Frantz – Review
In Frantz Franco-German relations in the wake of the Great War are explored, but at its heart Ozon has crafted an old-fashioned movie that nevertheless pulses with a modern vitality. The setup is simple...
Hacksaw Ridge – Review
To Mel Gibson and Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge is a shot at redemption. For Garfield, it’s to be taken seriously again after the failure of the Amazing Spider-Man films. For Gibson, well, it’s a lot more...
La La Land – Review
Damien Chazelle's third feature, La La Land, confirms two trends in the director's still relatively young career. Firstly, an inclination towards jazz. Secondly, a tendency to make thrilling, moving...
The Light Between Oceans – Venice 2016 Review
Much like 2012's The Place Beyond The Pines, Derek Cianfrance’s new offering, The Light Between Oceans, is a mixture of beautiful sunset landscapes, slow fades and a well-timed soundtrack to accompany...
Nocturnal Animals – Venice 2016 Review
As a fashion designer, it's unsurprising that Tom Ford is preoccupied with the idea of the pretty. Nocturnal Animals is an exercise in the disruption of beauty, right from its bizarre opening credits. The...
Bitter Money – Venice 2016 Review
In China over 300,000 people work in the textile industry. With Bitter Money Wang Bing documents the grinding lives that these people have to endure, offering a sympathetic insight into their world. In...
The Woman Who Left – Venice 2016 Review
Horacia (Charo Santos-Concio), the titular Woman Who Left, is released from prison after 30 years when it turns out her friend was the one who actually committed the crime. With much of her life already gone,...
Malaria – Venice 2016 Review
By framing its story through recovered mobile phone footage discovered by unseen investigators, Malaria immediately hooks in its audience. Set mainly in Tehran, director Parviz Shahbazi utilises the mobile...
Never Ever – Venice 2016 Review
In the wake of The Babadook new ghost stories should be welcomed with open arms. However, Never Ever squanders its potential by being utterly tedious. The first half of Never Ever actually intrigues as...
On the Milky Road – Venice 2016 Review
Director/writer/star Emir Kusturica demands attention from the opening frames of On the Milky Road through his stylistic idiosyncrasies. Snakes drink milk and clocks bite people in his war-torn...
The Bad Batch – Venice 2016 Review
Ana Lily Amirpour falls victim to the sophomore slump with The Bad Batch. Like her strong debut, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, she creates a strange world for her characters to inhabit. However, a languid...
Une Vie – Venice 2016 Review
Adapting the eponymous novel by Guy de Maupassant, Une Vie is a textured film that may just be too dour for its own good. Charting Jeanne’s (Judith Chelma) descent from landowners’ daughter to a...
The Journey – Venice 2016 Review
From the very first frame, it’s clear that The Journey is more of an ITV drama than a film. Cheap in its look and firmly middlebrow, there’s nothing of note to recommend it. Timothy Spall transforms...
Gukôroku – Venice 2016 Review
Gukôroku is the most frustrating kind of film, because so many of its elements work only to be let down by a story that does not warrant this low level of filmmaking. Gukôroku entices the audience with...
Paradise – Venice 2016 Review
Andrei Konchalovsky offers a cross-section of Europe under Nazi rule through his three main characters: French-Nazi collaborator Jules (Phillippe Duqesne), Russian Resistance member Olga (Julia Vysotskaya),...