Author Carmen Paddock

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...

Stojan might be stuck in a dead end job as Serbia adjusts to a post-Soviet economy. His daughter might not have the newest, coolest shoes, and the refugee crisis is on everyone’s lips. But he is happy,...

The Magway region of central Myanmar may be home to one of the world’s oldest petroleum industries, but the business’ possibilities do not trickle down to those extracting the lucrative product from the...

This film was previously reviewed in March 2020 as part of our Glasgow Film Festival coverage. Very little happens over the course of Blanco en Blanco (White on White), and yet each series of vignettes...

Fitness influencer Sylwia has it all: the body, the bubbly personality, and over 600,000 social media followers ready for her latest workout class or smoothie recipe. While her followers often assume...

This film was previously reviewed in February 2020 as part of our Berlinale coverage. Some films need no special tricks or thrills to captivate, and Kelly Reichardt’s latest is a near faultless example....

This film was previously reviewed (as My Salinger Year) in February 2020 as part of our Berlinale coverage. Philippe Falardeau’s latest feature is a visual treat. Sara Mishara’s cinematography creates a...

This film was previously reviewed in October 2019 as part of our London Film Festival coverage. Billie Piper’s audacious directorial debut follows imperfect – sometimes downright unpleasant – people....

Writer, director, and cinematographer Valentyn Vasyanovych’s film opens with a wordless execution and shallow burial captured on infrared cameras. Suddenly it is 2025 – one year after “the war” in an...

A young family uproot to a 19th century farmhouse in upstate New York after the husband lands a coveted academic position. The wife puts her artistic dreams on hold to support him and look after their young...

Off the back of awards darling Nomadland, Chloé Zhao’s feature debut finally reaches UK screens six years after its initial release. Songs My Brothers Taught Me follows JaShaun Winters (JaShaun St. John) as...

“This story is based on true events from the imagined life of Fernande Grudet, aka Madame Claude” reads a title card opening the second feature biopic of the legendary mid-century French brothel owner....

This film was previously reviewed in February 2020 as part of our Berlinale Festival coverage. Anyone familiar with European folklore will have an idea of where Christian Petzold’s latest feature may end...

A three-and-a-half-hour documentary could feel like a school assignment, but director Maria Speth and subject Dieter Bachmann make spending time with one teacher and his diverse class a leisurely joy. Mr...