Tallinn 2017: Festival highlights & awards roundup
Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival returned to the Estonian capital for its 21st instalment from 17 November – 3 December. Unlike some other A-list...
★★☆☆☆ “An old, mad, blind, despised, and dying king,” Percy Shelley once wrote in his sonnet England in 1819. He was firing his barbs at King George III but the words could just as well be used for any number of English monarchs including Henry VIII.
★★★★★ Turkish master director Nuri Bilge Ceylan returns to the Cannes Croisette with About Dry Grasses, a wonderful wintry meditation on male fragility and the way we often make our own hells and then deceive ourselves that we’re trapped.
★★★★☆ From sub-Saharan Africa to Afghanistan, Syria to Iraq and Iran, the climate crisis, drought, war, and oppression has created a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. It is treated as an ethical conundrum, but it isn’t. Either we wish to save those who are in danger of dying, or all our talk of human rights is just so much hot air. This is the core concern of Green Border.
★★★★☆ With Luca Guadagnino’s terrific Challengers, the acclaimed director of Call Me By Your Name brings us the sub-genre we never knew we needed: the erotic tennis thriller.
★★☆☆☆ Directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s “Abigail” mashes up crime caper and monster movie, but fails to deliver fear or humor. Spoilery trailers and unoriginal characters overshadow promising elements, resulting in a dull, lifeless experience lacking creativity and wit.
★★☆☆☆ Maïwenn’s French period drama Jeanne du Barry is the perfect opening salvo for the 76th Cannes Film Festival. It is as glitzy and gaudy as the festival itself, with its vacuous politics drowned out by the thunderous sound of it slapping its own back.
Tallinn’s Black Nights Film Festival returned to the Estonian capital for its 21st instalment from 17 November – 3 December. Unlike some other A-list...
★★★★★ Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s films defined British cinema in the 1940s and 1950s, which were both artistically and commercially successful. In 1946...
★★★★★ Ai Weiwei might be best known for his sculptures and installations, but with Human Flow he has created a masterpiece that truly captures...
From the big screen to an even bigger stage, films have been making their way into our theatres for decades. This said, not all...
Where would Hollywood be without the humble reboot? It seems that every month brings a blast from the past, repackaged for a new generation...
★★★☆☆ A crime caper, set amongst the racial tensions of 1950s suburban America, this earnest satire is fun, but ultimately feels a bit thin...
★★★★☆ Brakes is a bittersweet, raw comedy about love, sex, and relationships, with stellar performances from its large ensemble cast. Brakes starts off seemingly...
★★★☆☆ Mitsuko (Reina Triendl) is on a school bus with her friends when an invisible force rips off the top of the bus, severing...