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Reviews by Richard Mowe

Order by: Date, A–Z

  • Ismael's Ghosts (2017)
    Review preview for Ismael's Ghosts

    The writer-director takes great enjoyment in playing around with his various obsessions.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A filmmaker's life becomes complicated by the return of a former lover.
  • My Life As A Courgette (2016)
    Review preview for My Life As A Courgette

    It is the attention to detail and character building by Barras and Sciamma which gives substance to the slender tale.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    Stop-motion story of a boy, who is sent to a group home for orphans after the death of his mum.
  • Personal Shopper (2016)
    Review preview for Personal Shopper

    Stewart valiantly tries to soldier through but cannot make her character spring to life.

    Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
    Ghost story set against the backdrop of the Paris fashion world.
  • It's Only The End Of The World (2016)
    Review preview for It's Only The End Of The World

    The histrionics on display submerge everything else while the narrative pitch throws so much at the spectator that it is impossible to sympathise with anyone.

    Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
    A writer returns home after a long absence to tell his family he is terminally ill.
  • Julieta (2016)
    Review preview for Julieta

    Almodóvar exudes a new found confidence.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A mother and daughter struggle to come to terms with grief.
  • Toni Erdmann (2016)
    Review preview for Toni Erdmann

    The film really shouldn’t work, but it does.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A father drops in on his daughter and poses as a stranger to her friends.
  • Loving (2016)
    Review preview for Loving

    Despite Nichols’s softly-softly approach, the film packs a powerful punch, constantly reminding us of just how recent these historical injustices are.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    Story of an interracial couple in 1950s Virginia who face the wrath of the law for getting married.
  • American Honey (2016)
    Review preview for American Honey

    Full of passing vistas, moments of lyricism, raw sex and emotions – all building to a portrait of youths trying to bond together to survive.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A teenager joins a travelling magazine sales crew and gets swept up in hard partying and young love.
  • The BFG (2016)
    Review preview for The BFG

    The wide-eyed young girl Sophie, who possesses a wisdom and bravura beyond her years, is beautifully caught by newcomer Ruby Barnhill.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A little girl befriends a giant.
  • Slack Bay (2016)
    Review preview for Slack Bay

    The humour falls almost as flat as the inflatable policeman.

    Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
    Period comedy, set in 1910, about the investigation into disappearances from beaches in France.
  • I, Daniel Blake (2016)
    Review preview for I, Daniel Blake

    The film preserves a sense of immediacy and is achingly relevant for our times much in the same way Cathy Come Home was for the Sixties.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A carpenter suffering from ill health and a young single mum find themselves facing a wall of welfare bureacracy.
  • Staying Vertical (2016)
    Review preview for Staying Vertical

    He may provide too much shock detail for some audiences but the director proves himself a master story-teller.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A man is seduced by a free-spirited shepherdess and finds himself left holding the baby.
  • Money Monster (2016)
    Review preview for Money Monster

    An efficiently diverting thriller.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A financial TV host and his producer are put in an extreme situation when an irate investor who has lost everything forcefully takes over their studio.
  • Café Society (2016)
    Review preview for Café Society

    A fluffy and charming confection that has an enticing exterior without much substance on the inside.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A man comes to Hollywood with aspirations of working in film, only to fall in love.
  • The Sweeney: Paris (2015)
    Review preview for The Sweeney: Paris

    It suffers from an air of deja vu.

    Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
    French remake sees the squad try to catch a gang of jewel thieves.
  • Mustang (2015)
    Review preview for Mustang

    Erguven demonstrates remarkable skill in her first feature.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    Coming of age story about five Turkish girls.
  • The Last Diamond (2014)
    Review preview for The Last Diamond

    Both Bejo and Attal offer strong charismatic performances which hold your attention even if sometimes you have to suspend your disbelief.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A thief on parole agrees to one last job.
  • Janis: Little Girl Blue (2015)
    Review preview for Janis: Little Girl Blue

    The director has uncovered a wealth of archive material.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    Documentary following the main stages of Janis Joplin’s life.
  • 99 Homes (2014)
    Review preview for 99 Homes

    The narrative is paced with the urgency of a thriller.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A man struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real-estate broker who's the source of his frustration.
  • Knight Of Cups (2015)
    Review preview for Knight Of Cups

    Malick and his cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, if nothing else, deliver stunningly beautiful vistas and backdrops for his narratives and characters, yet like the characters, there seems to be something empty at its core.

    Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
    Targeting the world of showbusiness.
  • Ricki And The Flash (2015)
    Review preview for Ricki And The Flash

    There’s lot of music along the way, thrown in to the mix in a none too subtle manner, although Streep manages to carry off most of it with verve and true grit.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A rock star tries to make things right with the family she sacrificed for the sake of her career.
  • Vanity (2015)
    Review preview for Vanity

    A beautifully modulated and measured odyssey.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    An elderly architect heads to a motel to finish planning his assisted suicide.
  • Entertainment (2015)
    Review preview for Entertainment

    It is by turns sad and disturbing - with occasional bouts of highly dubious dark humour.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    En route to meeting with his estranged daughter, a broken, ageing comedian plays a string of dead-end shows in the Mojave Desert.
  • Trainwreck (2015)
    Review preview for Trainwreck

    Perfectly watchable and occasionally touching despite itself.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A woman with a fear of commitment finds herself falling for a man who wants to settle down in a monogamous relationship.
  • The Magic Mountain (2015)
    Review preview for The Magic Mountain

    Her mix of animation, collage, and actual footage from the various periods covered suits her subject to perfection.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    The adventures of mountain climber and photographer Adam J. Winkler, who fought in Afghanistan with the mujahedin against the Soviets in the 1980s.
  • Rams (2015)
    Review preview for Rams

    Hákonarson proves himself a master of his material - a sort of rural Ken Loach - shooting sparingly yet dramatically against extreme weather conditions.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    In a remote Icelandic farming valley, two brothers who haven't spoken in 40 years have to come together in order to save what's dearest to them - their sheep.
  • The Snake Brothers (2015)
    Review preview for The Snake Brothers

    It is Kryštof Hadek who steals the show.

    Richard Mowe · 3.5 out of 5
    Two brothers feel unable to build a life they are happy with.
  • The Sound Of Trees (2015)
    Review preview for The Sound Of Trees

    Péloquin delivers an absorbing drama about a ground-breaking period in a teenager’s life.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    At 17 Jérémie dreams of a life different from the one that awaits him at the family sawmill in the small Canadian town where he lives.
  • Heil (2015)
    Review preview for Heil

    Certainly there will be those who take offence - but that’s part of the objective in shaking up politically correct preconceptions.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    An African-German Author loses his memory and is used by a modern National Socialist Party as promotion-figure for more political power over Germany.
  • Time Out Of Mind (2014)
    Review preview for Time Out Of Mind

    Gere, despite his image both off and on screen, gives a flawless performance.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    A homeless man tries to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
  • Macbeth (2015)
    Review preview for Macbeth

    Kurzel helps to put his two actors at the top of their game.

    Richard Mowe · 3.5 out of 5
    Prophecy, treachery, murder and their consequences unwind in the Scottish Play.
  • Dheepan (2015)
    Review preview for Dheepan

    The director is adept at confronting ordinary people with extraordinary situations to test their resilience.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    The story of a Sri Lankan Tamil warrior who flees to France and ends up working as a caretaker outside Paris.
  • Love (2015)
    Review preview for Love

    None of the characters seem grounded in any kind of reality.

    Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
    A sexual melodrama about a boy and a girl and another girl; a love story which celebrates sex in a joyous way.
  • Youth (2015)
    Review preview for Youth

    The trappings and style more than make up for any lack of substance.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A composer and a film director staying in an Alpine hotel find themselves under unexpected pressure.
  • Sicario (2015)
    Review preview for Sicario

    Villeneuve sustains the knife-edge tension without a blip.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A young female FBI agent joins a secret CIA operation to take down a Mexican cartel boss, a job that ends up pushing her ethical and moral values to the limit.
  • The Measure Of A Man (2015)
    Review preview for The Measure Of A Man

    Stephane Brizé is a master of films that appear to say very little but actually speak volumes.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A supermarket guard faces a moral quandry.
  • Inside Out (2015)
    Review preview for Inside Out

    As usual with Pixar the film operates on twin levels - with one part going straight over the heads and minds of its junior target audience and the other heading directly to their parents.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    When a girl moves to a new home, her emotions are plunged into chaos as they compete for control of her mind.
  • Louder Than Bombs (2015)
    Review preview for Louder Than Bombs

    Trier has difficulty holding it all together as he examines themes of grief, parenting, family, and coming of age.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    Three years after the death of a war photographer, secrets begin to emerge.
  • My King (2015)
    Review preview for My King

    Rather turgid drama.

    Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
    An injured woman in a rehabilitation centre recalls an all encompassing love.
  • Carol (2015)
    Review preview for Carol

    A beautifully crafted piece.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
  • Irrational Man (2015)
    Review preview for Irrational Man

    The story is not as well-developed as it should have been but it’s an enjoyable enough treat for Allen fans for whom he can do no wrong.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    On a small town college campus, a philosophy professor in existential crisis gives his life new purpose when he enters into a relationship with his student.
  • My Mother (2015)
    Review preview for My Mother

    It’s a more slight work than we might have expected from Moretti.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    Tragicomedy, a filmmaker tries to cope with crises.
  • The Lobster (2015)
    Review preview for The Lobster

    Lanthimos satirises our obsession with relationships and modern day electronic dating rituals although the results are not nearly as funny and knowing as the director clearly thinks.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    In a dystopian near future, single people are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days or are transformed into animals and released into the woods.
  • The Sea Of Trees (2015)
    Review preview for The Sea Of Trees

    The twists and turns of this narrative fail to ring true with too many implausibilities in the plotting to give any credibility.

    Richard Mowe · 2 out of 5
    A suicidal American befriends a Japanese man lost in a forest near Mt. Fuji and the two search for a way out.
  • Sweet Bean (2015)
    Review preview for Sweet Bean

    An intimate and immensely moving portrait of three lost people who come together and learn to find some direction in their lives.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A baker forms a bond with an elderly woman over their love of pastry.
  • Tale Of Tales (2015)
    Review preview for Tale Of Tales

    On balance, the dexterity of Garrone’s vision papers over the cracks and finds the poetic dimensions of the magical material.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    Collection of fairy tales. In one, Salma Hayek is a jealous queen and in another Vincent Cassel plays a king who encounters two mysterious sisters. In a third a king raises a gigantic flea.
  • Standing Tall (2015)
    Review preview for Standing Tall

    With heart-rending emotion and considerable physical punch Emmanuelle Bercot immerses us in French young offenders’ procedures.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    The story of a young delinquent and the woman who sets out to try to change his destiny.
  • Hungry Hearts (2014)
    Review preview for Hungry Hearts

    Costanzo’s script goes off the rails at the same time as his heroine.

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    New York-set drama about a young couple who tear each other apart over the care of their child.
  • Moomins On The Riviera (2014)
    Review preview for Moomins On The Riviera

    The hand-coloured drawings are exquisite, and who could fail to warm to the charms of these loveable nutters who want all the right things for the world?

    Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
    The Finnish favourites go on an adventure.
  • Elle l'Adore (2014)
    Review preview for Elle l'Adore

    The two leads of Kiberlain and Lafitte spark off each as a pair of highly unlikely yet strangely engaging partners in crime.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    A divorced mother agrees to do a mysterious favour for a singer she has adored from afar throughout her life.

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