San Sebastian Film Festival — A–Z of films

Las Acacias is a slow subtle film which focuses on the interaction of the three main characters within the bubble of the truck's cab.

The killer-for-hire subgenre takes on an abstract, existentialist complexion.

I cannot remember the last time a film made me cry and laugh out loud half a minute later, especially not in public. The Artist did that.

Verhoeven is definitely attempting to emulate The Master here, and is frequently successful.

A beautiful film that manages to marry word, image, and music in a way that does justice to the poetry conjured up by the people it celebrates.

One of the most affecting films of the year.

Cristián Jiménez likes quirkiness and his enthusiasm for it, evidenced in his first film Optical Illusions and again here, goes a good way to convincing you to take the ride.

The way the plot manipulates every worst case scenario is fiendishly clever. Seldom has an ensemble cast meshed so effectively.

Like many an Old West prospector's treasure, while Mateo Gil's movie has a good- looking gloss its substance is more fool's gold that fortune.

Even the ending, which otherwise would be dismissed as inconclusive, feels valid and true, emphasising yet again the magic that is Mann.

Concheiro's pacing - although perhaps a little too slow in places - allows us to become steeped in the teens' disenfranchisement to the point where we can understand how they come to view a robbery as a good idea.

Rachel Weisz makes it her own, delivering a powerful, raw performance that is undoubtedly Oscar material.

Drive is cool. Really cool. In fact this will probably be the coolest film you will see this year.

A gentle, enjoyable little drama - a very comfortable and concise 80 minutes.

It's difficult to understand how anybody could put themselves through this for eight or more hours a day over a six month period. There's only really one answer: love.

Alien invasion aficionados would do well to avoid but if you're a fan of the comedy of discomfort with a slacker vibe and a hint of romance, Extraterrestrial certainly has charms.

With absolutely stunning cinematography and subtly effective performances, Finisterrae is more moving than you might expect.

Forest Whitaker's presence is so forceful that you don't want to think about the absurdity of his character.

This is Scorsese at the top of his game.

As a director, he captures the seedy glamour of the gambling world perfectly and as a writer he propels a taut, no-frills story along with a screenplay that’s literate and believable.

Director Aki Kaurismäki's latest is a humanist hug of a fable, which concludes that while big miracles may happen, it's the everyday 'miracles' people create for one another that really count.

Mann’s film is a stone-cold masterpiece.

The testosterone, sweat and fag-smoke ambience of a New York precinct house is so well-realised that you might want a shower afterwards.

Penn had a definite feel for the incidental details and the everyday rhythms of small-town life.

The result is a whole lot of portent with little pay-off.

Sawadogo gives a potent, revealing performance which is sadly wasted in a story without impulse or direction.

Hirokazu Koreeda's childhood adventure is a sweet and subtle tale of friendship, generosity of spirit and the triumph of hope over expectation.

The film's gentle poetry conjures up flavours in the imagination.

Overall, King Of New York is distinguished from similarly themed films by its willingness to embrace the gangster genre's exploitative nature; it's as shallow as a puddle but it's riveting viewing all the same.

Usually with a comedy you're lucky to get one genuine laugh-out-loud moment. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang has at least half a dozen.

The Last Circus is worth a watch for the unbridled imagination on display but ultimately it falls apart as much as its main protagonist.

As Brucie bursts into yet another room and unloads his automatics into yet another group of anonymous heavies you’ll find it hard not to think that this has all been done before – and better.

What is unexpected in this self-conscious pander to the cult of genre cinema is the violence. It lacks the dignity of constraint.

Enjoyable to a point but frustratingly convoluted at times

Half-formed ideas about the nature of family and responsibility can be glimpsed but the action ends with a whimper rather than a bang.

A film about photographers, by photographers, for photographers, and every bit of it a visual delight.

As a moody, atmospheric study of paranoia, it is hard to beat.

A complex thriller, deftly handled.

Classic Coen Bros.

Naranjo never lets the tension slip and finds ways to make the situation worse for his hapless heroine while still keeping the narrative firmly in the realms of fact not fantasy.

Structured like a Greek tragedy, steeped in Gothic gloom, this is a bold and dramatic tale but also a sly one.

Penn is powerful; Bacon is sharp; Robbins is troubled; Fishburne is alert. Having them here is a privilege and a pleasure

It’s one of the most perfect examples of this quintessentially American genre that I’ve ever seen

Watching Panic is like tracing your finger around the blueprint of a roller coaster ride, instead of actually riding it.

There's an awareness here that's missing from many such tales, a more astute take on how disability and society interact.

If you see one dance film in your life, see this one with those 3D glasses.

While on the surface Pride And Glory seems to have cynicism coming out of every pore and revolves around the world of dirty officers, at its core it's actually a love-letter to honest cops.

Ultimately the in-your-face style and confusing story stop the emotions from getting truly under your skin.

Like the chocolate at its heart, Améris' film is sweet, a little indulgent and over all-too-quickly but leaves a lingering glow of happiness.

Stick a Johnny Cash CD on, fix yourself a JD and a Bud, then settle down for some good, thoroughly unclean fun.

Tarantino's talent for dialogue is what catapults Dogs into instant-classic status.

Where the children's stories feel as nostalgically sweet as a Sherbet Dib-Dab and Delpy has always had a good feel for the comedy of discomfort, she fails to hold back and ultimately pushes the adults into caricature.

Se7en is filthier than a dead stray dog at the bottom of a New Jersey toxic waste dump.

There is a sense that we are glimpsing a society in flux.

Fassbender and Mulligan burn white hot in the central pairing, their emotional maelstrom magnetic even when no dialogue is used.

The parallel stories of the two serial killers exponentially increase the tension of the whole and this unrelenting film never lets the audience relax.

Fascinating throughout but often difficult to watch.

Layer in the realisation that what you are seeing actually happened and the result takes you beyond disturbing into that place where your skin starts to creep and your brain crawls into the foetal position.

Bigelow delivers a neo noir that hides its hope and redemption under a throbbing veil of paranoia, tension and adrenalin.

The film is directionless and charmless.

Those looking for drama might be advised to steer clear, but for anyone willing to fall into the film's gentle ruminatory rhythm, it is a visual treat

The idea of the cyclical nature of love and life is ripe for exploration and Margot is a pleasingly complex character, whose motivations are believable.

The characters in the film are very much 2D.

There have been great police corruption movies - Sidney Lumet's Q&A comes to mind - but usually they are more subtle than this.

A stunning film, Malick's greatest work to date.

What really stands out in Tyrannosaur, however, are the towering performances.

Singer and McQuarrie expertly sustain a rich and tantalising conceit, keeping the reader guessing to a superb climax – and beyond.

This is a tale which rewards the intelligent viewer and, ultimately, has much more to say for itself than the average crime thriller.

Labaki manages to get across a view of life that is not predominant in cinematic stories, without making it seem like an agenda.

The meandering pace can get tedious at times, but cinematically it's a masterpiece.

The steady - but never sluggish - pace allows the characters to live and breathe.

If you're a fan of tense crime thrillers full of scares and mystery, then it may not be for you - but it's certainly about you.