New York Film Festival — A–Z of films

It’s fitting for a film set in the “City of Dreams” and that is concerned with life’s illusions and how we navigate them as it is about the here and now.

What isn't untrue is that Anora is brilliant.

It’s not unusual to say that something cuts through the silence but in Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April it’s the silence that cuts through us.

The word ballad is a good choice in the title because Hunt-Ehrlich’s film is a rhythms and muse affair.

A past shines through another layer of the past into a silver screen present that is both familiar and brand-new.

Vigorously covering all bases, Diop cuts elegantly to give each position ample space.

Audiard has assembled a remarkable team of actors

A very New York film.

A thoughtful, shrewd examination of the impact of rapidly developing technologies.

It’s funny to begin with, watching Pansy rant with no filter, sharing her negative thoughts on everything from baby clothes with pockets to sofa salespeople, but gradually we realise just how close to the edge she is.

At times the discomfort that Harvest causes is not from dirt or despair but the room it leaves for interpretation.

Though it's no longer likely to shock horror audiences, Hellraiser remains highly watchable, and there is no doubting its importance in the history of cinema.

This is a tactile retelling, inviting us to imagine the sticky feel of Coca-Cola on hot skin in the sun or the heat of a sheepskin coat and the love that goes with it being passed from mum to daughter ahead of a trip abroad.

It is gorgeous, both to look at and to listen to. It's perhaps Larrain's most accessible film, though that's as much to do with its star as its subject.

Once again, Guiraudie proves himself the master of setting up a mystery by the means of perfect script economy that functions strictly on “need to know” basis.

Nickel Boys is a tremendously daring film.

Simply put, the viewer is constantly tempted to attribute the character’s old man’s ramblings both to the author of the source novel and to the filmmaker adapting it.

Nyoni expertly controls her narrative so that it glides effortlessly between the reality of the funeral preparations to the more surreal psychological trauma Shula is working through.

There’s also an emperor’s new clothes feeling to the general style, look closely and there's very little there.

Eisenberg takes us through the entire journey in a brisk 90 minutes, but the film never feels rushed.

Almodóvar goes all out with the delights fashion has to offer, bright colours, the joy of transformation - because it is never too late for sartorial metamorphosis.

The writing is sharp and succinct.

With a focus on moments of joy, Reed subverts the familiar melancholy of trans narratives and presents an optimistic tale about making inroads as an outsider, with much wider relevance.

Grittily compelling

Huppert's lines feel stiff from the get-go, predicting a vague narrative limited by a purposefully strange dialogue.