Reviews

Adolescence is a time few want to relive, but its inherent dichotomies are inexhaustible fodder for cinema. Cuties, Maïmouna Doucouré’s debut, evokes Céline Sciamma’s vision of youth in Water Lilies and...

This film was previously reviewed in February 2020 as part of our Berlinale Film Festival coverage. The gradual loss of a person to dementia is an incredibly painful process to witness; Sally Potter draws...

This film was previously reviewed in October 2019 as part of our coverage for London Film Festival. A film like The Painted Bird does not want to be ‘liked’. It wants to shock, to disgust, to viscerally...

After being marred by scheduling and Covid-related delays, The New Mutants finally sees the light of day. Josh Boone’s origin story retains the superpowered body-morphing elements established in the X-Men...

Too exploitative to be intelligent, too repetitive to be innovative, Swedish director Johannes Nyholm’s second feature is an ambitious attempt to tackle the long-lasting effects of deep-set trauma that loses...

No one conveys the surreal tragedy of disappointed love quite like Charlie Kaufman. Much like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, which Kaufman penned, his new directorial feature I’m Thinking of Ending...

“Loyal, Brave, True” (忠勇真) are the three words engraved on the Hua family sword, comprising Mulan’s central motif that in turn reflects this live action remake’s reexamination of what constitutes...

How much does a person need to live? And how much does it cost – materially and psychologically, in terms of the immediate present and future possibilities – to be poor? The Cost of Living makes no delay...

Stories are worth a thousand words. Isn’t that how the saying goes? The incredibly haunting score from Steph Copeland opens The Oak Room, a thriller from director Cody Calahan. As a snowstorm rages outside,...

Based on a true story, Dream Horse details the improbable racing career of a horse bred on an allotment in Wales by a syndicate of bored neighbours – led by cashier/bartender Jan (Toni Collette, trying her...

Anger is an energy, and the residents of Paris suburb Montfermeil have more than enough to go around. Local resident Ladj Ly builds his feature debut Les Misérables around this force, which simmers under the...

Now more than ever, there exists so many different ways for us to socialise with other people all around the world. Especially relevant during recent times is the reliance on video calls to feel close to...

Unknown Origins could and should have been so much better: a self-aware buddy cop movie with a crime-fighting duo investigating murders inspired by superhero origin stories. Fast, fun, and exciting with...

Justin McConnell’s documentary, Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Business, spans a five year period in McConnell’s life as an indie filmmaker. It not only follows his tumultuous journey...

This film was previously reviewed in October 2019 as part of our London Film Festival coverage. With Marriage Story prominent on the festival circuit, LFF's other divorce drama, Hope Gap, threatens to be...