Reviews by Jennie Kermode

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  I'm Not A Robot (2023)

  Review preview for I'm Not A Robot

  I’m Not A Robot displays sharp comic timing and is highly effective in balancing the horror and the humour inherent in Lara’s situation.

  After repeatedly failing captcha tests, a music producer becomes obsessed with a disturbing question: could she be a robot?
• 
  Maybe Elephants (2024)

  Review preview for Maybe Elephants

  The film’s strength lies in its approach to capturing two different worlds and establishing, at a visual level, a sense of the culture clash that affects different family members in different ways.

  Three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes, and maybe some elephants, find themselves in Nairobi. What could possibly go wrong?
• 
  Thesis On A Domestication (2024)

  Review preview for Thesis On A Domestication

  Far from delivering dry moral pondering, the film is stunningly shot and full of sensual imagery.

  A trans woman who has achieved success as an actress faces an internal crisis as she finds herself increasingly compromised by the demands of a conventional life.
• 
  Challengers (2024)

  Review preview for Challengers

  The whole thing is ludicrously dragged out over 13 years, and sitting through it feels like longer.

  Tashi, a former tennis prodigy turned coach, transformed her husband into a champion. But to overcome a recent losing streak and redeem himself, he'll need to face off against his former best friend and Tashi's ex-boyfriend.
• 
  Percebes (2024)

  Review preview for Percebes

  A simple but elegant conceit.

  The story of culinary treasure the goose barnacle and its influence on life in the Algarve.
• 
  From Ground Zero (2024)

  Review preview for From Ground Zero

  The stories are highly personal and individual. It is the background observations, as much as anything, that makes the experience of viewing them sequentially crushing, and leaves one in awe of the fortitude of people still surviving there.

  A collection of 22 short films made in Gaza, giving Gazan filmmakers the chance to tell the untold stories about the current war.
• 
  Vermiglio (2024)

  Review preview for Vermiglio

  Maura Delpero’s multi-layered drama sees its heroine growing up and coming to understand the world in new ways at the same time as the village itself shifts, not altogether willingly, into the modern era.

  1944, Vermiglio, a remote mountain village. The arrival of Pietro, a deserter, into the family of the local teacher, and his love for the teacher's eldest daughter, will change the course of everyone's life.
• 
  A Crab In The Pool (2023)

  Review preview for A Crab In The Pool

  The simple style of the animation contrasts with the complexity of the themes, but is highly effective for conveying expression.

  Zoe and her little brother Theo are left to fend for themselves by the pool on a scorching summer day.
• 
  How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies (2024)

  Review preview for How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies

  This kind of layered story construction is a difficult thing to pull off and it makes the film shine.

  A man quits work to care for his dying grandmother, motivated by her fortune. He schemes to win her favour before she passes.
• 
  Deaf Santa Claus (2024)

  Review preview for Deaf Santa Claus

  There’s a surprising amount of learning to be done in the process of becoming Santa.

  A Deaf man trains to become the Santa Claus he longed to meet when he was a child.
• 
  Wander To Wonder (2023)

  Review preview for Wander To Wonder

  The model work is magnificent, from the appropriately terrifying design of the TV characters to the careful distinctions in style between that world and the apparent reality of the one in crisis.

  Mary, Billybud and Fumbleton are three miniature actors who perform in a 1980s kids' TV series. When the creator of the series dies, they are left alone in the studio to make increasingly strange episodes for their fans.
• 
  Nickel Boys (2024)

  Review preview for Nickel Boys

  Nickel Boys is a tremendously daring film.

  The tale of two Black teenagers who become wards of a barbaric juvenile reformatory.
• 
  The Count Of Monte-Cristo (2024)

  Review preview for The Count Of Monte-Cristo

  Perhaps the most impressive version to date.

  Aa adaptation of the Dumas classic in which a man betrayed and left to rot in prison escapes, acquires a fortune and sets out in pursuit of justice - or revenge.
• 
  The Wild Robot (2024)

  Review preview for The Wild Robot

  The film mines a lot of clichés but manages to do something a little different with them, blending traditional elements of children’s fiction with a distinctly 21st Century sensibility.

  A robot designed to assist humans finds herself stranded on an island populated only by animals.
• 
  Yuck! (2024)

  Review preview for Yuck!

  It’s rare to see these pivotal moments in life depicted with such gusto.

  Running loose around a campsite, a group of kids are revolted by the sight of people kissing. One boy is especially troubled, however, as he's beginning to feel the urge to try it himself.
• 
  Love Beyond Dreams (2024)

  Review preview for Love Beyond Dreams

  This is an actors’ film, a showcase for the performances.

  A woman who is struggling with intimacy in her relationship finds her love revived by a romantic fantasy.
• 
  The Bibi Files (2024)

  Review preview for The Bibi Files

  Draws a clear line between Netanyahu’s ideas and behaviour and those of other Israelis; between the far right and the wider citizenry

  An inside look into the corruption charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through leaked police interrogation videos.
• 
  No Other Land (2024)

  Review preview for No Other Land

  No Other Land brings humanity and particularity to a topic that is too often discussed in the abstract.

  This film made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective shows the destruction of the West Bank’s Masafer Yatta by Israeli authorities and the unlikely alliance which develops between the Palestinian activist Basel and Israeli journalist Yuval.
• 
  12.12: The Day (2023)

  Review preview for 12.12: The Day

  Much of the drama takes place in isolated rooms and corridors, with Kim demonstrating a masterful ability to command viewer attention.

  Following the assassination of South Korea's President Park in 1979, various military factions wrestle for control during a violent coup.
• 
  Get Away (2024)

  Review preview for Get Away

  Frost said that when he wrote the film it took him a while to recognise that he was in horror territory, and indeed the film works equally well as a culture clash comedy.

  Looking forward to spending a vacation on the small Swedish island of Svälta, the Smith family is unsettled by the unfriendly mainlanders who advise them to avoid it at all costs, especially during the Karantan festival. But the family is in deep need of some time away and stubbornly decides to take the ferry anyway.
• 
  The Girl With The Needle (2024)

  Review preview for The Girl With The Needle

  Illusions are everywhere in this film.

  In Copenhagen in the aftermath of World War one, a young woman in desperate circumstances takes on a job which will lead her to still greater depths of despair.
• 
  Merchant Ivory (2023)

  Review preview for Merchant Ivory

  Whether you’re a fan of the company’s work specifically or simply interested in the history of cinema, this portrait of its longest-lasting partnership will delight and entertain you.

  The story of cinema's longest lasting partnership.
• 
  Unstoppable (2024)

  Review preview for Unstoppable

  The excellent supporting cast – with Lopez impressive as ever – elevate the material,

  A disabled college wrestler dreams of going professional.
• 
  Heavier Trip (2024)

  Review preview for Heavier Trip

  There’s a lot here that’s familiar, but the endearing characters and great comic timing turn it into something distinctive, with a natural charm that few films in this subgenre can match.

  Finnish black metal band Impaled Rektum is in jail but must escape and make it to a music festival in order to save the day after the guitarist's father falls ill and their family home/business faces demolition.
• 
  Saturn Return (2024)

  Review preview for Saturn Return

  Takuro Takeuchi’s cinematography, with its frequent close-ups, use of blurring, beguiling shadows and blow-out blasts of light, plunges us into the heart of the action.

  Late 1990s. Art and culture are in full swing in Granada. Against that background, an indie band is about to change the music scene in Spain. Just before creating their new album, the band is going through its worst possible moment.
• 
  Your Monster (2024)

  Review preview for Your Monster

  Uses the conventions of the romcom to explore one woman’s journey to engage with life on her own terms.

  After her life falls apart, soft-spoken actress Laura Franco finds her voice again when she meets a terrifying, yet weirdly charming, monster living in her closet.
• 
  The Imposters (2023)

  Review preview for The Imposters

  Though he has a number of credits to his name, Nicholas Winter struggles with basic framing, resulting in a film full of unintentional visual distractions.

  A troubled woman on the rebound gets in over her head with a seductive stranger before realising that all is not what it seems.
• 
  Never Look Away (2024)

  Review preview for Never Look Away

  A lesser documentarian might portray her as a broken person, acting out as a result of a tragic past. Lucy Lawless, though this is her first time in the director’s chair, treats her with more respect.

  New Zealand–born groundbreaking CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth risks it all to show the reality of war from inside the conflict, staring down danger and confronting those who perpetuate it.
• 
  Cooking Price-Wise (1971)

  Review preview for Cooking Price-Wise

  Frankly, [Price] could probably read a phone book and make it entertaining, but there’s much more to enjoy here.

  Vincent Price demonstrates how to cook dishes from around the world using easy-to-access 1970s ingredients.
• 
  Rita (2024)

  Review preview for Rita

  There is blistering anger in its melange of baubles and feathers and tulle.

  Rita, a 13 year old girl, runs away from her abusive father to the big city. She finds solace until she's placed in a safe house run by the State. Rita and her cellmates plots an escape that ends in a shocking act of violence.
• 
  Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. (2024)

  Review preview for Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin.

  Bonhoeffer struggles with his faith, but less in the manner of a great thinker and more in that of someone who writes quotes for inspirational posters.

  As the world teeters on the brink of annihilation, Dietrich Bonhoeffer is caught up in a plot to assassinate Hitler, facing an ethical quandary as he strives to prevent genocide.
• 
  The Man With A Thousand Faces (2024)

  Review preview for The Man With A Thousand Faces

  Blending detective work with moments of tenderness and humour, the film repeatedly upends its own narrative, and there are always more surprises round the corner.

  He goes by the names of Alexandre, Ricardo or Daniel. He calls himself a surgeon or an engineer, Argentinean or Brazilian. He lives with four women at the same time, adapting his story and even his personality traits to each one. A first-person investigation with the help of a private detective on a fraud with a thousand faces.
• 
  The Fix (2024)

  Review preview for The Fix

  Egan spent many years in stunt work and here she gets to explore her potential as an action director.

  In a future where the very air is toxic, a model takes a drug which causes her body to transform.
• 
  Lead And Copper (2023)

  Review preview for Lead And Copper

  If you’re shocked by the facts it presents at the outset, you’re going to be open-mouthed by the end.

  An investigation into the Flint Water Crisis and what lead up to it.
• 
  The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent (2024)

  Review preview for The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent

  Its power stems not from grand gestures but from the smallest of things.

  Tension mounts on a passenger train after it is stopped by paramilitaries.
• 
  Alien Country (2024)

  Review preview for Alien Country

  An irreverent, warm-hearted comedy in the tradition of Tremors.

  Reeling from the news of an unexpected pregnancy, Jimmy and Everly unknowingly release an alien invasion in their small town and learn to work together in order to save each other, their town and evidently, the entire galaxy.
• 
  Calf (2023)

  Review preview for Calf

  The pace of life on a farm is slow, and despite the urgency of this particular situation, O’Rourke recognises that in his direction, allowing viewers time to take in the landscape that dominates the routines of the characters.

  A brutal farm accident leaves a teenager faced with a painful decision.
• 
  Soundtrack To A Coup d'Etat (2024)

  Review preview for Soundtrack To A Coup d'Etat

  Tyranny is presented here with a full acknowledgement of its cruelty, but care is taken not to be gratuitous, not to further exploit suffering; and beyond this, Grimonprez is keen to highlight its ridiculous side.

  Jazz and decolonization are entwined in this historical rollercoaster that rewrites the Cold War episode that led musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Patrice Lumumba.
• 
  Christmas Eve In Miller's Point (2024)

  Review preview for Christmas Eve In Miller's Point

  The camera drifts through it at a leisurely pace, back and forth, up and down, taking in different details one might when wandering around drunk or half asleep. From these, story and meaning gradually coalesce.

  A clan gathers for what could be their last Christmas together at their family home.
• 
  Director's Cut (2024)

  Review preview for Director's Cut

  Most of the film is rather too true to life, as characters engage in trivial arguments and hang around waiting for something to happen.

  Excited to shoot their first music video, members of a punk rock band agree to meet a mysterious stranger in his remote woodland mansion.
• 
  Magpie (2024)

  Review preview for Magpie

  Yates recognises Ridley’s skill with interiorised emotion and makes the most of it.

  When Ben and Anette's daughter is cast in a film alongside glamorous movie star Alicia, Ben is quickly drawn into Alicia's world. Anette is left at home with the baby, pushed to her emotional limits and psychologically on the brink.
• 
  Flow (2024)

  Review preview for Flow

  Cat’s viewpoint predominates, and Zilbalodis has an acute understanding of how the world looks from its point of view, of what catches its attention and how its body follows instinctively.

  An animated adventure about a group of animals who must work together to survive a catastrophe in a post-human world.
• 
  The Spin (2024)

  Review preview for The Spin

  The warmth between the two leads keeps us rooting for them as everything seems to be going against them, often due to their own poor decisions.

  Two men go on a road trip across Ireland in search of a priceless record.
• 
  The Last Rifleman (2023)

  Review preview for The Last Rifleman

  Interestingly, it eschews the use of drab colour filters to let us know when we’re witnessing flashbacks to the conflict. These are obvious enough, and the fact that they take place in bright sunlight makes them much more visibly a part of the real world.

  A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
• 
  Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers (2024)

  Review preview for Van Gogh: Poets & Lovers

  Visiting them through the medium of film allows us to appreciate them as the curators intended, moving in close to take in the details, drawing back to take in the full impact of his experiments in colour.

  A look at an exhibition of the work done by Van Gogh in the south of France.
• 
  The Bitter Taste (2024)

  Review preview for The Bitter Taste

  Those with a taste for B-movie excess may stay the course.

  A former pentathlete stuck in a small forest village while her car is being fixed finds her self drawn into a mystery surrounding the inhabitants of the local castle, a strange competition, and an ancient manuscript which people are willing to kill for.
• 
  The Divided Island (2024)

  Review preview for The Divided Island

  Sesiguzel sets a standard and works hard to live up to it. The diversity of voices in the film is impressive and enriches the history as well as helping viewers to get a better grasp of the arguments being made today.

  A documentary about the division of Cyprus, the island's troubled history and islanders' hopes for the future.
• 
  Animale (2024)

  Review preview for Animale

  Emma Benestan’s poetic take on gender, power and corporeality is a deeply animal experience.

  Surrounded by men, 22-year-old Nejma trains hard to fulfill her dream of winning the upcoming annual bull race, but news of a rogue and violent bull on the loose terrifies the community. Young men are being murdered everywhere, and the beast is nowhere to be seen.
• 
  Advent (2024)

  Review preview for Advent

  It can be difficult to keep viewers rooting for a naïve character, and Alexander does a decent job of this.

  A young woman acquires a cursed advent calendar and plays a game against the devil in the run up to Christmas.
• 
  Absolution (2024)

  Review preview for Absolution

  Neeson does his best to bring something different to the character, to make it more than just a retread of his work in Martin Campbell’s Memory, but he’s up against it.

  An aging gangster attempts to reconnect with his children and rectify the mistakes in his past, but the criminal underworld won't loosen its grip easily.