London Film Festival
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LFF 2013: ‘Hello Carter’ review
★★☆☆☆ There’s nothing more soul-crushing than a romantic comedy devoid of either of the genre’s requisite defining aspects. At least when the love story is lacking, laughs will usually pick up the slack; if it’s humourless, the passion can take the weight. Nobody wants to overdose on schmaltz (well, some people might) but shunning it…
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LFF 2013: ‘At Berkeley’ review
★★★★★ “Hey dude, why don’t we start a university?” And thus, the hallowed University of Berkeley was born according to one jesting lecturer. It’s an uncharacteristically lighthearted opening to veteran filmmaker Frederick Wiseman’s outstanding new documentary At Berkeley, a four-hour essay on the institution as it faces significant cuts to its funding from the US…
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LFF 2013: ‘Afternoon Delight’ review
★★★☆☆ Jill Soloway is an established TV writer and producer, contributing episodes to shows such as Six Feet Under and The United States of Tara. Now she’s turned her attention to the big screen with debut feature Afternoon Delight (2013), which won the Dramatic Directing award earlier in the year at Sundance. The comedy-drama arrives…
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LFF 2013: ‘2 Autumns, 3 Winters’ review
★★★☆☆ There’s a quiet movement happening among young French cinephiles in 2013. Films such as Justine Triet’s La Bataille de Solférino and Antonin Peretjatko’s La Fille du 14 Julliet come from a new generation of filmmakers, often working like repertory companies with their friends, making dynamic, fresh works that actively engage with the struggles of…
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LFF 2013: ‘Vic + Flo Saw a Bear’ review
★★★☆☆ Winner of the Silver Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, arch provocateur Denis Cote’s Vic + Flo Saw a Bear (2013) is a fascinating experiment in genre and narrative expectation. Elevated by sterling composition and framing, it’s a playful, intelligent work in which the formal elegance conceals its prankster ambitions. Though many will…
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LFF 2013: ‘The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears’ review
★★★☆☆ Giallo fans rejoiced at the news that the fading genre’s new premiere directing couple, namely Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, were returning with their sophomore feature The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears (2013). As with their critically successful feature debut, Amer (2009), its latest offering is entrenched deeply in the visual and aural…
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LFF 2013: ‘The Congress’ review
★★☆☆☆ The Congress (2013), Israeli director Ari Folman’s follow-up to 2008’s exquisite hybrid documentary Waltz with Bashir, certainly talks a big game. Channelling Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994) as well as the stories of Philip K. Dick, it’s a hugely ambitious picture that attempts to combine industry satire with lofty sci-fi. The concept itself is…
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LFF 2013: ‘Leave to Remain’ review
★★★☆☆ Bruce Goodison’s feature debut, the good-natured Leave to Remain (2013), imbues the meticulous rigour of a documentary with the conventional methodology of a narrative drama to create an unusual deviation on the coming-of-age tale. A film about children thrust into adulthood thanks to their status as asylum seekers, Goodison looks to give a voice…
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LFF 2013: ‘Thy Womb’ review
★★★★☆ Filipino national treasure Brillante Mendoza has arguably directed one of the most poignant and intimate films screening at this year’s 57th London Film Festival. Thy Womb (2012) follows the story of a midwife, Shaleha (Nora Aunor), who cannot have children. The film follows her and her husband Bangas An (Bembol Rocco) on their search…
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LFF 2013: ‘The Spectacular Now’ review
★★★★☆ Director James Ponsoldt delivers on the promise of 2012’s Smashed with The Spectacular Now (2013), a brilliant fin-de-siècle teen film that’s soaring, heartfelt and encouragingly devoid of any unwarranted sentimentality. It’s a film that’s truthful and frank while remaining firmly within the bounds of cinematic grammar. The ace up the film’s sleeve is its…