Reviews by Anne-Katrin Titze

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  Graduation (2016)

  Review preview for Graduation

  Cristian Mungiu is such a master of vivisecting human interrelations that we might almost overlook how he sets the tone with animals, vegetables and minerals.

  Story of a small town doctor who is faced with a stark choice after his daughter is assaulted.
• 
  Fire At Sea (2015)

  Review preview for Fire At Sea

  The symbolism in Fire At Sea is so organic that it might dawn on you hours or days after seeing the film.

  A documentary looking at the inhabitants of Lampedusa and the desperate attempts made by refugees to reach the island.
• 
  Things To Come (2016)

  Review preview for Things To Come

  Huppert is perfect - no trace of self-pity waters down the complicated emotions at work.

  A philosophy teacher soldiers through her life being turned upside down on all fronts.
• 
  Elle (2016)

  Review preview for Elle

  Huppert's outstanding performance embraces with unswerving delicacy the controversial decisions she faces.

  A successful video game boss aims to track down her attacker after a home invasion.
• 
  Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)

  Review preview for Bridget Jones's Baby

  Zellweger has impeccable comedic timing and the many small and big risks she takes with Bridget pay off.

  Bridget Jones' life plan goes awry when she discovers she's pregnant - and not sure who the father is.
• 
  Landfill Harmonic (2015)

  Review preview for Landfill Harmonic

  The creative spirit displayed by the young, adventurous musicians in the Landfill Harmonic is a joy to behold.

  Garbage from a landfill is used to create instruments for the local children, who form the Recycled Orchestra of Cateura, Paraguay, which turns their lives around.
• 
  Anthropoid (2016)

  Review preview for Anthropoid

  The final 20 minutes turn the screen into a video game.

  Based on the extraordinary true story of Operation Anthropoid, the WWII mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the main architect behind the Final Solution and the Reich's third in command after Hitler and Himmler.
• 
  Neither Heaven Nor Earth (2015)

  Review preview for Neither Heaven Nor Earth

  It is when Neither Heaven Nor Earth ventures into the unexplainable that it brings us closest to the concrete battlefield.

  French soldiers in Afghanistan are faced with unexpected circumstances.
• 
  Summertime (2015)

  Review preview for Summertime

  Though the events unfold forward, the feel of Summertime is that of a pleasantly painful memory recalled backwards, clutching you emotionally as if you were looking at a faded photo album.

  Drama about social change in France in the early 1970s.
• 
  Diary Of A Chambermaid (2015)

  Review preview for Diary Of A Chambermaid

  The film, co-written with Hélène Zimmer, functions like exquisite lacework with new patterns emerging at every turn.

  An alert servant works for a wealthy couple in rural France.
• 
  The Nice Guys (2016)

  Review preview for The Nice Guys

  Gosling and Crowe are wondrous sparring partners.

  An unlikely duo of detectives searches for a missing girl in 1977 Los Angeles.
• 
  The First Monday In May (2016)

  Review preview for The First Monday In May

  For those who are living with a 19th century idea of what art is, dismissing fashion as trivial and frivolous, Bolton counters that sometimes "fashion is easier to understand than language itself."

  An in-depth documentary about the creation of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition and gala.
• 
  Valley Of Love (2015)

  Review preview for Valley Of Love

  The natural wonders of the desert can be read as an invitation to reach into the vast barrenness inside.

  Two estranged parents are brought together by a request from their son who committed suicide.
• 
  Midnight Special (2015)

  Review preview for Midnight Special

  A sublime family thriller

  A man takes his eight year old son on a special journey.
• 
  My King (2015)

  Review preview for My King

  If you ever threw safety to the wind and sailed deeply into the love that could be your undoing, you will be able to identify with what Maïwenn and her brilliant actors are exploring.

  An injured woman in a rehabilitation centre recalls an all encompassing love.
• 
  Remember (2015)

  Review preview for Remember

  Atom Egoyan's terrifically paced episodic thriller Remember is hard to forget.

  Zev has a mission: to avenge family, murdered 70 years ago by a Nazi guard who lives under an assumed identity in America.
• 
  Hail, Caesar! (2016)

  Review preview for Hail, Caesar!

  The Coens' obvious fun in concocting scenes of mid-century paranoia is infectious.

  Capitol Pictures is about to complete its biggest film of the year, but its star has been kidnapped. Can the studio fixer solve the problem in time?
• 
  Joy (2015)

  Review preview for Joy

  As wild as it seems at times, the film is deeply grounded in an emotional truth for each of the protagonists.

  Story of the woman who invented the Miracle Mop.
• 
  Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015)

  Review preview for Hitchcock/Truffaut

  Hitchcock/Truffaut has the intriguing aura of a first episode with all the questions answered easily producing 500 more to be asked.

  Filmmakers talk about the influence of Truffaut's book Cinema According To Hitchcock.
• 
  Spotlight (2015)

  Review preview for Spotlight

  Spotlight does not fall into the trap of explanatory flashbacks. We do not need to see the protagonists' past because we can tell so much from what they are wearing.

  The true story of how The Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child abuse and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese.
• 
  #Horror (2015)

  Review preview for #Horror

  What distinguishes #Horror from other pictures of the genre, is the sly way Subkoff balances the levels of fright - where it is fun and where it is not.

  A moment of cyberbullying turns into a night of insanity for a group of schoolgirls.
• 
  Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict (2015)

  Review preview for Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict

  Clips from Man Ray's L'étoile de mer with Kiki de Montparnasse and the famous Salvador Dali dream sequence from Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound illuminate her passion.

  Portrait of the art collector.
• 
  Burnt (2015)

  Review preview for Burnt

  The oddities don't add up to anything and the love story between Adam and Helene is as predictable as it is sad.

  A Michelin-starred chef who squandered his career tries to rebuild his life in and out of the kitchen.
• 
  Where To Invade Next (2015)

  Review preview for Where To Invade Next

  Moore is hopeful for the US, too, as he strolls along the remnants of the Berlin Wall, built to last and tumbled nevertheless.

  Michael Moore considers what the US could learn from other countries.
• 
  Women He's Undressed (2015)

  Review preview for Women He's Undressed

  If you don't know Orry-Kelly's contributions to cinema and even if you do, Women He's Undressed is a must-see.

  A documentary about the life of the Australian costume designer and three-time Oscar winner Orry-Kelly.
• 
  Steve Jobs (2015)

  Review preview for Steve Jobs

  Fassbender does his best to not make the man easily likable at first.

  A biopic of the computing entrepeneur.
• 
  Cemetery Of Splendor (2015)

  Review preview for Cemetery Of Splendor

  "At the heart of the kingdom there is nothing," it says, but all the fascinating splendour that exists around that gap!

  A housewife tends to a soldier with a mysterious sleeping sickness and begins to experience strange dreams.
• 
  The Forbidden Room (2015)

  Review preview for The Forbidden Room

  What is quite wonderful in all this flowing and "fade, fade, fade," fading is that the characters and their stories belong to no one specifically. They belong to a cinematic spirit world and maybe nobody even wanted them.

  A submarine crew, a feared pack of forest bandits, a famous surgeon, and a battalion of child soldiers all get more than they bargained for as they wend their way toward progressive ideas on life and love.
• 
  My Golden Days (2015)

  Review preview for My Golden Days

  Desplechin, like no other, startles with his enigmatic perceptions on the gender divide.

  Part prequel to My Sex Life. Paul remembers his youth and the consequences of true love.
• 
  My Mother (2015)

  Review preview for My Mother

  Nobody sneaks up on you, light-footed, perplexing, hilarious, quite the way Nanni Moretti does with his scenes.

  Tragicomedy, a filmmaker tries to cope with crises.
• 
  The Assassin (2015)

  Review preview for The Assassin

  The production and costume design by Huang Wen-ying combine historical accuracy with a revelation of detailed splendour.

  Action, drama and romance set during the Tang Dynasty.
• 
  Experimenter (2015)

  Review preview for Experimenter

  Almereyda jumps straight into the experiment which, over half a century later, is as fascinating and timely and important as ever.

  A drama about the life of Stanley Milgram and his famous experiments on obedience.
• 
  Learning To Drive (2014)

  Review preview for Learning To Drive

  Sarah Kernochan's screenplay is precise and doesn't shy away from the real-life absurdities we all encounter.

  Jolted by her husband leaving her, a writer decides to learn to drive.
• 
  Mistress America (2015)

  Review preview for Mistress America

  The dialogue sparkles all over with wit and joy and perceptiveness.

  Two young women have unpredictable adventures in New York City and beyond.
• 
  Mr. Holmes (2015)

  Review preview for Mr. Holmes

  The trouble is that the film takes great effort to counter everything that makes Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's creation stimulating.

  A retired Sherlock looks back on his life and an unsolved case.
• 
  Samba (2014)

  Review preview for Samba

  An interesting tweed coat, a seemingly make-up free face, classic pumps, and impeccable comedic timing go a long way. Gainsbourg's Alice holds all of the above.

  Samba migrated to France ten years ago from Senegal, and has since been plugging away at various lowly jobs...
• 
  Sunshine Superman (2014)

  Review preview for Sunshine Superman

  What is most astonishing about Sunshine Superman is how genuinely happy everybody looks.

  Portrait of the father of Base jumping Carl Boenish.
• 
  Iris (2014)

  Review preview for Iris

  What emerges as so extraordinary about the way Iris presents herself, and what makes her so beloved by many people in the fashion industry, is the total freedom of reference she enjoys in anyone.

  Portrait of fashion and interior-design expert Iris Apfel.
• 
  Hungry Hearts (2014)

  Review preview for Hungry Hearts

  A thriller, a deep hard stare into the nature of escape, a comedy of metaphors and an alluringly photographed glimpse into the abyss.

  New York-set drama about a young couple who tear each other apart over the care of their child.
• 
  Best Of Enemies (2015)

  Review preview for Best Of Enemies

  Neville and Gordon wisely embed the verbal duels into the surroundings.

  A behind-the-scenes account of the explosive 1968 televised debates between the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F Buckley Jr, and their rancorous disagreements about politics, God, and sex.
• 
  Funny Face (1957)

  Review preview for Funny Face

  Donen shows us how magic is made.

  A fashion photographer discovers a sales girl's ability as a model and makes her a star.
• 
  The Creation Of Meaning (2014)

  Review preview for The Creation Of Meaning

  Sense of memory, sense of history, sense of time, envelop us like a high altitude fog.

  An ageing shepherd's livelihood is threatened by the rise of corruption.
• 
  SK1 (2014)

  Review preview for SK1

  SK1 at its best, is an examination of doubt.

  Drama about the multi-year hunt, arrest, and trial of serial killer Guy Georges — nicknamed The Beast of Bastille.
• 
  French Riviera (2014)

  Review preview for French Riviera

  Production designer Olivier Radot and costume designer Pascaline Chavanne revel in the colors and textures of Seventies casino ambiance.

  Nice, 1976, Following the failure of her marriage, Agnès Le Roux returns from Africa to her mother Renée, owner of the Casino Le Palais de la Méditerranée and falls in love with Renée's confidant, Maurice Agnelet.
• 
  Next Time I'll Aim For The Heart (2014)

  Review preview for Next Time I'll Aim For The Heart

  Canet is fantastic in opening up more and more of the secret chambers in this frightening man's heart.

  A notorious serial killer is also a cop tasked with his own apprehension.
• 
  40-Love (2014)

  Review preview for 40-Love

  Gourmet is phenomenal as the shopping centre aficionado who makes us understand a little more why the world is in the state it is in today.

  When a man loses his job he is forced to become more involved with his tennis prodigy son.
• 
  Love At First Fight (2014)

  Review preview for Love At First Fight

  Cinematographer David Cailley, the director's brother, offers stark beauty and wicked humor.

  Between his friends and the family business, Arnaud’s summer looks set to be a peaceful one. Peaceful until he runs into Madeleine, as beautiful as she is brusque.
• 
  Portrait Of The Artist (2014)

  Review preview for Portrait Of The Artist

  [A] thorny, intangible and episodic cinematic dream.

  A filmmaker becomes obsessed with the film of his next movie.
• 
  Wild Life (2014)

  Review preview for Wild Life

  If you think you can come to an easy judgement, the film seems to say, think again.

  A father tries to raise his two sons away from civilisation.
• 
  Métamorphoses (2014)

  Review preview for Métamorphoses

  Honoré is not afraid of magic and he has fun with grand gestures. Metamorphoses at heart is a defense of myths in all their offensive allure.

  Modern-day version of the Ovid tales of transformation.