Reviews by Amber Wilkinson

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Dawn (2005)

  Two kids have a messy breakfast.
• 
  Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)

  Review preview for Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

  Distrust is a dangerous and volatile thing and Reeves' film shows how it is this rather than grandstanding gestures that often lead to conflict.

  Caesar's apes find themselves on the brink of war with human survivors of simian flu.
• 
  Daybreak Express (1953)

  Review preview for Daybreak Express

  Pennebaker makes the intricacies of New York's architecture feel like a perfect match for the complexities of Ellington's music.

  A subway commute in New York.
• 
  Daylight Hole (2005)

  Review preview for Daylight Hole

  The space between the drips is just long enough for you to hear the breath of fear.

  Recording the sound of fear.
• 
  Days Of Grace (2011)

  Review preview for Days Of Grace

  Everardo Valerio Gout directs as though he may never get another chance, throwing just about everything he can at his first feature - and quite a lot of what he throws is impressive, even if he sometimes tries just a little too hard.

  Kidnappings take place in Mexico during three World Cups.
• 
  Days Of Vinyl (2012)

  Review preview for Days Of Vinyl

  The film is overlong - a symptom of having such a lot of key players - but Nesci balances the individual storylines well, especially considering this is a debut piece.

  Four friends consider their lives as one of them prepares to get married.
• 
  The Day Of The Crows (2012)

  Review preview for The Day Of The Crows

  Complex and immersive, funny but with a sense of danger lurking in its darker moments, this is the sort of film that children and adults will watch to the end and then want to watch again.

  Animated story of a boy who leads a wild existence deep in the forest until the day he discovers civilised life in a neighbouring village and meets a girl who lives there.
• 
  Day Of The Flowers (2012)

  Review preview for Day Of The Flowers

  Always charmingly frothy, even when the narrative threatens to salsa off with the fairies.

  Two sisters take their late father's ashes to Cuba, encountering comic complications and romance on the way.
• 
  The Day The Buffalo Escaped (2004)

  Review preview for The Day The Buffalo Escaped

  The move from innocence to bloodshed feels incongrous.

  A little girl plays with her imaginery friend on the day the Khmer Rouge come to town.
• 
  Dalton's Dream (2023)

  Review preview for Dalton's Dream

  It’s tribute to the collaborative feel of this film that the documentary continually takes its lead from what Harris is saying rather than pushing him this way and that.

  The story of Dalton Harris' rise to X Factor fame and what happened next.
• 
  The Dam (2022)

  Review preview for The Dam

  Built on strong imagery rather than substantive narrative.

  Sudan, near the Merowe dam. Maher works in a traditional brickyard fed by the waters of the Nile. Every evening, he secretly builds a mysterious construction made of mud.
• 
  The Damned Don't Cry (2022)

  Review preview for The Damned Don't Cry

  As with Boulifa’s first film, much here is built not upon what a specific character does but on another character’s reaction to that.

  Selim follows his mother from place to place, forever trying to outrun the latest scandal she's been caught up in. When they arrive in Tangier, new opportunities will give them a shot at the legitimacy they each crave – but not without threatening their fragile love for one another.
• 
  Dance First (2023)

  Review preview for Dance First

  While offering some notion of Beckett’s feelings towards key people in his life, his works feel very underrepresented.

  Biopic of author and playwright Samuel Beckett.
• 
  Dandelion's Odyssey (2025)

  Review preview for Dandelion's Odyssey

  Animator Momoko Seto primarily deserves praise for imbuing each seed with a distinctive personality so that although the film is without dialogue we always know which of our adventurers we’re observing.

  Dendelion, Baraban, Léonto and Taraxa - four dandelion achenes that survive from a series of nuclear explosions destroying Earth - are propelled into the cosmos. After crash-landing on an unknown planet, they set out in search of soil where their species might survive.
• 
  Daniel & Ana (2009)

  Review preview for Daniel & Ana

  It's hard to know who exactly will willingly sign up to watch quite so much sex couched in quite such a disturbing set up.

  Dramatisation of a true-life ordeal of a brother and sister at the hands of Mexico's underground porn trade.
• 
  The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

  Review preview for The Darjeeling Limited

  Half way through the film takes a shift to a darker and more thoughtful tone, revealing hidden depths to Anderson's filmmaking that are a welcome surprise.

  Three brothers take a 'spiritual journey' across India by train.
• 
  Dark Blue Almost Black (2006)

  Review preview for Dark Blue Almost Black

  The plotline’s complexity is matched by the depth of the issues explored, with the cast uniformly coming up trumps.

  Coming-of-age drama about a janitor striving to turn his dreams into reality.
• 
  Daughters Of The Dust (1991)

  Review preview for Daughters Of The Dust

  Dash gracefully binds together her connections and contradictions - the point where the past meets the present, where the decision to stay or go is made, where both belief systems can combine.

  Portrait of Gullah family on the brink of migration.
• 
  Daughter Of Rage (2022)

  Review preview for Daughter Of Rage

  Baumeister shows how easy it is for a child to latch on to fantasy when reality is so tough.

  A young girl finds herself separated from her mother and working in a recycling plant.
• 
  David Byrne's American Utopia (2020)

  Review preview for David Byrne's American Utopia

  Lee is inventive in his shooting - particularly in his use of an aerial camera above the stage and another that lurks at the back at barefoot level, both capturing elements of the performance that an audience on the night would not be able to see.

  A film of Byrne's acclaimed Broadway show.
• 
  Days Of Wonder (2025)

  Review preview for Days Of Wonder

  Pennanen’s approach is eclectic, which matches her subject.

  When Finnish director Karin Pennanen’s uncle Markku died after decades of isolation, she entered his house for the first time in 34 years and uncovered a world no one had seen: an immense archive of paintings, compositions, writings, audio diaries, videotapes, and even notes on how a film should be constructed.
• 
  The Day I Found A Girl In The Trash (2021)

  Review preview for The Day I Found A Girl In The Trash

  The newest element of all this is the potentially interesting take on its totalitarian overtone, including everyone standing at a certain point for the national anthem, but the film takes the soft path every time.

  An activist who plans to protest automaton slavery with his own suicide finds a 'freed' automaton and tries to help save her.
• 
  Dazed And Confused (1993)

  Review preview for Dazed And Confused

  This is an ensemble triumph, somehow made all the more amiable by its general lack of earth-shattering incident.

  It's the last day of school and the kids are ready to party.
• 
  DC League Of Super-Pets (2022)

  Review preview for DC League Of Super-Pets

  The themes of friendship and teamwork are targeted at young audiences but it zips along at pace - a reminder that you don't need super-complex plotting, so long as you deliver on laughs.

  When Krypto the dog loses his super-powers and his owner Superman is captured, he must team up with a team of shelter pets who have accidentally acquired special abilities.
• 
  Dear Ajayi (2026)

  Review preview for Dear Ajayi

  Orimogunje captures the way that generating pain can be seen as a way to ameliorate your own suffering

  In 1990s Nigeria, two estranged sisters forced to live under the same roof while caring for their paralysed mother navigate grief, ambition, love, and the fragile bonds of family.
• 
  Dear Emma, Sweet Böbe (1992)

  Review preview for Dear Emma, Sweet Böbe

  Szabó's film - co-written with Andrea Vészits - is concerned with the way in which, after a major switch in a political system, there is a period in which it takes people time to find their voices.

  Story of two teachers after the fall of Communism.
• 
  Dear Thomas (2021)

  Review preview for Dear Thomas

  If it loses something in terms of definitive events, it gains a more poetic fluidity from the approach.

  The struggles of East German author and filmmaker Thomas Brasch.
• 
  Death Of Nintendo (2020)

  Review preview for Death Of Nintendo

  The adventure of teenage life is represented in all its glory.

  Hunting ghosts to impress girls. Undergoing circumcision in order to finally become a man. A pop homage to puberty and adolescence.
• 
  Death On The Streets (2020)

  Review preview for Death On The Streets

  A modern tragedy of male pride plays out in this low-key character study.

  A family man's pride puts him on the slippery slope to loss after work dries up.
• 
  The Debut (2026)

  Review preview for The Debut

  Eisenberg’s obvious love of amateur dramatics provides The Debut with a foundation that feels akin to a warm hug.

  A shy housewife is unexpectedly cast in a local am-dram original musical. Under the spell of the strong-willed and enigmatic director, she loses herself in the role.
• 
  The Deepest Breath (2023)

  Review preview for The Deepest Breath

  McGann poises her film between Stephen and Alessia’s story, rounding out the background with those who know them both and, in a nice bit of balance, both of their fathers.

  A champion freediver and expert safety diver seemed destined for one another despite the different paths they took to meet at the pinnacle of the freediving world. A look at the thrilling rewards — and inescapable risks — of chasing dreams through the depths of the ocean.
• 
  Deep Rivers (2018)

  Review preview for Deep Rivers

  Bitokov develops the shifting, brooding relationships of the men well but other elements of the story are given short shrift.

  A stark landscape, unforgiving surroundings, gruelling work, and intense conflicts within the family circle – a vicious circle, the burden of which is only accentuated by the return of the youngest brother, who is to take the place of his sick father in this family of lumberjacks.
• 
  Deerskin (2019)

  Review preview for Deerskin

  The director proves a master of the tragicomic as he observes one man's slip from midlife crisis to madness by way of obsession.

  Georges, 44, and his jacket, 100 per cent deerskin, have a plan.
• 
  Deerwoods Deathtrap (2022)

  Review preview for Deerwoods Deathtrap

  The use of that Super 8 is crucial to the feel of the film, already giving it the emotional quality of something that is remembered, even though we know on an intellectual level it is a contemporary item.

  The director's parents recollect the day they nearly died.
• 
  Defiant (2023)

  Review preview for Defiant

  A film that lives in the moment.

  This documentary offers unique access to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and other key figures in the administration who are fighting to save their country against Russia's invasion by combatting disinformation.
• 
  Delikado (2022)

  Review preview for Delikado

  After we see the extent of the problem, the documentarian begins to illustrate that the illegal logging is not just one or two rogue operators but intricately connected with a political chain.

  Bobby, Tata and Nieves – a charismatic lawyer, a former illegal logger and a fearless politician – are three magnetic leaders fighting to stop corporations and governments seeking to plunder increasingly valuable natural resources from the island of Palawan.
• 
  Delius - Song Of Summer (1968)

  Review preview for Delius - Song Of Summer

  Russell's dramatisation is exceedingly accomplished.

  The last days of Delius, as seen through the eyes of his musical assistant, Eric Fenby.
• 
  Depeche Mode: M (2025)

  Review preview for Depeche Mode: M

  Although chiefly a concert film, Frias also includes more experimental segments in which Mexico’s relationship with death is considered.

  Captures the band's 2023 Mexico City shows, blending concert footage with interstitial elements, exploring music, mortality, and Mexican culture's relationship with death.
• 
  Dernsie: The Amazing Life Of Bruce Dern (2026)

  Review preview for Dernsie: The Amazing Life Of Bruce Dern

  It’s somewhat odd that Mendez has opted for several different styles for this, but every one is enjoyable.

  A documentary examining the life and cinematic achievements of the celebrated actor.
• 
  Desert Dancer (2014)

  Review preview for Desert Dancer

  Raymond might sometimes hit his beats too hard but he does keep his eye on the bigger picture.

  An Iranian youngster risks everything to start a dance company despite the fact the pastime is illegal in his country.
• 
  Destination Wedding (2018)

  Review preview for Destination Wedding

  While not particularly visually inventive, the director has a keen eye for the casually absurd, so that every setting he puts his characters in comes with just the right amount of daftness.

  A pair of misanthropic wedding guests discover they may have more in common than they thought
• 
  Deva (2018)

  Review preview for Deva

  Szöcs has good ideas for the look and framing of the film but a feel for the characters is missing.

  Character study of a teenager who lives in an orphanage.
• 
  Diamantino (2017)

  Review preview for Diamantino

  The film carries a message about the importance of tolerance, love and a healthy dose of silliness in the face of the darker elements of modern life.

  Diamantino was once the greatest football player in Portugal. Now, in the middle of the worst crisis of his life, he decides to fill his void by adopting a refugee boy.
• 
  Diamonds Of The Night (1964)

  Review preview for Diamonds Of The Night

  Nemec knows that, in the real world, most people's trains of thought don't move steadily from one place to another like a teleplay but instead flit about, throwing up a murmur of a memory here, the whisper of a fantasy there.

  Two boys run away from the certain death awaiting them at a Nazi concentration camp.
• 
  Diane In The Loop (2026)

  Review preview for Diane In The Loop

  Unexpectedly playful given the weight of the subject

  When a woman discovers her mum was raped some years before she was born, she plans vengeance, but her mother has other ideas. Things become complicated.
• 
  Diary Of Cattle (2019)

  Review preview for Diary Of Cattle

  A concise and sharp illustration of one of the many vicious cycles we have entered into as we continue our dubious husbandry of the planet.

  A day in the life of cows grazing at a landfill site.
• 
  Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)

  Review preview for Dick Johnson Is Dead

  The emotional honesty of this film is by turns elating and heartbreaking, with Kirsten not scared to let her feelings show on camera alongside those of her dad.

  With this inventive portrait, a cameraperson seeks a way to keep her 86-year-old father alive forever. Utilising moviemaking magic and her family’s dark humour, she celebrates Dr Dick Johnson’s last years by staging fantasies of death and beyond. Together, dad and daughter confront the great inevitability awaiting us all.
• 
  A Different Man (2024)

  Review preview for A Different Man

  Slippery in terms of genre and form, the writer/director’s satire puts all his characters and, by extension, us under close scrutiny.

  Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical trial to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.
• 
  The Difficult Bride (2026)

  Review preview for The Difficult Bride

  Hossain keeps the mood claustrophobic.

  In contemporary Dhaka, a bride-to-be preparing for her dream wedding begins to lose control of her body as beauty rituals, social expectations, and supernatural forces collide, transforming her journey toward marriage into an unsettling search for freedom.
• 
  Dilli Dark (2023)

  Review preview for Dilli Dark

  Das Roy has a way with words, and when the dialogue gets going it has plenty of zip.

  A Nigerian student tries to make it while fighting racism in Delhi.