★★☆☆☆ Swedish/South African director Pia Marais has garnered a small, yet loyal following on the festival circuit thanks to her assured debut The Unpolished (2007) and its confident follow-up At Ellen’s Age (2010). Her third feature, Layla Fourie (2013), thus finds itself in competition for the top Golden Bear prize at this Continue Reading
★★☆☆☆ Denis Côté’s Vic + Flo Saw a Bear ( Vic et Flo ont vu un ours, 2013) is the follow-up to the experimental French Canadian director’s zoo doc, Bestiaire (2012). A detached and ultimately soulless portrayal of the rehabilitating limbo of post-prison reintegration, Côté’s offbeat and darkly comic drama Continue Reading
★★★★☆ BBC Four have been reaping in high viewing figures after their early recognition of Nordic Noir programming, and can now add Borgen to their success list. While Wallander, The Killing and The Bridge all centred on criminal investigation and had thriller elements, Borgen, its second series now on DVD, Continue Reading
★★★★☆ A surprise inclusion in many categories at this year’s Academy Awards, Benh Zeitlin’s debut feature Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) arrives on DVD and Blu-ray this week with a great deal of critical fanfare. A magical realist fable of rural poverty in deep Louisiana, Beasts follows the story Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Harry Patramanis’ Fynbos (2012) is an enigmatic parable for modern South Africa’s evolution away from its troubled past. A tense and atmospheric thriller-of-sorts, Patramanis’ assured debut captivates through its hypnotic rhythm, yet remains a strangely unsatisfying experience – a great pity. Stood on a rundown street corner, Meryl (Jessica Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Based on Matthew F. Jones’ dark and atmospheric novel of the same name, David M. Rosenthal’s A Single Shot (2013) finally makes it’s debut at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. Staring US actor Sam Rockwell and boasting an enticing supporting cast that includes William H. Macy, Kelly Reilly and Continue Reading
★★★★☆ A starkly-shot Russian addition to the Berlinale’s Forum section, Svetlana Baskova’s For Marx (Za Marksa, 2013) might not have much cinematic polish, but what it lacks in looks it makes up for with a thorough exploration of geopolitical themes, wrapped in a pithy, compelling drama. A group of hardy steel Continue Reading