★★☆☆☆ Rita’s Last Fairy Tale (Poslednyaya Skazka Rity, 2011) is a playful Russian fantasy which imbues its harrowing tale of life and death with an enchanting collage of imagery. A surreal and at times beguiling journey, Renata Litvinova’s disjointed and far-fetched magical adventure also demands both an open mind and Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Dunya Smirnova’s Kokoko (2012) plays out very much like a buoyant Mike Leigh film about social class and feminism – albeit with a deeply Russian sensibility – an exploration of cultural clashes within a delightfully comic framework. Big city living and country ways collide in this quaint tale of Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ From Pavel Lungin, the acclaimed director of Tsar (2009) and The Island (2007), comes The Conductor (Dirizhyor, 2012), a beautifully rendered orchestra of existential themes brought together to depict a sombre portrait of life. A famous Russian conductor, Vyacheslav Petrov (Vladas Bagdonas) takes his orchestra to Jerusalem to perform Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Pavel Ruminov’s I’ll Be Around (Ya Budu Ryadom, 2012) makes its way to the 6th London Russian Film Festival after winning the Grand Prix Award at this year’s Kinotavr Film Festival – the largest film festival currently held in Russia. A harrowing and emotionally overwhelming tale about the bond Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Notorious is a word frequently overused when describing controversial horror films. However, the term somehow feels completely justifiable in relation to The Evil Dead (1981) – director Sam Raimi’s cult slice of schlocky hokum – starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Richard DeMaincor. Scarring, nauseating and amusing in equal Continue Reading
