Reviews by Amber Wilkinson

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Brooklyn (2015)

  Review preview for Brooklyn

  With old-school romance pumping through its veins, fans of the genre will find this a pleasing indulgence.

  1950s Ireland: Eilis must confront a terrible dilemma — a heartbreaking choice between two men and two countries.
• 
  Brother (2010)

  Review preview for Brother

  The footballing action is also presented energetically and naturalistically and, because of the strong dynamic between the brothers, we care deeply about their fate.

  Two brothers try to escape the crime-ridden slums by trying out for a national football team.
• 
  Brother Jakob (2016)

  Review preview for Brother Jakob

  His wife proves much more interesting than him.

  Story of the filmmaker's journey to understand his brother's conversion to Islam.
• 
  Buddha Collapsed Out Of Shame (2007)

  Review preview for Buddha Collapsed Out Of Shame

  Although this film has got a very serious point to make, Hana Makhalbaf has an enviable lightness of touch and always remembers to keep the story front and centre.

  A little girl's attempt to go to school reveals the plight of many in modern Afghanistan.
• 
  Buenas noches, España (2011)

  Review preview for Buenas noches, España

  Screenings of Buenas Noches Espana should come with a free dose of ibruprofen because there's a good chance you'll leave with a headache.

  Experimental film, addresses the shared history of Spain and the Philippines through the idea of time travel.
• 
  Bullet In The Head (2008)

  Review preview for Bullet In The Head

  What would have made an entertaining, if experimental, 20-minute short film has here been extended beyond sanity.

  Avant-garde thriller invites audience to piece together the narrative.
• 
  Bumble Beeing: Part 1 - The Butterfly Effect (2003)

  A sting in the tale.
• 
  Buried Dreams (2006)

  Review preview for Buried Dreams

  This film will not be to everyone's taste ... but there is a haunting quality to Mocktar's story.

  A man tries to escape the memory of his past in the harsh mining environment of Burkina Faso.
• 
  Burke And Hare (2010)

  Review preview for Burke And Hare

  While much of the comedy might have garnered a few laughs as part of a Two Ronnies' skit back in the Seventies, here it feels dated, predictable and bland.

  Story of the infamous Edinburgh-based murderers.
• 
  Bushman's Secret (2007)

  Review preview for Bushman's Secret

  Offers a worthwhile and troubling insight into a culture forced into decline.

  Documentary charting the exploitation of the Khomani San.
• 
  A Bus Ride And Flowers In Her Hair (2005)

  A boy rides a bus on a sultry day.
• 
  Butterfly (2007)

  Review preview for Butterfly

  Clever direction helps us empathise with Gemma, not just peer in at her life voyeuristically.

  A girl talks about her Albinism.
• 
  Butterfly Kiss (1995)

  Review preview for Butterfly Kiss

  There is a world of possible interpretation lurking beneath the surface of Frank Cottrell Boyce's script, which is as disorientating as the scenario the characters find themselves in.

  A petrol station cashier falls for a serial killer.
• 
  Butter On The Latch (2012)

  Review preview for Butter On The Latch

  Both of Decker's feature films are characterised by intensity, for good and ill.

  Primal instincts come to the fore when a woman and her friend visit a music retreat.
• 
  "C" (2003)

  Experimental film finds art in nature
• 
  Cadet (2013)

  Review preview for Cadet

  Writer and director Kevin Meul's humour has an edge so barbed it sinks in like a shoe spike and sticks.

  A youngster is trained for a big race by his ultra-competitive dad.
• 
  Calvary (2014)

  Review preview for Calvary

  Although displaying much of the barbed wit of his first film, this is a more measured and moving work.

  A priest finds himself under threat.
• 
  Camp Victory, Afghanistan (2010)

  Review preview for Camp Victory, Afghanistan

  Dysinger's style is immersive, thrusting us to the centre of activity in the camp and helping us to connect both with the day-to-day struggles of the rank and file and some of the thorny philosophical and political issues that surround it.

  Documentary focusing on the fledgling Afghan National Army.
• 
  Canary (2009)

  Review preview for Canary

  While the Chinese puzzle of plot doesn't fully justify the attention it demands of the audience, there is no doubting Adams' bravery, complex vision or talent.

  Futuristic examination of societal and relationship dysfunction, viewed through the prism of organ transplant.
• 
  Cannibal (2013)

  Review preview for Cannibal

  Worth seeing for its gripping central performances and Cuenca's impressive camerawork - signposting better films from him to come - even though the story lacks killer instinct.

  A serial killer finds himself falliing for a potential victim.
• 
  Captain Fantastic (2016)

  Review preview for Captain Fantastic

  Taken as a whole, however, the director is trying too hard, pushing this family so far into caricature that we lose sight of the story of grief that is underpinning the shenanigans.

  A dad who has raised his kids in the forest is forced to take them on a road trip.
• 
  The Captive Heart (1946)

  Review preview for The Captive Heart

  Given the immediacy, it is perhaps no wonder that the story is leavened with some melodrama and romance, yet watching it now, Basil Dearden's film still has a surprisingly naturalistic aspect.

  A concentration camp escapee assumes the identity of a dead British officer in order to survive.
• 
  Carancho (2010)

  Review preview for Carancho

  There is a full-throttle, head-long feel to Trapero's film that sends it careering along.

  An ambulance-chasing lawyer forms a relationship with a young doctor.
• 
  Cargo (2006)

  Review preview for Cargo

  Cargo gets scuppered by its serpentine story, which is more confusing than compelling.

  Madness and murder on a dilapidated cargo ship.
• 
  Cargo (2007)

  Review preview for Cargo

  Viewer expectations, like that of the immigrants, are confounded as the hard-hitting consequences of this bleak act of humanity play out.

  A trafficked boy is saved from his fate, but is the alternative any less bleak?
• 
  Cargo (2010)

  Review preview for Cargo

  In space, it may well be that no one can hear you scream... but just about anyone who has seen any of the major space-set or futuristic thrillers from the past few decades will find the cliches of the genre ringing out in this Swiss sci-fi

  Trouble brews in the cargo hold of a spaceship.
• 
  Carlitopolis Redux (2006)

  A lab mouse gets into a tight squeak.
• 
  Carmin Tropical (2014)

  Review preview for Carmin Tropical

  Neither the mystery of Mabel's past nor the mystery she faces in her present fully satisfy - the former is too opaque and the latter telegraphed early.

  A trans woman returns to her hometown to investigate the murder of her oldest friend.
• 
  Cartel Land (2015)

  Review preview for Cartel Land

  One person's armed vigilante is another person's guardian angel and the border between these two ideas is wafer thin and easily crossed as Matthew Heineman's beautifully shot and probing documentary shows.

  Vigilantes on both sides of the Mexican Border with the US take on the drug cartels.
• 
  The Cat Pact (2007)

  Review preview for The Cat Pact

  Always a cat’s whisker away from cliché.

  Moggy hunting and romance on the rooftops of Barcelona.
• 
  Caught On A Train (1980)

  A young executive crosses swords with an elderly Austrian dowager on a trans-continental train.
• 
  Cactus (2008)

  Review preview for Cactus

  A lean and moody road-trip thriller, which though a little uneven, is nevertheless a deft piece of filmmaking.

  A kidnapper takes his payload cross country into the Aussie outback.
• 
  California Solo (2012)

  Review preview for California Solo

  Lewy avoids the trite path to redemption, choosing instead to keep this a study of man in midlife crisis, understated and realistic.

  An ageing, faded Britpop star is forced to confront his past if he wants to avoid deportation from the US.
• 
  Californie (2021)

  Review preview for Californie

  Cassigoli and Kaufmann avoid major plot turns in favour of the more believable everyday things that many teenagers on the fringes encounter..

  Jamila is an exuberant Moroccan girl with street smarts, who seems to have enormous potential to achieve great things - or else trigger mega-disasters. Californie follows her day in and day out from age 9 to 14, in the small town in southern Italy where she lives.
• 
  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.
• 
  Calm With Horses (2019)

  Review preview for Calm With Horses

  It's usually Keoghan who gets the acting plaudits, but though he is good as a wannabe bad guy, it's Jarvis who provides the heft, in more ways than one here.

  Thriller about a crime enforcer for a clan of drug dealers, while also trying to be a good father to his autistic son.
• 
  Camagroga (2019)

  Review preview for Camagroga

  Amador shoots in an unhurried style, that requires a bit of patience from the viewer but is perfectly suited to the way of life.

  A portrait of the unique agricultural centre la Huerta de Valencia, where tiger nuts are grown and turned into the regional drink horchata.
• 
  Cameraman: The Life And Work Of Jack Cardiff (2010)

  Review preview for Cameraman: The Life And Work Of Jack Cardiff

  McCall draws on Cardiff's life-long love of painting to adopt a similarly impressionistic style, brushing broad sweeps of anecdote and recollection about the cameraman on to his canvas to create a complex and emotionally engaging picture.

  Documentary about the work of the prolific cinema- tographer/ director. Read our exclusive interview with director Craig McCall.
• 
  Camorra (2018)

  Review preview for Camorra

  Not much explanation is needed to be immersed in the mournful and well-edited examination of a city in which the citizens become unwitting "foot soldiers" in a shapeless but enduring war.

  Documentary charting organised crime in Naples using archive footage.
• 
  Camping (2006)

  Review preview for Camping

  While Camping isn't breaking any new ground, it ploughs the old furrows with finesse.

  Culture clash comedy on a holiday campsite.
• 
  Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis (2021)

  Review preview for Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis

  Moral questions hang heavy in the air about whether ends can justify means and Loushy and Sivan ensure the soldiers' experience is kept front and centre.

  Jewish soldiers recount their roles at a top-secret military camp for Nazi scientists.
• 
  The Candidate (2018)

  Review preview for The Candidate

  The writers start from a place where the screw is already turned and, just when you think they can't get it any tighter, find new ways to increase the tension - matching their torque with action.

  Manuel, an influential deputy secretary of an regional government who has everything going his way, finds himself fighting for survival when news of his involvement in a corruption ring leaks out.
• 
  Candidates Of Death (2026)

  Review preview for Candidates Of Death

  Candidates Of Death becomes a quiet celebration of all the positive things that can come from creative endeavour besides the end product itself.

  A father goes on holiday with his son and two of his friends, during which time they make an amateur horror film together. As the years pass, they continue to shoot scenes for their “handcrafted,” carefree, imaginative horror project, with even more passion, dutiful consistency, and unwavering commitment: the documentary chronicles a decade of this adventure.
• 
  Cane Fire (2020)

  Review preview for Cane Fire

  Banua-Simon offers a strong critique of the situation, and particularly the housing crisis. But he also keeps in plenty of, often light-hearted, personal detail about his Uncle Henry, who acts as a guide of sorts to the island.

  Sociopolitical portrait of the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi.
• 
  Careless Crime (2020)

  Review preview for Careless Crime

  Time doesn't just shift in Shahram Mokri's Iranian drama about a fire at a cinema that killed 478, it also folds like origami and pirouettes, the past and present so close as they dance they can feel each other's breath.

  On a very ordinary day, four ordinary people decide to set fire to a cinema packed with people.
• 
  The Caretaker (1963)

  Review preview for The Caretaker

  A masterclass in tension and character exploration.

  Tale of two brothers, three pipe dreams and an unwelcome guest.
• 
  Carmilla (2019)

  Review preview for Carmilla

  Harris drinks deep of the novella's sapphic themes to present a tale of obsession and fear of 'the other' but though the end result is well turned out in terms of look and performance, it could use a little less corseting and a lot more bite.

  A passionate friendship develops between a sheltered 15-year-old and an enigmatic stranger in this Gothic tale.
• 
  Casablanca Beats (2021)

  Review preview for Casablanca Beats

  Although the heartfelt nature of the film is evident, it's a shame Ayouch became so wedded to its documentary element when its more stylised moments are where it finds its real energy.

  Young people from the Casablanca slum of Sidi Moumen participate in a cultural project that encourages them to express themselves through hip hop.
• 
  Caterpillar (2010)

  Review preview for Caterpillar

  Although couched in the realities of conflict, Wakamatsu is equally, if not more, concerned with the little horrors caused by organised, countrywide violence.

  Drama about a World War II veteran, left crippled and entirely dependent on his wife.
• 
  A Cat In Paris (2011)

  Review preview for A Cat In Paris

  Movement is everywhere, from the shadows playing on the characters' faces to the grace with which they move through the city of Paris.

  A cat with a double life becomes embroiled in a tale of animated adventure on the rooftops of Paris.