Reviews by Amber Wilkinson

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  The Boy And The Suit Of Lights (2024)

  Review preview for The Boy And The Suit Of Lights

  De Reyes film celebrates family bonds, while also noting how those ties can bind youngsters’ ambitions.

  Portrait of a young boy who dreams of becoming a bullfighter.
• 
  The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse (2022)

  Review preview for The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse

  There is a whisper of the artwork of EH Shepard about the hand-drawn style that seems fitting given his tale shares similar philosophy, albeit more obviously spelled out.

  A boy goes on an adventure with a cake-loving mole, a fox and a horse.
• 
  The Boy With Pink Trousers (2024)

  Review preview for The Boy With Pink Trousers

  Illustrates how heartfelt and fastidious commitment to a story doesn't always make for engaging cinema, no matter how good the intent

  Film based on the story of a real cyberbullying incident in Italy.
• 
  The Bra (2018)

  Review preview for The Bra

  Far from being lascivious, Nurlan is wistful, and Manojlovi, who has the look of a sort of hangdog Walter Mathau, favours expressions of surprise, puzzlement and resignation over anything so low-brow as lust.

  After the train of a retiring driver snags a blue bra, he embarks on a quest to return the under garment.
• 
  Brace Your Heart (2026)

  Review preview for Brace Your Heart

  Kernell’s drama feels embedded within the community and the landscape.

  Ejva inherits her late father's reindeer herd. As she struggles to keep the herd thriving, local leader Heaika falls for her, and though hesitant, she feels compelled to accept. But everything changes when Nejla, Heaika's cousin, arrives.
• 
  Brando (2007)

  Review preview for Brando

  As a history and celebration of Brando's life and eccentricities, it's hard to beat.

  Documentary exploring the life of Marlon Brando and his enduring contribution to cinema.
• 
  Brave (2012)

  Review preview for Brave

  While Brave may occasionally shy away from darker territory in order to retain its appeal for even the youngest of audiences, there are still plenty of 'big' ideas here for small minds to think about.

  A princess gets more than she bargains for when she asks for a spell.
• 
  Bra Boys (2007)

  Review preview for Bra Boys

  It may be brash and a slightly biased but it nonetheless offers a fascinating insight into this surfing society.

  Documentary about an Australian surf 'tribe'.
• 
  Breadline (2020)

  Review preview for Breadline

  A conversation about whether if you're hungry "you'll eat anything" hangs in the air as something for us all to chew on.

  The day-to-day workings of a food bank.
• 
  Breadmakers (2007)

  Review preview for Breadmakers

  The problem is, you are left wanting to know far more than Fedda tells you.

  A day in the life of a bakery staffed by people with learning disabilities. Showing as part of Bridging The Gap and the Short Scottish Documentary Awards (which it won) at EIFF 2007.
• 
  A Bread Factory, Part One (2018)

  Review preview for A Bread Factory, Part One

  The meat of A Bread Factory lies in the details.

  Dorothea and her partner Greta have devoted 40 years to transforming their small-town’s disused bread factory into a civic centre promoting theatre, dance and film. As they prepare to stage Hecuba, they learn that their funding may be cut in favour of a glitzy, commercial rival.
• 
  A Bread Factory, Part Two (2018)

  Review preview for A Bread Factory, Part Two

  The meat of A Bread Factory lies in the details.

  In the second part of this sometimes musical drama, two women rehearse a production of Hecuba while fighting to save the arts centre to which they have devoted their lives.
• 
  Bridges Of Time (2018)

  Review preview for Bridges Of Time

  both a love letter to the documentarians from the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania... and a dialogue between the period in which these poetic pioneers were working and the present day.

  Essay documentary about the less remembered generation of cinema poets of the Baltic New Wave.
• 
  Brief History Of A Family (2024)

  Review preview for Brief History Of A Family

  Lin and Sun studiously maintain the enigma around Shuo so that we are left guessing as to whether he’s just a disadvantaged teen trying to make his way in the world or a cuckoo in the nest.

  A middle-class family’s fate becomes intertwined with their only son’s enigmatic new friend in post one-child policy China, putting unspoken secrets, unmet expectations, and untended emotions under the microscope.
• 
  A Brighter Tomorrow (2021)

  Review preview for A Brighter Tomorrow

  While there's plenty to be said for a subtle approach, Qnia is too laidback for his own good.

  A thief tries to reconnect with his estranged girlfriend and child.
• 
  The Bright Side (2020)

  Review preview for The Bright Side

  While we all know there will be, as per the title, a bright side to all this, Kate is satisfyingly complex and Meehan is always looking for ways to take us further in to her headspace.

  Cynical stand-up, Kate, has lost her way, but she gains friends and a new perspective on life when she goes through cancer treatment with an unlikely band of companions.
• 
  Brigitte (2019)

  Review preview for Brigitte

  The revelations may not be earth shattering on either side of the camera, but they are honest are delivered with the intimacy of a secret.

  Portrait of photographer Brigitte Lacombe.
• 
  The British Guide To Showing Off (2011)

  Review preview for The British Guide To Showing Off

  Jes Benstock's documentary is a big glittery hug of a celebration.

  Celebration of the art of Andrew Logan and his Alternative Miss World.
• 
  A Brixton Tale (2021)

  Review preview for A Brixton Tale

  At just 76 minutes, it has the feel of an extended short, that could either do with condensing back or extending further into the psychological drivers of the two main characters .

  Wealthy YouTuber Leah chooses shy youth Benji as the subject of her Brixton documentary. They fall for each other, but the desire for edgy footage leads them down a violent path.
• 
  A Broken House (2020)

  Review preview for A Broken House

  It's because Goldblum is so ambitious in his attempts to capture multiple ideas that this feels a bit scattered

  A profile of Syrian emigre to the US Mohamed Hafez, the miniature models he creates and the refugee experience.
• 
  Broken Keys (2020)

  Review preview for Broken Keys

  A tale of quiet resistance and hope for a better future in the face of conflict, which though a little broad brush in its strokes and tending towards sentimentality in places, nevertheless packages its difficult themes well for a mainstream

  A pianist living in an ISIS-held Syrian town attempts to rebuild his piano in order to escape.
• 
  Brother's Keeper (2021)

  Review preview for Brother's Keeper

  The director shows the warmth of the children against the cool aloofness of teachers who feel little connection to their wards, even as we know even Yusuf's herculean efforts are likely to prove ineffectual.

  When a boy falls ill at an authoritarian boarding school, his friend struggles to get the staff to take notice.
• 
  The Bubble (2021)

  Review preview for The Bubble

  Blankenbyl doesn't labour her point but instead lets Joe Berger's camerawork do the talking.

  A look at a retirement community in Florida and its impact on the wider locale.
• 
  Bucking Fastard (2026)

  Review preview for Bucking Fastard

  For all the strangeness of the premise there’s not a lot of meat on the bones of this story.

  The adventures of a pair of twins whose speech is synchronised and lives co-dependent.
• 
  Bugboy (2026)

  Review preview for Bugboy

  A film all about connections, what begins as a tale of bug and boy itself metamorphoses into a tender consideration of a father and son relationship.

  George, a shy teenager with an eye disorder, struggles to connect with others after his parents’ divorce and finds refuge in the world of insects.
• 
  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.
• 
  Bulbul Can Sing (2018)

  Review preview for Bulbul Can Sing

  The territory that it takes the film to makes the last third is rushed in comparison to what has gone before, where the simplicity of the storyline provided the perfect backdrop for complex emotions.

  Portrait of a trio of friends struggling with the expectations of adults and tradition in their village community.
• 
  Bulletproof (2020)

  Review preview for Bulletproof

  It's hard not to come to the conclusion that the idea of "fear" has been distilled, bottled and sold.

  Considers the shooter drills and security measures that have sprung up in US schools in the wake of mass shootings.
• 
  Buoyancy (2019)

  Review preview for Buoyancy

  Rathjen captures the monotony of this existence and the casual violence of it with mounting tension as Chakra himself becomes brutalised - we view key violent acts, not by watching them, but by observing the effect they have

  Story of a 14-year-old who is enslaved on a fishing trawler.
• 
  Buried (2010)

  Review preview for Buried

  The film's chief virtue is that it remains true to itself - there are no sly cutaways to phones ringing in empty apartments or flashbacks to happier times, just Reynolds stuck underground and hoping for rescue.

  A contractor awakes to find he is buried alive.
• 
  The Burning Sea (2021)

  Review preview for The Burning Sea

  By zeroing in on Sofia and Stian and their immediate friend circle, the disaster element remains taut.

  A submarine operator finds herself on a rescue mission after a disaster in the North Sea.
• 
  Burrow (2020)

  Review preview for Burrow

  By keeping the story simple, director Madeline Sharafian has made it accessible even for the youngest audiences

  A rabbit tries to build her dream burrow... but runs into trouble after running away from the neighbours.
• 
  Butterflies (2018)

  Review preview for Butterflies

  Turkish director Tolga Karaçelik shows a fine ear for family dynamics as well as a joyously off-the-wall sense of humour that ensures even though we've taken similar movie road trips in the past, this one feels fresh.

  Three estranged siblings travel back to their home village after a call from their father.
• 
  Butterfly Vision (2022)

  Review preview for Butterfly Vision

  Lilya’s treatment while captive is only glimpsed in brief flashbacks, which avoid voyeurism and suddenly occur like glitches in the film, the image pixellating as though it is buffering, to reveal a scrap of memory.

  Drama about a former prisoner of war, who struggles to resume her life in Ukraine.
• 
  Beach Rats (2017)

  Review preview for Beach Rats

  British actor Dickinson – surely on the first step to a lot more film roles – slides seamlessly into Frankie’s groove, the accent and the body language spot on.

  A Brooklyn teen struggles with his sexuality.
• 
  Beatriz At Dinner (2017)

  Review preview for Beatriz At Dinner

  The satire feels a bit like shooting fish in a barrel, with Strutt so monstrous he's an easy target.

  A masseuse clashes with a real estate developer over a mansion meal.
• 
  Beauty In Trouble (2006)

  Review preview for Beauty In Trouble

  It is the depth of the characters coupled with the breadth of the acting talent that make this film so watchable.

  A woman falls for an older man after her husband is locked up for stealing.
• 
  Beck "Girl" (2005)

  Review preview for Beck "Girl"

  Clever and well shot, if not entirely original.

  Pop video in the form of origami.
• 
  Been Rich All My Life (2006)

  Review preview for Been Rich All My Life

  The rhythm of life is a powerful beat - and this affectionate and revealing documentary is sure to get even the most world-weary feet tapping.

  Chorus line dancers recall their past and celebrate their present.
• 
  Before Snowfall (2013)

  Review preview for Before Snowfall

  Zaman is not looking to rush to judgement of his characters but to explore what makes them tick and give a feel for how traditions get passed down the generations.

  A youngster from Kurdistan tracks his sister across Europe after she flees before her wedding.
• 
  Before The Fall (2008)

  Review preview for Before The Fall

  There is plenty of imminent danger to provide a gripping narrative.

  A family face a serial killer... and the apocalypse.
• 
  Behave (2006)

  Review preview for Behave

  Rather than heaping condemnation on everyone involved – as you might expect – Ramos just tells it like it is.

  Fly-on-the-wall look at the juvenile detention system in Brazil.
• 
  Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (2011)

  Review preview for Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

  You'd have to be a real Grouch not to enjoy it.

  Documentary about the man behind the Muppet.
• 
  Belleville Rendez-Vous (2002)

  Review preview for Belleville Rendez-Vous

  An engaging, original Europudding cartoon, animated in the classical style, without the sugar of Disney, which is entertaining from start to finish.

  Animated tale of a boy who loves cycling, his supportive Gran and a dog called Bruno.
• 
  Berlin Syndrome (2017)

  Review preview for Berlin Syndrome

  The sex element, while erotically shot, is almost exclusively reserved for the moment in which Clare was enjoying the experience, thus stripping away the usual voyeuristic downside that often accompanies this genre.

  A passionate holiday romance leads to an obsessive relationship, when an tourist wakes one morning in a Berlin apartment and is unable to leave.
• 
  The Best Comedy DVD In The World (2005)

  Selection of sketches and skits in aid of a good cause.
• 
  The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)

  Review preview for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

  As comfy and cosily British as a nice cup of tea and a biscuit.

  Retiring to India and the promised comforts of a luxury hotel, a group of elderly Britons get less than they bargained for and more than they could have dreamed of.
• 
  Betrayal (2012)

  Review preview for Betrayal

  Serebrennikov's film may be sometimes confusing, sometimes confounding and somewhat disappointing in the neatness of its ending, but there's no denying his talent.

  After discovering that their spouses are having an affair, two people decide to have one themselves.
• 
  Between (2005)

  Review preview for Between

  Horrendously executed in every regard.

  American lawyer goes looking for her sister in Mexico and loses her marbles.
• 
  Beyond The Black Rainbow (2011)

  Review preview for Beyond The Black Rainbow

  The rich and strange debut of Panos Cosmatos throbs with style and portent, which proves a winning combination even if it is somewhat light in the narrative department.

  Sci-fi fable about a young woman imprisoned in an experimental laboratory facility and the mysterious scientist who is her captor.