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London Film Festival · 2019

London Film Festival 2019

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Programme

12 films · 5 reviews

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Arab Blues (Un Divan A Tunis)

Review preview for Arab Blues

The story develops episodically, with each client given their bit of patter, some of which work better than others.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
A Parisian psychoanalyst tries to set up a practice in a post-Arab Spring Tunis.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Manele Labidi; Writer: Manele Labidi, Maud Ameline; Stars: Golshifteh Farahani, Majd Mastoura, Hichem Yacoubi, Moncef Ajengui, Ramla Ayari, Amen Arbi, Feryel Chammari, Aïsha Ben Miled, Golshifteh Farahani, Majd Mastoura, Hichem Yacoubi, Moncef Ajengui, Ramla Ayari, Amen Arbi, Feryel Chammari)

Full review

Axone

Comic complications ensue when a group of immigrants try to organise a wedding in Delhi

(Country: India; Year: 2019; Director: Nicholas Kharkongor; Stars: Sayani Gupta, Vinay Pathak, Dolly Ahluwalia, Lin Laishram, Sayani Gupta, Vinay Pathak, Dolly Ahluwalia, Lin Laishram)

The Climb

Review preview for The Climb

The acutely caught observational humour is what gives The Climb its motor.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A look at the friendship between two guys that spans many years.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Michael Angelo Covino; Writer: Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin; Stars: Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Zina Wilde, Talia Balsam, Gayle Rankin, George Wendt, Judith Godrèche)

Full review

Days Of The Bagnold Summer

A single librarian tries to reconnect with her introverted son.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Simon Bird; Writer: Lisa Owens, Joff Winterhart; Stars: Rob Brydon, Tamsin Greig, Alice Lowe, Monica Dolan, Nathanael Saleh, Grace Hogg-Robinson, Earl Cave, Lesley Harcourt, Elliot Speller-Gillott, Stuart Whelan, Patrick Holly, Olivia Buckland, George Wilkins, George Mizen, Alex Ashman)

The Dude In Me

A teenager and a gangster inadvertently swap bodies.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2019; Director: Kang Hyo-jin)

Laugh gala

The Father (Bashtata)

Review preview for The Father

Grozeva and Valchanov allow a gentle absurdity to flow through the film.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
After losing his wife Ivanka, Vasil believes that she is using his phone to reach him from beyond the grave, so he enlists the services of a psychic to try to make contact with her, much to the concern of his son.

(Country: Bulgaria; Year: 2019; Director: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov; Writer: Kristina Grozeva, Petar Valchanov, Decho Taralezhkov; Stars: Ivan Barnev, Ivan Savov, Tanya Shahova, Hristofor Nedkov, Margita Gosheva, Maria Bakalova, Ana Bratoeva, Georgi Damianov, Boyan Doychinov, Elena Mosholova, Petra Oplatkova, Martina Peneva, Nikolay Todorov, Ivan Barnev, Ivan Savov)

Full review

It Must Be Heaven

Filmmaker Elia Suleiman travels to different cities and finds unexpected parallels to his homeland of Palestine.

(Country: France, Canada; Year: 2019; Director: Elia Suleiman; Writer: Elia Suleiman; Stars: Ali Suliman, Elia Suleiman, Holden Wong)

The Lost Okoroshi

A man who undergoes a Kafkaesque transformation, finds himself torn between two worlds.

(Country: Nigeria; Year: 2019; Director: Abba Makama; Stars: Chiwetalu Agu, Tope Tedela, Ifu Ennada, Seun Ajayi, Judith Audu, Chiwetalu Agu, Tope Tedela, Ifu Ennada, Seun Ajayi, Judith Audu)

Lucky Grandma

Review preview for Lucky Grandma

Grandma is neither sweet nor innocent: a hard smoking, confrontational battleaxe with, nonetheless a heart of gold.

Jane Fae · 3.5 out of 5
Set in New York City’s Chinatown, the film follows an ornery, chain-smoking Chinese grandma who goes all in at the casino, landing herself on the wrong side of luck… and in the middle of a gang war.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Sasie Sealy; Writer: Angela Cheng; Stars: Tsai Chin, Corey Ha, Michael Tow, Woody Fu, Wai Ching Ho, Clem Cheung)

Full review

Maggie

A woman explores the nature of trust and the breakdown of relationships.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2018; Director: Yi Okseop; Writer: Gyo-hwan Koo, Yi Okseop; Stars: Gyo-hwan Koo)

Rare Beasts

Anti-romcom centring on a single mum.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Billie Piper; Writer: Billie Piper; Stars: Lily James, David Thewlis, Billie Piper, Kerry Fox, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Leo Bill, Montserrat Lombard, Jonjo O'Neill, Trevor White, Emily Taaffe, Mariah Gale, Christopher Sciueref, Rosa Coduri, Michael Elwyn, Toby Woolf)

The Unknown Saint (Le Miracle du Saint Inconnu)

Review preview for The Unknown Saint

The situation is ripe with ridiculousness, but Aljem shows a lot of restraint.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Moments before his capture by police, a thief digs a grave to hide a bag of money. Released from prison years later he returns to retrieve the bag, only to find a shrine to an Unknown Saint build directly over his loot, and a brand new village constructed all around it.

(Country: Morocco, France, Qatar, Germany, Lebanon; Year: 2019; Director: Alaa Eddine Aljem; Writer: Alaa Eddine Aljem; Stars: Younes Bouab, Salah Ben Saleh, Bouchaib Semmak, Mohammed Nouaimane, Anas El Baz, Abdelghani Kitab, Hassan Ben Badida, Ahmed Yarziz, Younes Bouab, Salah Ben Saleh, Bouchaib Semmak, Mohammed Nouaimane, Anas El Baz, Abdelghani Kitab, Hassan Ben Badida)

Full review