Author Carmen Paddock

From its title, 100 Minutes would seem to condense the concept of Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (the film’s Russian title makes this connection more explicit). Instead,...

The greatest strength and weakness of Monte Verità - Stefan Jäger’s Swiss historical drama set in 1906 Locarno - is the fact that it so excellently, yet uncritically, evokes its time. Modern art, dance,...

Nélie (Lyna Khoudri) sees no future for herself on the streets of 1914 Paris. A chance encounter with a Red Cross nurse, however, seems a ticket out of prostitution, and her resourceful work on the front...

This film was previously reviewed in March 2021 as part of our Berlinale coverage. Cuneiform expert Alma works at Berlin’s prestigious Pergamon Museum, but like most academics she needs that last bit of...

This film was previously reviewed in February 2020 as part of our Berlinale coverage. The titular Wildland evoked by Jeanette Nordahl’s feature is both the expansive Danish scenery and the inner workings...

The unlicensed fisherman of Ostrov, an island in the Caspian Sea, often see themselves against the world. Left to their own devices after the breakup of the Soviet Union, local patriarch Ivan cannot help but...

Cinema’s love affairs with seemingly endless, carefree summers is given a rude awakening in Emilie Aussel's short drama. As a bunch of French teenagers gather to celebrate the end of exams and the start of...

There are faint echoes of Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale The Snow Queen in Natalya Kudryashova’s second feature, but this modern Russian fairytale finds its nature magic up against dreary...

This film was previously reviewed in February 2020 as part of our Berlinale coverage. With today’s headlines, there could be a strong film made from the historical investigation, aided by an American...

By trade, a documentarian deals in records. Aleksandr Rastorguev was no exception. A prolific documentary filmmaker known for works critical of Russia’s political regime and business interests, he was found...

Many people fantasise about living a life more in tune with nature, but imagining what that might look is more difficult. Daniusa and Basia live such an existence in rural Poland. Bucolic (Bukolika) is a...

Riley (Kit Zauhar) struggles as she approaches graduation. A final paper earns a failing grade, landing her in a remedial summer course to get her full diploma. Meanwhile, she goes heart over head in pursuit...

From the Planet of the Humans (Dal pianeta degli umani) defies easy categorisation. It is a dreamlike documentary, fictionalising a border checkpoint at Ventimiglia where migrants often make perilous crossings...

On the surface, Hleb Papous’ film bears many similarities to 2020’s vaunted Les Miserables. The Legionnaire (Il Legionario) is similarly concerned with tensions between immigrant communities and the...

Teenage years are often remembered for their extreme physical, emotional, and societal changes, and cinema has long immortalised these transformations to tell stories of discovery and danger. In Araceli...