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London Film Festival · 2019

London Film Festival 2019

Special Presentations

Programme

10 films · 5 reviews

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Bad Education (La Mala Educación)

Review preview for Bad Education

It's classic film noir; except that, being the work of Pedro Almodóvar, much of it is shot in lurid colour, not all the girls are really girls, and not all the boys are what they claim to be, either.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Two young school friends meet after 16 years, with tragic consequences.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2004; Director: Pedro Almodóvar; Writer: Pedro Almodóvar; Stars: Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martinez, Javier Camara, Daniel Gimenez-Cacho, Lluis Homar, Francisco Boira, Ignacio Perez, Raul Garcia Forneiro)

Full review

Blackbird

A family gather to say goodbye to their ill matriarch.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Roger Michell; Writer: Christian Torpe; Stars: Kate Winslet, Sam Neill, Susan Sarandon, Rainn Wilson, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Mia Wasikowska, Lindsay Duncan, Anson Boon, Kate Winslet, Sam Neill, Susan Sarandon, Rainn Wilson, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Mia Wasikowska, Lindsay Duncan)

Bombay Rose

Animation tracks romance on the streets of Mumbai.

(Country: India, UK, France, Qatar; Year: 2019; Director: Gitanjali Rao; Writer: Gitanjali Rao; Stars: Anurag Kashyap, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Makrand Deshpande, Shishir Sharma, Virendra Saxena, Amardeep Jha, Cyli Khare, Amit Deondi, Rajeev Raj, Gargi Shitole, Anurag Kashyap, Geetanjali Kulkarni, Makrand Deshpande, Shishir Sharma, Virendra Saxena)

The Cave (The Cave (Syria))

Review preview for The Cave

Fayyad carefully balances sound so that audiences are not overwhelmed by the thunder of the shelling but still get enough of a sense of it to understand what it does to those on the ground.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Documentary about an underground Syrian hospital and its staff

(Country: Syria, Denmark, Germany, Qatar, USA; Year: 2019; Director: Feras Fayyad; Writer: Alisar Hasan, Feras Fayyad; Stars: Amani Ballour, Salim Namour)

Full review

First Love (Hatsukoi)

Set over one night in Tokyo, we follow Leo, a young boxer down on his luck as he meets his ‘first love’ Monica, a call girl and an addict but still an innocent. Little does Leo know, Monica is unwittingly caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, and the two are pursued through the night by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin sent by the Chinese Triads.

(Country: Japan, UK; Year: 2019; Director: Takashi Miike; Writer: Masaru Nakamura; Stars: Masataka Kubota, Nao Omori, Shota Sometani, Sakurako Konishi, Becky, Jun Murakami, Sansei Shiomi, Seiyo Uchino)

Krabi, 2562

Portrait of the Thai tourist town.

(Country: UK, Thailand; Year: 2019; Director: Ben Rivers, Anocha Suwichakornpong; Stars: Arak Amornsupasiri, Nuttawat Attasawat, Primrin Puarat, Achtara Suwan, Siraphan Wattanajinda, Arak Amornsupasiri, Nuttawat Attasawat, Primrin Puarat, Achtara Suwan, Siraphan Wattanajinda)

Love, Life And Laughter

A chorus girl with big dreams meets a young boy who wants to be a writer and they agree to meet in two years to see which of their dreams have come true.

(Country: UK; Year: 1923; Director: George Pearson; Writer: George Pearson; Stars: Betty Balfour, Harry Jonas, Frank Stanmore, Annie Esmond, Nancy Price, Sydney Fairbrother, Eric Smith, A. Harding Steerman, Audrey Ridgewell, Gordon Hopkirk, Dacia Deane, Betty Balfour, Harry Jonas, Frank Stanmore, Annie Esmond)

Our Ladies

Review preview for Our Ladies

It feels a bit like a box-ticking exercise at a funding body.

Andrew Robertson · 2 out of 5
Comedy drama sees a group of choirgirls on a day trip to Edinburgh.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Michael Caton-Jones; Writer: Michael Caton-Jones, based on the book by Alan Warner; Stars: Eve Austin, Tallulah Greive, Abigail Lawrie, Sally Messham, Rona Morison, Marli Siu)

Full review

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (Portrait De La Jeune Fille En Feu)

Review preview for Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

What could have been a traditionally lavish costume drama has been pared down to highlight the erotic tension and sensuality

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
On an isolated island in Bretagne at the end of the 18th century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Céline Sciamma; Writer: Céline Sciamma; Stars: Valeria Golino, Adèle Haenel, Noémie Merlant, Luàna Bajrami, Cécile Morel)

Full review See: Interview with Noémie Merlant about Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Jumbo

Rocks

Review preview for Rocks

The camera is, literally, down with the kids, at their eye level, drinking in their mayhem, their laughter and their viewpoint.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A young girl is determined to keep the fact that there mother has left her and her younger brother alone from the authorities, through fear of being separated from him.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Sarah Gavron; Writer: Theresa Ikoko, Claire Wilson; Stars: Bukky Bakray, Kosar Ali, D'angelou Osei Kissiedu, Shaneigha-Monik Greyson, Ruby Stokes, Tawheda Begum, Afi Okaidja, Anastasia Dymitrow, Sarah Niles, Layo-Christina Akinlude, Sharon D. Clarke, Islah Abdur-Rahman, Shola Adewusi, Mohammad Amiri, Brie-Morgan Appleton)

Full review See: Sarah Gavron and Theresa Ikoko on shooting Rocks and pushing for diversity , Rocks interview with Theresa Ikoko and Sarah Gavron