandrea, Fabrizio Gifuni, Guido Caprino, Barbara Ronchi, Linda Messerklinger, Ferdinando Vetere, Lorenzo Monti)

Those Who Jump

First-hand account of an African migrant trying to reach Europe.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2016; Director: Abou Bakar Sidibé, Moritz Siebert, Estephan Wagner; Writer: Moritz Siebert, Estephan Wagner)

Tramontane

A young blind man is forced to make a road trip after discovering his ID document is a forgery.

(Country: France, Lebanon; Year: 2016; Director: Vatche Boulghourjian; Writer: Vatche Boulghourjian; Stars: Barakat Jabbour, Julia Kassar, Odette Makhlouf, Michel Adabachi, Toufic Barakat, Sajed Amer, Nassim Khodr, Raymond Haddouni, Georges Diab, Abido Bacha)

Two Lovers And A Bear

A lonely man and woman look for love in a small town near the North Pole.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2016; Director: Kim Nguyen; Stars: Tatiana Maslany, Dane DeHaan, Gordon Pinsent, John Ralston, Joel Gagne, Ash Catherwood, Joseph Nakogee, Yvonne E. Davidson, Chip Chuipka, Denis Lapalme, Johnny Issaluk, Jennifer Soucie, Brady Power, Phoenix Wilson, Justin Edward Seale)

Voyage Of Time: Life's Journey

Review preview for Voyage Of Time: Life's Journey

Everything is exquisitely shot and wonderful in its alienness.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
An exploration of the universe and humanity's place within it.

(Country: France, Germany, US; Year: 2016; Director: Terrence Malick; Writer: Terrence Malick; Stars: Cate Blanchett, Jamal Cavil, Maisha Diatta, Yagazie Emezi, Daryl James Harris II, Sebastian Jackson, Abraham Kosgei, Runa Lucienne, Theo Bongani Ndyalvane, Jejuan Plair, Gabi Rojas, Shaun Ross, Mechelle Tunstall, Sanetra Stewart, Blane E. Warrior II)

Full review

White Colour Black

A hedonistic photographer questions his life after he learns his estranged father has died in Senegal.

(Country: UK, Senegal; Year: 2016; Director: Joseph A Adesunloye; Writer: Joseph A Adesunloye; Stars: Dudley O'Shaughnessy, Wale Ojo, Alassane Sy, Damola Adelaja, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Guetan Calvin Elito, Lily Dodsworth-Evans, Jamey May, Ayvianna Snow, Lynne Anne Rodgers, Yumiko Hanasaka, Tommy Roca, Daniel Eghan, Prince Marfo)

Who's Gonna Love Me Now? (Mi yohav otti akhshav?)

When an Israeli living in London discovers he is HIV positive, he embarks on a journey of reconciliation with his religious family back home.

(Country: Israel, UK; Year: 2016; Director: Barak Heymann, Tomer Heymann, Alexander Bodin Saphir; Writer: Barak Heymann, Tomer Heymann)

A Woman Of The World

A moral crusader from small town America meets a tattooed countess.

(Country: US; Year: 1925; Director: Malcolm St Clair; Writer: Pierre Collings, Carl Van Vechten; Stars: Pola Negri, Charles Emmett Mack, Holmes Herbert, Blanche Mehaffey, Chester Conklin, Lucille Ward, Guy Oliver, Dot Farley, May Foster, Dorothea Wolbert, Robert Dudley, Anthony Jowitt)

The Woman Who Left

A woman plans revenge on her former lover.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2016; Director: Lav Diaz; Writer: Lav Diaz, based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy; Stars: Charo Santos-Concio, John Lloyd Cruz, Michael De Mesa, Nonie Buencamino, Shamaine Buencamino, Mae Paner, Mayen Estanero, Marjorie Lorico, Lao Rodriguez, Kakai Bautista, Jo-Ann Requiestas)

A Woman's Life

The harsh realities of a woman's life in 19th century France.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2016; Director: Stéphane Brizé; Writer: Stéphane Brizé, Guy de Maupassant, Florence Vignon; Stars: Judith Chemla, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Yolande Moreau, Swann Arlaud, Nina Meurisse, Olivier Perrier, Clotilde Hesme, Alain Beigel, Finnegan Oldfield, Lucette Beudin, Jérôme Lanne, Mélie Deneuve, Père François-Xavier Ledoux, Lise Lamétrie, Marc Olry)