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London Film Festival · 2021

London Film Festival 2021

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12 films · 5 reviews

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8 Bar - The Evolution of Grime

Review preview for 8 Bar - The Evolution of Grime

8 Bar makes light work of sketching the conditions that shaped the music, betraying a canny understanding of the music industry’s politics, as well as the changing shape of music sales in the 00s.

Sunil Chauhan · 4 out of 5
Documentary tracking the history of Grime music.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Ewen Spencer)

Full review

Bergman Island

Review preview for Bergman Island

The film unfolds at an easy pace, Hansen-Løve making everything matter of fact and yet beguiling, thereby softening viewers up to accept the fantastic or surreal aspects of the narrative as normal.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
An American filmmaking couple retreat to the island for the summer to write screenplays for their upcoming films in an act of pilgrimage to the place that inspired Bergman. As the summer and their screenplays advance, the lines between reality and fiction start to blur against the backdrop of the island's wild landscape.

(Country: France, Sweden, Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Mia Hansen-Løve; Writer: Mia Hansen-Løve; Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Tim Roth, Vicky Krieps, Anders Danielsen Lie, Joel Spira)

Full review See: Mia Hansen-Løve ‪in conversation on‬ the ghosts of Maya and Bergman Island

Marx Can Wait (Marx Puo Aspettare)

Review preview for Marx Can Wait

The family portrait is devastating.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Camillo died in 1968. Almost 50 years later, Marco gathers his whole family for a lunch. With his family he wonders about Camillo, his twin, and life.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2021; Director: Marco Bellocchio; Writer: Marco Bellocchio; Stars: Marco Bellocchio)

Full review

Money Has Four Legs

Satirical drama set in the world of Myanmar film.

(Country: Myanmar; Year: 2020; Director: Maung Sun; Writer: Ma Aeint, Maung Sun; Stars: Khin Khin Hsu, Okkar Dat Khe, Ko Thu)

Omar Amiralay: Sorrow, Time, Silence

Film about the Syrian documentarian who died in 2011.

(Country: France, Syria; Year: 2021; Director: Hala Abdallah; Writer: Hala Abdallah)

Quant

Documentary about the fashion icon.

(Year: 2021; Director: Sadie Frost; Stars: Camilla Rutherford, Kate Moss, Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes, Dave Davies, Tony McGee, Jill Kennington, Joan Corlass, Dennis Nothgruft, Clare Hunt, Roger Tredre, Derry Curry, Heather Tilbury Phillips)

The Real Charlie Chaplin

Documentary about the life and career of the silent movie star.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Peter Middleton, James Spinney; Writer: Oliver Kindeberg, Peter Middleton, James Spinney; Stars: Dickie Beau, Haley Flaherty, Paul Leonard, Pearl Mackie, Dominic Marsh, Jeff Rawle, Anne Rosenfeld, Paul Ryan, Matthew Wolf, Eben Young)

Ripples Of Life

A film crew arrives in remote town Yong’an. The fresh air they bring in spreads ripples in the heart of Gu, the owner of a local restaurant. She dreams of another life. Movie star Chen is back in her hometown; she expects to revisit her childhood friends and good old days. An endless debate persists between the director and the writer, revolving from cinema to life. Shooting must start, although consensus is never reached.

(Country: China; Year: 2021; Director: Shujun Wei; Writer: Chunlei Kang, Shujun Wei; Stars: Zishan Yang, Miyi Huang, Jiajia Wang, Kang Luo, Meng Zhou, Nan Cui, Chen Wang, Zishan Yang, Miyi Huang, Jiajia Wang, Kang Luo, Meng Zhou, Nan Cui, Chen Wang)

The Storms Of Jeremy Thomas

Documentary about the British film producer

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Mark Cousins; Stars: Tilda Swinton, Debra Winger, Jeremy Thomas)

The Story Of Film: A New Generation

Review preview for The Story Of Film: A New Generation

Cousins' observations are, by their very nature, particular and personal - but that is part of the joy of this sort of essay film.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Mark Cousins returns with another journey across the landscape of film, examining what changes the 21st century has brought.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Mark Cousins; Writer: Mark Cousins)

Full review

The Taking

Review preview for The Taking

Philippe’s incisive, forthright approach leaves no room for apologism.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary exploring the use of Monument Valley in film.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Alexandre O Philippe; Writer: Alexandre O Philippe)

Full review

We (Nous)

Documentary revealing stories around the RER B, an urban train that traverses Paris and its environs from north to south.

(Country: France; Year: 2021; Director: Alice Diop; Writer: Alice Diop; Stars: Ethan Balnoas, Marcel Balnoas, Pierre Bergounioux, Ndeye Sighane Diop, Bamba Sibi, Ismael Soumaïla Sissoko)