Reviews by Amber Wilkinson

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Plainclothes (2024)

  Review preview for Plainclothes

  Blyth and Tovey have chemistry to burn and Emmi generates pressure cooker tension as the past and many faces of the present prove to be just a synapse away in the kaleidoscope of Lucas’ mind.

  A promising undercover officer assigned to lure and arrest gay men defies orders when he falls in love with a target.
• 
  Bugonia (2025)

  Review preview for Bugonia

  While some directors spend their lives crafting love letters to the worlds they create, Yorgos Lanthimos has developed a fine line in cinematic hate mail to humanity.

  Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.
• 
  Maspalomas (2025)

  Review preview for Maspalomas

  Arregi and Goenaga are at pains to suggest that no matter what your political or sexual stance, we’re all human underneath.

  An accident forces a septugenarian to return to his home town and the daughter he abandoned years before.
• 
  Six Days In Spring (2025)

  Review preview for Six Days In Spring

  Haïdara’s ability to switch moods from fun to fear is a key selling point of the film.

  Despite adversity, Sana wants her twins to have a spring vacation, but all her plans fall through. Together, they decide to stay in a luxury villa on the Riviera, owned by Sana's former in-laws. Without telling anyone. Six days of sunshine that mark the end of innocence.
• 
  Redoubt (2025)

  Review preview for Redoubt

  The production design of Redoubt is nothing short of a triumph.

  At the peak of the Cold War, farm worker Karl-Göran Persson starts fortifying his house. He gathers scrap metal and casts it into the walls to build a fortress meant to protect himself and his neighbours setting him on the path to conflict with his community
• 
  Weightless (2025)

  Review preview for Weightless

  Never makes light of Lea’s desires while at the same time showing us in real time how reality competes with imagination, fear with excitement.

  A girl finds boundaries tested and broken on a trip to summer camp.
• 
  Ballad Of A Small Player (2025)

  Review preview for Ballad Of A Small Player

  There is talk of “hungry ghosts” and shadows but little of substance to show as the gambling cliches stack up like bad debts and the plot twists are signposted as brightly as the casinos.

  When his past and his debts start to catch up with him, a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.
• 
  La Grazia (2025)

  Review preview for La Grazia

  The plot may be straightforward but the characters are offbeat.

  A president faces choices in his final months in office.
• 
  Sentimental Value (2025)

  Review preview for Sentimental Value

  What marks Trier out is his ability to take on intellectual ideas like this but make them play out in ways that don’t feel forced or overly constructed.

  In the wake of their mother's death, two sisters grapple with their relationship with their filmmaker father as he tries to involve one of them in his latest project.
• 
  27 Nights (205)

  Review preview for 27 Nights

  At its heart, this Netflix comedy drama hinges on what we put a price on in life.

  The story of Martha Hoffman, an eccentric and wealthy patron who is committed to a psychiatric clinic by her daughters. The expert witness Casares investigates whether this is a scheme to control their mother’s fortune or if Martha truly suffers from a form of dementia that endangers her well-being and that of her family.
• 
  Lost Land (2025)

  Review preview for Lost Land

  The choice of child protagonists not only adds to Lost Land’s emotional heft but also brings home the extra level of uncertainty and confusion felt by youngsters across the globe forced to make these sorts of dangerous odysseys in hope of safe haven.

  In the hope of reuniting with their scattered family, four-year-old Shafi and his nine-year-old sister Somira leave a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh on a perilous journey to reach Malaysia.
• 
  Franz (2025)

  Review preview for Franz

  Playful biopic that rips up chronology and frequently tears down the fourth wall so that we’re never sure if we’re going to be the ones looking into the fishbowl of his life or the ones being inspected.

  The life of the writer Franz Kafka, from his birth to his death.
• 
  Kabul, Between Prayers (2025)

  Review preview for Kabul, Between Prayers

  A feat of patience.

  Documentary about a Taliban part-time soldier and his younger brother.
• 
  Inside Amir (2025)

  Review preview for Inside Amir

  It may be episodic but its themes are so well connected that it never feels disjointed.

  Drama revolving around the life of a young man on the verge of emigrating from Tehran to southern Italy.
• 
  If You Should Leave Before Me (2025)

  Review preview for If You Should Leave Before Me

  The Andersons embrace theatricality in a way that works for them.

  A couple work through their issues as they enter a series of fantasty realms to help the recently deceased.
• 
  Short Summer (2025)

  Review preview for Short Summer

  Just as the sun dapples down through the trees, so the shadows of war creep in at the margins.

  An eight-year-old spends summer with her grandparents as the distant echoes of war make their presence felt.
• 
  Calle Málaga (2025)

  Review preview for Calle Málaga

  This isn’t a fuzzy celebration of making do with what you have as you get older but of embracing the passions that endure.

  An aging Spanish woman in Tangier resists her daughter's decision to sell her home. Determined to stay, she does everything she can to keep her home and reclaim the belongings of a lifetime.
• 
  Mosquitoes (2025)

  Review preview for Mosquitoes

  Shot in squared off 1.85:1 ratio – except for a handful of ‘world expanding’ moments – the choice is fitting for the intensity of the children’s gaze.

  1997 Linda is eight years old, has few teeth, a very rich grandmother and a beautiful, dangerous and disruptive mother. It will be the encounter with two peers, sisters Azzurra and Marta, that will teach her how to become a child.
• 
  The Holy Boy (2025)

  Review preview for The Holy Boy

  Likely to put a smile on the faces of horror fans who favour the dissection of ideas over dismemberment.

  In Italy's happiest town, a haunted teacher discovers dark secret behind weekly gatherings where locals seek healing from a teenage boy's embrace. His quest to save the youth reveals the sinister nature of a community hiding behind joy.
• 
  The Tale Of Silyan (2025)

  Review preview for The Tale Of Silyan

  Kotevska leans into the metaphor with the full force of a Disney film – but it is hardly inappropriate given the state of many modern farming communities who find their livelihoods dwindling and their younger family members forced to fly the nest in a bid to provide for their own children.

  A farmer's bond with a white stork intertwines with North Macedonian folklore.
• 
  Don't Let The Sun (2025)

  Review preview for Don't Let The Sun

  As an exercise in world building, Zünd nails a vibe of general otherworldliness.

  A man who is hired to be a father figure for a young girl begins to forge an unexpected connection.
• 
  Hyena (2025)

  Review preview for Hyena

  A visually inventive watch even if it is going over familiar turf

  A student faces a choice about whether to run with the pack at an intense art school.
• 
  In Hell With Ivo (2025)

  Review preview for In Hell With Ivo

  As a showcase for Dimchev’s talents, this is a success.

  Portrait of queer performance artist Ivo Dimchev.
• 
  Mother (2025)

  Review preview for Mother

  This is such a buttoned up character study that it feels more like a riff than an exploration.

  Mother Teresa biopic.
• 
  Celtic Utopia (2025)

  Review preview for Celtic Utopia

  Doesn’t just reflect the reality of modern Ireland but actively embraces it when it makes its presence felt.

  Documentary considering Ireland's contemporary music scene, but also that of a postcolonial society wrestling with its heritage.
• 
  Mortician (2025)

  Review preview for Mortician

  This may be a two-hander but the constantly inventive framing from Kahani ensures that conversations never feel dull and his employment of light is impressive.

  A mild-mannered Iranian mortician in Canada forms an unexpected bond with a dissident singer in exile.
• 
  Cutting Through Rocks (2025)

  Review preview for Cutting Through Rocks

  The idea of her as a lone voice is emphasised by striking cinematography, often of her riding her bike across the landscape, which has the wide-open quality of a western.

  As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions by training teenage girls to ride motorcycles and stopping child marriages. When accusations arise questioning Sara’s intentions to empower the girls, her identity is put in turmoil.
• 
  Letters (2024)

  Review preview for Letters

  As just a single camera is used, the focus remains tight on one woman or the other and Sloth’s skill in anticipating when to move from one person to the other is a large part of what makes the film successful.

  A mother and daughter share the letters they wrote to each other a decade ago.
• 
  Dracula (2025)

  Review preview for Dracula

  Somewhere between the low brow cock jokes and the high stakes – by which, I mean the sharp wooden pointy ones – Radu Jude serves up a sharp edged critique of populism, capitalism and the modern world.

  Gonzo exploration of the Vlad the Impaler mythos.
• 
  Silent Legacy (2025)

  Review preview for Silent Legacy

  Jenni Kivistö and Jussi Rastas take an appropriately balletic approach to the life of contemporary dance choreographer Sibiry Konate.

  A choreographer who has made a new life for himself in Finland struggles with the weight of expectation from people back in his Burkina Faso homeland.
• 
  Randaghi (2025)

  Review preview for Randaghi

  Offers a savage anthem to doomed youth.

  Two boys go wild at night.
• 
  Kerouac's Road: The Beat Of A Nation (2025)

  Review preview for Kerouac's Road: The Beat Of A Nation

  Ambitious in its attempts to stitch Jack Kerouac’s biography through a patchwork exploration of both cultural and social modern America as related to his seminal book On The Road.

  Jack Kerouac's On the Road finds new relevance as modern travellers including Josh Brolin, W. Kamau Bell and Natalie Merchant reveal how his quest for authentic experience resonates powerfully in our screen-saturated era.
• 
  Heavens Above! (1963)

  Review preview for Heavens Above!

  This a film that is peppered with perfect moments, yet the embarrassment of riches in terms of its targets means it also feels quite scattergun at times.

  Trouble brews when an idealistic reverend is sent to a posh parish by mistake.
• 
  Two Way Stretch (1960)

  Review preview for Two Way Stretch

  The sort of character-driven comedy we seem to have sadly lost the art for in recent decades.

  A trio of inmates plot a jewel heist with a perfect alibi.
• 
  Oh, Hi! (2025)

  Review preview for Oh, Hi!

  If either the sense of danger associated with Isaac’s position was greater or the well of comedy ran deeper Brooks could have been on to something.

  Iris and Isaac’s first romantic weekend getaway goes awry.
• 
  The Ballad Of Suzanne Césaire (2024)

  Review preview for The Ballad Of Suzanne Césaire

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

  Hybrid biopic about the Martinican writer and activist.
• 
  And She Didn't Die (2025)

  Review preview for And She Didn't Die

  As Kethiwe weaves together her mother’s story, she also considers her family’s part within it and the film is considerably richer for the documentarian’s decision to give her own doubts and thoughts some space.

  Lauretta Ncobo's daughter considers her author mother's exile from South Africa and subsequent life and work.
• 
  Rock Out (2025)

  Review preview for Rock Out

  Sometimes unashamedly gossipy, frequently poignant and generally philosophical and upbeat.

  Documentary exploring the historic LGBTQ+ influence on rock 'n' roll.
• 
  Shards Of Light (2025)

  Review preview for Shards Of Light

  The sense of hopefulness in people’s urge to continue and to rebuild shines through but this film also looks the lasting more negative impact of war unflinchingly in the eye.

  Documentary about the people living in war-ravaged Bucha.
• 
  Welded Together (2025)

  Review preview for Welded Together

  At times this is an achingly painful film, as Katya determinedly ploughs on hoping that love and stoicism can conquer all

  A young welder confronts her fractured past to protect her sister.
• 
  Oscurana (2025)

  Review preview for Oscurana

  Mora draws us into the emotional space of those on the move.

  Consideration of the journey taken by migrants on foot across the US border.
• 
  In A Whisper (2025)

  Review preview for In A Whisper

  Gonçalves’ film is one that lives in the moment.

  Portrait of Belgian figure skater Nina Pinzarrone
• 
  Comparsa (2025)

  Review preview for Comparsa

  The documentarians strike a careful balance themselves, channelling the joy and energy of the group as they come together to create puppets or work on raps and drum routines but never forgetting the difficult and melancholy backdrop they’re doing this against.

  From the shadows of a Guatemalan neighbourhood scared into silence, two sisters lead a luminous rebellion.
• 
  Sudan, Remember Us (2024)

  Review preview for Sudan, Remember Us

  A fine example of on-the-ground reportage.

  Chronicle of Sudan’s youth revolution shows how hope was ignited though through music, murals and the unyielding power of words.
• 
  The Gas Station Attendant (2025)

  Review preview for The Gas Station Attendant

  Universal ideas interlock with this personal and resonant story.

  A daughter reflects on her South Asian father’s life, his never-ending pursuit of the American dream, and the human capacity to love and survive.
• 
  Cuba & Alaska (2025)

  Review preview for Cuba & Alaska

  Troyanovsky also communicates the mental toll that comes with being away from the frontline, not just for those who have been in active service, like Alaska, but also parents and family.

  Documentary following the friendship of two paramedics on the frontline in Ukraine.
• 
  Natchez (2025)

  Review preview for Natchez

  Cinemtographer Noah Collier deserves a lot of credit for keeping himself largely invisible so that people reveal themselves, while working with editor Pablo Proenza, Herbert smoothly brings together these facets so that a bigger picture begins to be formed.

  A consideration of the American South’s unreconciled history through a Mississippi town that mixes antebellum tourism with a community deeply divided over its past.
• 
  Space Cadet

  Review preview for Space Cadet

  A film that gently tackles adult themes including grief, being an empty nester and memory but in ways that make it accessible to all ages.

  Robot’s sole purpose has always been to nurture Celeste into the brilliant scientist she has now become. But as the young astronaut sets off on her first interstellar mission, Robot is left behind.
• 
  Underland (2025)

  Review preview for Underland

  A polished and beguiling piece of cinema that invites us to forge our own associations between different epochs and beliefs.

  Documentary following explorers into places rarely glimpsed by human eyes: caves, flooded drains and underground laboratories.
• 
  Colours of Time (2025)

  Review preview for Colours of Time

  There’s a fairy-tale element to this – and once the famous names start to be introduced, including Sarah Bernhardt, it becomes obvious it’s no history lesson – but that suits the crowdpleasing material well.

  After a group of distant relatives inherit a house, they begin to investigate the life of their predecessor.