A Jehovah's Witness is forced to shun her own sister.
(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Dan Kokotajlo; Writer: Dan Kokotajlo; Stars: Siobhan Finneran, Robert Emms, Sacha Parkinson, Steve Evets, Aqib Khan, Jessica Baglow, James Quinn, Molly Wright, Wasim Zakir, James Puddephatt, Poppy Jhakra, Lewis Fletcher, Peter Slater)
Ava
Ava, 13, is spending the summer on the Atlantic coast when she learns that she will lose her sight sooner than expected. She confronts the problem in her own way.
When their father has an accident, three brothers struggle to keep the business afloat.
(Country: France, Netherlands, Belgium; Year: 2017; Director: Gilles Coulier; Writer: Gilles Coulier, Tom Dupont; Stars: Sam Louwyck, Gilles De Schryver, Wim Willaert, Josse De Pauw, Mathias Sercu, Sebastien Dewaele, Koen De Sutter, Mieke Dobbels, Roda Fawaz, Roland Van Campenhout, Wennie De Ruyck, Chiel Vande Vyvere, Luc Dufourmont, Miguel Martins)
The sense of poise created, as people move through spaces or talk back and forth, objects often leaving the frame in one direction as another enters from the opposite side, achieves a soothing rhythm.
Two people meet by chance and forge a connection.
(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Kogonada; Writer: Kogonada; Stars: Haley Lu Richardson, John Cho, Rory Culkin, Parker Posey, Michelle Forbes, Jim Dougherty, William Willet, Wynn Reichert)
The bobbins are a brilliantly employed metaphor, something that feels freshly sprung from a fairy tale, only silly until you consider how sinister they are.
Palmason accentuates the tedium by holding almost every shot far longer than necessary or shooting scenes in pitch black mines or against stark landscapes white with lime dust.
Two brothers embark on a violent feud with another family.
(Country: Denmark; Year: 2017; Director: Hlynur Palmason; Writer: Hlynur Palmason; Stars: Michael Brostrup, Anders Hove, Elliott Crosset Hove, Jannik Jensen, Lars Mikkelsen, Stefan Mølholt, Peter Plaugborg, Simon Sears, Victoria Carmen Sonne, Birgit Thøt Jensen)
Trengove strikes a good balance between showing the cultural importance, even though on the wane, of old-fashioned masculinity and personal drama between Xolani and Kwanda, slowly ratcheting up the tension to breaking point.
Sexual repression and coming of age prove a dangerous mix for a small community.
(Country: South Africa; Year: 2017; Director: John Trengove; Writer: John Trengove, Thando Mgqolozana, Malusi Bengu; Stars: Nakhane Touré, Bongile Mantsai, Niza Jay Ncoyini)
