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London Film Festival · 2017

London Film Festival 2017

Love

Programme

24 films · 10 reviews

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Anchor And Hope (Tierra firme, Anchor & Hope)

Review preview for Anchor And Hope

A beautifully drawn portrait of a complex situation that doesn't resort to the usual empty assumptions that nothing like this can ever work.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A lesbian couple's relationship comes under strain when they contemplate having a baby.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Carlos Marques-Marcet; Writer: Carlos Marques-Marcet, Jules Nurrish; Stars: Natalia Tena, Oona Chaplin, Geraldine Chaplin, Lara Rossi, Trevor White, Charlotte Atkinson, David Verdaguer, Philip Arditti, Meghan Treadway, Faith Edwards, Laraine Dix, Rogers Leona, Becky Bullman, Kimberly J Forbes, Peyton Jowers)

Full review

Ana, Mon Amour

A man's endurance is pushed to the limit by his romance with a woman who suffers mental health issues.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2017; Director: Cãlin Peter Netzer; Writer: Cãlin Peter Netzer, Cezar Paul Badescu, Iulia Lumânare; Stars: Mircea Postelnicu, Diana Cavallioti, Carmen Tanase, Vasile Muraru, Adrian Titieni, Tania Popa, Igor Caras-Romanov, Ionut Caras, Ioana Flora, Vlad Ivanov, Razvan Vasilescu, Elena Voineag, Irina Noaptes, Meda Andreea Victor, Catalina Moga)

The Boy Downstairs

Review preview for The Boy Downstairs

As a film about non communication it feels real

Angus Wolfe Murray · 2 out of 5
A woman finds a jewel of a home in New York until realising her downstairs neighbour is her ex whose heart she broke. Like a true New Yorker, she keeps the apartment.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Sophie Brooks; Writer: Sophie Brooks; Stars: Zosia Mamet, Matthew Shear, Deirdre O'Connell, Sarah Ramos, Diana Irvine)

Full review See: Sophie Brooks in conversation on The Boy Downstairs

Close-knit (Karera ga honki de amu toki wa)

When her mother leaves, Tomo is taken in by her uncle and his transsexual partner. Before long, the members of this new family find themselves confronted with social conventions.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2017; Director: Naoko Ogigami; Writer: Naoko Ogigami; Stars: Tôma Ikuta, Eiko Koike, Kenta Kiritani, Mugi Kadowaki, Misako Tanaka, Lily, Mimura, Rin Kakihara)

Going West

A man takes his estranged transsexual dad on a road trip.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2017; Director: Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken; Writer: Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken; Stars: Henrik Mestad, Ingar Helge Gimle, Benjamin Helstad, Iben Akerlie, Bjørn Myrene, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Marte Germaine Christensen, Anne Krigsvoll, Ine F. Jansen, Reidar Sørensen, Trine Wiggen, Bente Børsum, Per Schaanning, Birgitte Victoria Svendsen, Tuva Børgedotter Larsen)

Golden Exits

The arrival of a young foreign girl disrupts the lives and emotional balances of two Brooklyn families.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Alex Ross Perry; Writer: Alex Ross Perry; Stars: Emily Browning, Analeigh Tipton, Chloë Sevigny, Mary-Louise Parker, Lily Rabe, Jason Schwartzman, Adam Horovitz, Craig Butta)

The Grown-Ups (Los Niños)

For almost their entire lives a group of forty-something classmates with Down's syndrome, have grown up together and are reaching the age of 50 with varying degrees of frustration.

(Country: Chile; Year: 2016; Director: Maite Alberdi; Writer: Maite Alberdi)

How To Talk To Girls At Parties

Review preview for How To Talk To Girls At Parties

The energy is electric

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
Three teenage punks gatecrash a party on the Queen's jubilee night in London and have an unexpected experience that feels out of this world

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2017; Director: John Cameron Mitchell; Writer: Philippa Goslett, John Cameron Mitchell, based on a short story by Neil Gaiman; Stars: Alex Sharp, Elle Fanning, Ethan Lawrence, Abraham Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Ruth Wilson, Matt Lucas, Joanna Scanlan, Tom Brooke, Stephen Campbell Moore)

Full review

Israfil

An unexpected reunion stirs up a painful past.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2017; Director: Ida Panahandeh; Writer: Arsalan Amiri, Ida Panahandeh; Stars: Merila Zare'i, Hediyeh Tehrani, Pejman Bazeghi, Soheyla Razavi, Hoda Zeinolabedin, Ali Omrani, Pouria Rahimi, Yousef Bakhtiari, Farimah Hoseinipour, Soudabeh Jafarzadeh, Ali Sheidayifar)

Journeyman

After a boxer suffers a head injury in a fight, it has a major impact on his family life.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Paddy Considine; Writer: Paddy Considine; Stars: Paddy Considine, Jodie Whittaker, Paul Popplewell, Tony Pitts, Anthony Welsh, Craig Thomas Lambert, Paul Donnelly, Jonny Masters, Richard Varley, Emelia Spencer, Shamir Masri, Kris Athey, Jonathan Cheetham, Nigel Passey, Jacob Smyth)

Little Veronika (Innocence) (Die Kleine Veronika (Unshculd))

A young girl encounters the seamier side of Vienna.

(Country: Austria, Germany; Year: 1929; Director: Robert Land; Writer: Felix Salten, Max Jungk, Robert Land; Stars: Käthe von Nagy, Maly Delschaft, Mizzi Zwerenz, Harry Hardt, Karl Forest, Gustl Werner, Artur Ranzenhofer, Anny Ranzenhofer, Gaby Gilles, Otto Hartmann, Anita Muthsam, Lizzi Natzler, Otto Schmöle, Richard Waldemar)

Let The Sunshine In (Dark Glasses, Un Beau Soleil Interieur, Bright Sunshine In)

Review preview for Let The Sunshine In

Denis and Binoche take a perceptive and light approach to what could have been hackneyed material.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
Isabelle, single mum, divorced artist with one child, is looking for love. True love at last.

(Country: France; Year: 2017; Director: Claire Denis; Writer: Christine Angot, Claire Denis; Stars: Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Josiane Balasko, Claire Tran, Xavier Beauvois, Alex Descas, Bruno Podalydès, Paul Blain)

Full review See: Interview with Juliette Binoche about Let The Sunshine In, Claire Denis and winning awards

A Matter Of Life And Death

Review preview for A Matter Of Life And Death

Undoubtedly one of the best films ever made.

Scott Macdonald · 5 out of 5
A wartime aviator begs a celestial court to let him escape death so he can be with the woman he loves. Out on re-issue in cinemas.

(Country: UK; Year: 1946; Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger; Writer: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger; Stars: David Niven, Kim Hunter, Robert Coote, Kathleen Byron, Richard Attenborough, Bonar Colleano, Joan Maude, Marius Goring, Roger Livesey, Robert Atkins, Bob Roberts)

Full review

A Moment In The Reeds (Tämä hetki kaislikossa)

Review preview for A Moment In The Reeds

There's more to this film than just another erotic romance.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Romance blossoms between a Finnish man and a Syrian immigrant.

(Country: UK, Finland; Year: 2017; Director: Mikko Mäkelä; Writer: Mikko Mäkelä; Stars: Janne Puustinen, Boodi Kabbani, Mika Melender, Virpi Rautsiala)

Full review

On The Beach At Night Alone (Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja)

After an affair, an actress decides to travel to a far-flung destination to consider her life.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2017; Director: Hong Sang-soo; Writer: Hong Sang-soo; Stars: Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Jung Jaeyoung, Moon Sungkeun, Kwon Haehyo, Song Seonmi, Ahn Jaehong, Park Yeaju)

On Chesil Beach

Review preview for On Chesil Beach

The attempted act of consummation has a theatrical element to it. She is too passive, he is too angry.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3 out of 5
A honeymoon couple struggle to physically and emotionally connect in 1962

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Dominic Cooke; Writer: Ian McEwan, based on his novel; Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Billy Howle, Emily Watson, Anne-Marie Duff, Samuel West, Adrian Scarborough, Bebe Cave, Jonjo O'Neill, Mark Donald, Bronte Carmichael, Nadia Townsend)

Full review

Strand gala

Princess Cyd

Review preview for Princess Cyd

Cone's characters are fresh and real.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A teenager escapes life with her depressive dad for a summer with her novelist aunt.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Stephen Cone; Writer: Stephen Cone; Stars: Rebecca Spence, Jessie Pinnick, Malic White, James Vincent Meredith, Tyler Ross, Matthew Quattrocki, Roz Alexander, Jerre Dye, Jessica Ervin, Max Fabian, Paul Fagen, Mitchell Fain, Oksana Fedunyszyn, Laura T. Fisher, Bryce Gangel)

Full review

The Prince Of Adventurers

Story of Casanova.

(Country: France, Germany; Year: 1927; Director: Alexandre Volkoff; Writer: Norbert Falk, Ivan Mozzhukhin, Alexandre Volkoff; Stars: Ivan Mozzhukhin, Suzanne Bianchetti, Diana Karenne, Jenny Jugo, Rina De Liguoro, Nina Koshetz, Aslanoff, Bondineff, Raymond Bouamerane, Olga Day, Albert Decoeur, Devars, Dimitri Dimitriev, Paul Franceschi, Paul Guidé)

Resurrecting Hassan

A family of three blind buskers come to terms with grief.

(Country: Canada, Chile; Year: 2016; Director: Carlo Guillermo Proto; Writer: Carlo Guillermo Proto; Stars: Denis Harting, Lauviah Harting, Peggy Roux, Steve Kinniburgh, Donna Kinniburgh, Yelena Loginova, Phillippe Dall'ava)

Roller Dreams

Story of the pop culture of roller-dancing on Venice Beach.

(Country: US, Australia; Year: 2017; Director: Kate Hickey; Stars: Mad, Sara Messenger, Terrell Ferguson, Duval J. Stowers, Larry Pitts, Jimmy Rich)

Saturday Church

Review preview for Saturday Church

Kain's finely judged performance is a joy to watch.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A teenager explores issues around gender identity and sexuality in a seemingly hostile world, finding support from a church group.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Damon Cardasis; Writer: Damon Cardasis; Stars: Regina Taylor, Margot Bingham, Peter Y. Kim, Evander Duck Jr., José Báez, Mj Rodriguez, Jaylin Fletcher, Marquis Rodriguez, Jarrett Austin Brown, Luka Kain, Alexia Garcia, Indya Moore)

Full review

Stronger

Review preview for Stronger

The film has grit as if volcanic dust had scorched its rose tinted glasses

Angus Wolfe Murray · 3.5 out of 5
Story of Jeff Bauman, who became a symbol of hope after the Boston Marathon bombing.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: David Gordon Green; Writer: John Pollono, based on the book by Jeff Bauman, Bret Witter; Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson, Richard Lane Jr, Nate Richman, Frankie Shaw, Clancy Brown, Lenny Clarke, Patty O'Neal, Michelle Forziati)

Full review

Tenerezza - Holding Hands

An old man is forced to confront his past after tragedy strikes.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2017; Director: Gianni Amelio; Writer: Lorenzo Marone, Gianni Amelio, Alberto Taraglio, Chiara Valerio; Stars: Elio Germano, Micaela Ramazzotti, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Renato Carpentieri, Greta Scacchi, Maria Nazionale, Giuseppe Zeno, Arturo Muselli, Hieb Khili, Valerio Comparelli, Enzo Casertano, Hedy Krissane, Fabio Cocifoglia, Bianca Panicci, Giovanni Esposito)

Three Peaks

A man trying to win over the son of his girlfriend finds himself in a dangerous power struggle.

(Country: Italy, Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Jan Zabeil; Writer: Jan Zabeil; Stars: Bérénice Bejo, Alexander Fehling, Arian Montgomery)