★★★☆☆ Having recently found himself in harsh and grim post-war Poland for Wojciech Smarzowski’s sombre Rose (Róza, 2011), Marcin Dorocinski is back again in award-winning wartime drama, Manhunt (Oblawa, 2012). On this occasion, he is part of the Polish resistance during the conflict rather then attempting to build a life Continue Reading
★★★★☆ There are few films that can lay claim to being quite so lurid and sultry as Lee Daniels’ infamous Cannes foray The Paperboy (2012) – which makes it all the more delicious to sample. Set deep within the humid bayous of southern Florida, this sexually-charged guilty pleasure stars Zac Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ For a renowned political filmmaker, it’s curious that Ken Loach’s films are at their best when they focus on the more personal elements. Loach has a gift for depicting the arduous everyday struggles of poverty with sensitivity and humanity, but his works are frequently hindered by his inability to Continue Reading
★☆☆☆☆ It’s certainly still early days, but the poorest British film of the year may just be about to rear its repugnant head (and we’re not referring back to Danny Dyer farce Run for Your Wife). Sara Sugarman’s Vinyl (2012) wants to be a breezy tale of old rockers sticking it to Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ A degree of pressure has been placed upon director Eran Creevy, as his eagerly awaited second feature follows on from his BAFTA-nominated debut, Shifty (2008). Creevy now returns with a grander budget and bigger cast for Welcome to the Punch (2013), a cat and mouse tale with a twist Continue Reading
★★★★☆ Eschewing the type of gritty social realism commonly associated with regional British cinema in favour of an aesthetically heightened approach, Scott Graham’s directorial debut Shell (2012) wouldn’t look out of place in competition at any of the major European film festivals. Settling instead for a premiere screening at last Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Fashioning a compelling yarn from a single shift at a supermarket was always likely to be a challenge for writer/director Maciej Zak. Despite said shift being an extra-long, New Year’s Eve affair, and the staff in question security guards, it still sounds less than riveting. Yet Zak manages to Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Tales of incest are unlikely to be the easiest of sells, but director Filip Marczewski does an admirable job of handling said material in Shameless (Bez wstydu, 2012). An intense melodrama that screened last weekend as part of the 11th Polish Film Festival, it deftly handles its subject matter Continue Reading
★★★☆☆ Originally populated by Polish settlers, the rural villages of Masuria were aggressively Germanised in the half-century leading up to the advent of World War II, which ultimately led to them being considered as one of the most loyal regions to the Fatherland. Their ethnic autonomy was largely stamped out Continue Reading