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London Film Festival · 2021

London Film Festival 2021

Thrill

Programme

9 films · 5 reviews

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Boiling Point

Review preview for Boiling Point

Given the state of the things, it's fair to say that some of the situations that will arise are telegraphed ahead of time, but that adds rather than detracts from the tension - after all, aren't all satisfying meals in some ways connected to anticipation?

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The shift has hardly begun for head chef Andy and he’s already behind with everything. His restaurant is overbooked, there’s a disgruntled inspector combing the kitchen and, if that weren’t enough, a culinary icon and a respected food critic have turned up for dinner.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Philip Barantini; Writer: James Cummings, Philip Barantini; Stars: Stephen Graham, Vinette Robinson, Jason Flemyng, Ray Panthaki, Malachi Kirby, Alice Feetham, izuka Hoyle, Hannah Walters, Taz Skylar, Lauryn Ajufo)

Full review

Brother's Keeper (Okul Tıraşı)

Review preview for Brother's Keeper

The director shows the warmth of the children against the cool aloofness of teachers who feel little connection to their wards, even as we know even Yusuf's herculean efforts are likely to prove ineffectual.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
When a boy falls ill at an authoritarian boarding school, his friend struggles to get the staff to take notice.

(Country: Turkey, Romania; Year: 2021; Director: Ferit Karahan; Writer: Gülistan Acet, Ferit Karahan; Stars: Samet Yıldız, Ekin Koç, Mahir İpek, Melih Selçuk, Cansu Fırıncı, Nurullah Alaca)

Full review

Bull

Bull mysteriously returns home after a 10 year absence to seek revenge on those who double crossed him all those years ago.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Paul Andrew Williams; Writer: Paul Andrew Williams; Stars: Tamzin Outhwaite, Neil Maskell, David Hayman)

Encounter

A man fearing an alien invasion goes on the run with his sons.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2021; Director: Michael Pearce; Writer: Joe Barton, Michael Pearce; Stars: Janina Gavankar, Octavia Spencer, Riz Ahmed, Rory Cochrane, Keith Szarabajka, Shane McRae, Antonio Jaramillo, Lucian-River Chauhan, Aditya Geddada, Bill Dawes, Brennan Keel Cook, Alisha Seaton, Stefan Sims, Melissa Jo Bailey, Peter Nikkos)

Hellbound

After people receive a text message telling them when they are going to hell and demon rocks up to oblige, setting a detective on a hunt for the truth.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2021; Director: Yeon Sang-ho; Writer: Choi Kyu-Seok, YeonSang-ho; Stars: Yoo Ah-in, Kim Hyun-joo, Jeong Min Park, Won Jin-ah)

Hinterland

Review preview for Hinterland

With backdrops which hark back to early German expressionism, looking for all the world like a Robert Wiene or FW Murnau set, Hinterland is a visual treat.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Returning to a Vienna they hardly recognise after two years in a Russian PoW camp, a group of Austrian soldiers are hunted by a sadistic serial killer.

(Country: Austria, Luxembourg; Year: 2021; Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky; Writer: Robert Buchschwenter, Hanno Pinter, Stefan Ruzowitzky; Stars: Murathan Muslu, Liv Lisa Fries, Marc Limpach, Max von der Groeben, Maximillien Jadin, Timo Wagner, Aaron Friesz, Stipe Erceg, Trystan Pütter, Germain Wagner, Matthias Schweighöfer, Margarete Tiesel, Nilton Martins, Jeanne Werner, Konstantin Rommelfangen)

Full review

Munich: The Edge Of War

Political thriller set against the backdrop of autumn 1938 with Europe on the brink of war.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Christian Schwochow; Writer: Ben Power adapted from the novel by Robert Harris; Stars: Jessica Brown Findlay, George MacKay, Jeremy Irons, Anjli Mohindra, Alex Jennings, Robert Bathurst, Mark Lewis Jones, August Diehl, Sandra Hüller, Liv Lisa Fries, Jannis Niewöhner, Tina Louise Owens, Genevieve Florence, Nicholas Shaw, Helen Clyro)

See For Me

Review preview for See For Me

A beautifully self-contained, self-sufficient little film.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A legally blind housesitter turns to a mobile app service for help when the remote mansion she’s looking after is targeted by a gang of thieves.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2021; Director: Randall Okita; Writer: Adam Yorke, Tommy Gushue; Stars: Skyler Davenport, Kim Coates, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Laura Vandervoort, Matthew Gouveia, Keaton Kaplan, Pascal Langdale, Emily Piggford, Joe Pingue, George Tchortov, Drew Tyce)

Full review See: Interview with Skyler Davenport about See For Me

Wild Indian

Review preview for Wild Indian

Corbine gets caught up trying to cover the narrative ground, to set up both characters in twin time periods and explore their motivations and relationship.

Amber Wilkinson · 3 out of 5
Two men are inextricably bound together after covering up the savage murder of a schoolmate. After years of separation following wildly divergent paths, they must finally confront how their traumatic secret has irrevocably shaped their lives.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr; Writer: Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr; Stars: Michael Greyeyes, Chaske Spencer, Jesse Eisenberg, Kate Bosworth, Phoenix Wilson, Julian Gopal)

Full review