Reviews by Susanna Krawczyk

Order by: Date, A–Z

• 
  51 Birch Street (2005)

  Review preview for 51 Birch Street

  This is a most interesting film, examining attitudes to love and marriage.

  A film-maker investigates the secrets behind his parents' marriage.
• 
  Angel (2007)

  Review preview for Angel

  Lucy Russell in particular puts in a fascinating and nuanced performance.

  The life story of a self-obsessed young woman determined to succeed as a romance novelist at the beginning of the 20th Century.
• 
  Brothers Of The Head (2005)

  Review preview for Brothers Of The Head

  Harry and Luke Treadaway frankly took my breath away.

  Conjoined twins exploited by the music business slowly succumb to psychosis.
• 
  Beaufort (2007)

  Review preview for Beaufort

  The cast put in an excellent performance and manage to be distinct in a film where uniforms, dirt and camouflage face paint make it difficult to tell men apart.

  A look at the lives of Israeli soldiers serving in Lebanon at the end of the 20th century.
• 
  Billy The Kid (2007)

  Review preview for Billy The Kid

  This is a heartwarming film in the truest sense of the word.

  Documentary following a boy with learning difficulties looking for romance.
• 
  Blackbird (2007)

  Review preview for Blackbird

  One for fans of unconventional love stories and those who seek out something other than the classic Hollywood ending.

  A young woman working in the sex industry risks everything for love.
• 
  Black Brush (2005)

  A group of stoner friends take a trip in pursuit of their boss' missing money.
• 
  Bridging The Gap (2006)

  Five documentaries about lies.
• 
  The Cottage (2008)

  Review preview for The Cottage

  Taken as a straightforward comic horror movie, this feels too derivative and clichéd. Taken as homage or pastiche, it's not nearly funny, knowing or camp enough.

  When wannabe big-time crooks kidnap a gangster's daughter and hole up in a remote cottage, they find there are scarier people out there than the mob.
• 
  Children Of Glory (2006)

  Review preview for Children Of Glory

  This is not a very nuanced view of the situation, but it really doesn’t pretend to be.

  The Hungarian revolution as seen from the perspective of its water polo heroes.
• 
  Consenting Adults (2007)

  Review preview for Consenting Adults

  The whole movie has a slightly flat “filler episode of a BBC political drama” feel to it.

  The story of John Wolfenden and the legalisation of homosexuality in England.
• 
  Crazy Love (2007)

  Review preview for Crazy Love

  It has been a long time since I’ve heard such an affecting tale of abuse.

  Documentary about a man who mutilates the woman he claims to love.
• 
  A Few Kilos Of Dates For A Funeral (2006)

  Review preview for A Few Kilos Of Dates For A Funeral

  Could be called a love story, but it is not so easily pigeonholed.

  A black comedy set in a petrol station in the Iranian desert.
• 
  Funny Face (1957)

  Review preview for Funny Face

  Loses something in its transition to the modern day.

  A fashion photographer discovers a sales girl's ability as a model and makes her a star.
• 
  Gulliver's Travels (2010)

  Review preview for Gulliver's Travels

  Every one of the Lilliputian characters is so bland and personality-free that they could have been played by the creepy CG Jeff Bridges from TRON: Legacy.

  A travel writer gets shipwrecked and finds himself in a land full of really small people.
• 
  Ghosts Of Cité Soleil (2006)

  Review preview for Ghosts Of Cité Soleil

  The whole situation seems broken beyond repair, and thankfully this film never tries to take any of the myriad sides available.

  A look at the lives and origins of the young gangsters who control Haiti's shanty towns.
• 
  Hidden Flaws (2004)

  A bereaved elderly woman shelters a pair of kids who are on the run from an abusive family situation.
• 
  Hoodwinked (2005)

  The truth about Little Red Riding Hood.
• 
  John & Jane (2005)

  Review preview for John & Jane

  Pity and then guilt are the two dominant emotions that this film elicits.

  A documentary about Indian call centre workers.
• 
  Klimt (2006)

  Review preview for Klimt

  A shallow portrayal.

  A portrait of the artist as a middle aged man.
• 
  Lovely By Surprise (2006)

  Review preview for Lovely By Surprise

  Many comparisons have been made to Charlie Kaufman and rightly so.

  Multi-layered interaction between fictional characters, their author and a used car salesman.
• 
  The Messengers (2007)

  Review preview for The Messengers

  A bit of standard-but-creepy Asian horror stapled poorly to a dull-as-ditchwater Hollywood thriller.

  When their family moves into an isolated farmhouse, teenager Jess and her toddler brother begin to notice creepy things no-one else can see...
• 
  Midnight My Love (2005)

  Review preview for Midnight My Love

  Lovely and thought-provoking.

  A tender relationship forms between a cab driver and a young prostitute.
• 
  The Missing Star (2006)

  A man travels from Italy to China searching for an obsolete machine, but finds something else.
• 
  Motel Hell (1980)

  Review preview for Motel Hell

  Pretty much a must for anyone who enjoys schlocky Seventies horror.

  A man famous for his smoked meats buries unwary travellers alive and fattens them up...
• 
  The Old Garden (2006)

  Review preview for The Old Garden

  The sentimental nature of the film lets it down somewhat.

  Drama about a former political radical trying to come to terms with his new life.
• 
  Paradise Lost (2006)

  A gang of backpackers find themselves terrorised in the Brazilian jungle.
• 
  Pete's Dragon (2016)

  Review preview for Pete's Dragon

  This is a reliably entertaining kids’ movie with just the right number of tear-jerking moments to make it solidly Disney.

  An orphan boy befriends a dragon.
• 
  Princess (2006)

  Review preview for Princess

  An emotional, thrilling, disturbing and beautiful film.

  A priest adopts his orphaned niece and grows furious upon discovering what happened to her and her mother.
• 
  Quarantine (2008)

  Review preview for Quarantine

  There was a moment when I thought the movie was going to go the more thoughtful way, but it soon reasserts itself as standard zombie fare.

  Firemen face deadly virus in LA apartment block.
• 
  Ruckenlage (2006)

  Review preview for Ruckenlage

  A fascinating account of Rudolf Hess’ solo flight to Scotland in 1941.

  Reconstruction of Rudolf Hess's flight to Scotland in 1941.
• 
  Run Granny Run (2007)

  Review preview for Run Granny Run

  Democracy isn’t something we have, it’s something we do.

  Doris, aged 94, stands for election in the US Senate.
• 
  A Soap (2006)

  Review preview for A Soap

  There is a menacing undercurrent.

  A beauty shop owner and transsexual soap opera addict form a friendship which leads to drama of its own.
• 
  Sabrina (1954)

  Review preview for Sabrina

  This is a movie that is not as frivolous as it first appears.

  Rags-to-riches meets ugly-duckling story.
• 
  Them (2007)

  Review preview for Them

  As a picture of Polish society specifically it becomes even more interesting.

  A documentary exploring the use and meaning of political symbols.
• 
  This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

  Review preview for This Film Is Not Yet Rated

  Hilarious, terrifying, enraging and mystifying all at once.

  An exposé about the US film ratings board.
• 
  The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls (2009)

  Review preview for The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls

  Heartwarming without being schmaltzy, funny and biting without being mean-spirited or slapstick and politically rousing without being the least bit po-faced.

  A documentary about New Zealand's iconic yodelling lesbian comedian twin sisters, their shows and their activism.
• 
  To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)

  Review preview for To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar

  The sort of film that is meant to make you believe in the inherent goodness of mankind.

  Three drag queens get stuck in a small town en route to a big competition.
• 
  The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

  Review preview for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

  As far as teen fantasy movies go, Eclipse is pretty good.

  As tensions escalate between the vampires and the werewolves, Bella is forced to choose between the two most important men in her life.
• 
  WAZ (2007)

  Review preview for WAZ

  A lot of talk about genes, selfishness, 'love-is-a-joke' etc . thoroughly bores the pants off everyone.

  A detective caught in a battle of wits with a killer is forced to pay for his past failings.
• 
  You Instead (2011)

  Review preview for You Instead

  The festival location works like a charm to inject instant excitement and magic into the story.

  An indie singer and the star of a big US rock band are accidentally handcuffed together at the T In The Park music festival outside Glasgow, leading to frustration, conflict and, gradually, romance.