San Sebastian 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.

Amid all the deprivation Arnold, as is her style, uncovers elements that lift the action out of the ordinary and into the realms of fantasy and magical realism.

Director Edward Berger and his director of photography Stephane Fontaine have made every frame art.

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

Audiard has assembled a remarkable team of actors

It’s ironic that a film about a family who have built a perfect facsimile of a life for themselves should feel so overly constructed itself

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.

Small children reciting old rhymes is surely one of the oldest tricks in the book for generating atmosphere but Ataka51 employ it with the smoothness of a tried and tested magician.

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.

Much of this is played for whimsical comedy, although there are some barbs where you might not expect them.

With elements that are sadly all too recognisable, the familiar story is elevated by the strength of the performances and the decent pace and no-nonsense approach adopted by Bollaín.

It tells what could be a goofy story, about awkward teenagers obsessed with a TV series called The Pink Opaque, but portrays it as an ominous, nightmarish mindfuck.

Coppola has style, but sometimes employs too much of it.

The two siblings bond and the disparate threads of their relationship prove immensely touching as they ruminate on the lost years and chances.

It is described simply as “A Fable”, but there is nothing simple about this over-ambitious allegorical sprawl.

Elliot time and again marries darkness and light, sweetness with sour to create a satisfying emotional umami.

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.

Carreira shows how quiet desperation can be eroding

Hunter delivers a riveting central performance, her silence speaking for a myriad women whose stories have been overlooked by history.

Lanthimos skillfully transforms this lustful carnival into a coming-of-age drama, emphasising the protagonist's mastery of sexuality as a connotation of her mental evolution.

It’s quickly apparent that entering prison means becoming part of the collective body that is the prisoner population, with the choreographed movements that accompany the songs reinforcing the sense of synchronicity.

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.

Grittily compelling

This playfully filmed coming-of-age narrative never loses its empathetic eye.

Through it all is a common thread of authenticity and of women opening up about things and feelings they are rarely asked to scrutinise.

Brutal, bloody and enriched with a specific dark humour.

Reaches touching heights as it follows the marked son of a dead sicario from childhood to young adulthood.

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

A perfect example of just how much the stars of a film can elevate mediocre material by the strength of their performances.

The delight of the drama stems from the well crafted characters, while its heft hinges on toxicity that may not be immediately obvious.

The film mines a lot of clichés but manages to do something a little different with them, blending traditional elements of children’s fiction with a distinctly 21st Century sensibility.