Festivals
-
LFF 2011: ‘Alps’ (‘Alpeis’)
★★★★☆ In Alps (Alpeis, 2011), Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow-up to the sensational Dogtooth (2009), a group of four people – a young gymnast, her coach, a medic and a nurse – have an enterprising idea: when someone dies, they will hire themselves out to the family or friends, substituting for the deceased so that…
-
BFI London Film Festival: ‘Pariah’
★★★★☆ Written and directed by Dee Rees, Pariah (2011) – starring Adepero Oduye, Kim Wayans and Aasha Davis – is a refreshingly naturalistic film which explores themes of sexuality and acceptance without ever pandering to the formulaic approach of similar teen dramas.Pariah opens in a seedy back alley strip bar where Khia’s My Neck, My…
-
BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Hut in the Woods’
★★★★☆ The latest in a line of strong German entries exploring mental illness at this year’s 55th BFI London Film Festival, Hans Weingartner’s Hut in the Woods (Hütte im Wald, 2011) focuses on the lives of to down-and-outs, former mathematician Martin Blunt (Peter Schneider) and recently orphaned Ukrainian youngster Viktor (Timur Massold), who both become…
-
BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Coriolanus’
★★★☆☆ William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus is one of the Great Bard’s most complicated and longest plays, making an adaptation a brave move for the directorial debut of actor Ralph Fiennes. To counter this, Coriolanus (2011) boasts an impressive cast of great acting talent, including Vanessa Redgrave, Gerald Butler, Brian Cox and Jessica Chastain.Fiennes has transported the action…
-
BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘She Monkeys’
★★★★☆ Swedish director Lisa Aschan’s debut feature She Monkeys (2011) is a hormonally-charged coming-of-age drama, depicting the conflict between two teenage girls, and stars Mathilda Paradeiser, Linda Molin and Isabella Lindquist. On the cusp of maturity, 15-year-old Emma (Paradeiser) lives with her younger sister, Sara (Lindquist), and their father, Ivan (Sergej Merkusjev). She’s about to…
-
BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Early One Morning’
★★☆☆☆ Director Jean-Marc Moutout returns to the BFI London Film Festival with Early One Morning (2011) – starring Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Valérie Dréville and Xavier Beauvois – as he continues his exploration of the insular and alienating world of executive business and showcases a similar degree of visual panache and assured direction.Darroussin plays Paul Wertret, a…
-
BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Dreileben 3: One Minute of Darkness’
★★★★☆ The third and final entry in the Dreileben trilogy, Christoph Hochhäusler’s Dreileben 3: One Minute of Darkness, finally gives centre stage to Stefan Kurts’ convicted child molester Frank Molesch, starting with his escape from police custody first witnessed in Christian Petzold’s initial entry Beats Being Dead. Visibly distressed following the death of his mother, the…
-
BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Dreileben 2: Don’t Follow Me Around’
★★★☆☆ The second film in the German Dreileben trilogy, Dominik Graf’s Dreileben 2: Don’t Follow Me Around (2011) is a very different creature to Christian Petzold’s Beats Being Dead (2011), taking a more straightforward, politically-informed approach to narrative storytelling. Whilst Petzold’s effort focused on the lives of Dreileben’s youth, Graf’s contribution to the project explores…
-
BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Weekend’
★★★★☆ Intimate, earnest and heartfelt, Andrew Haigh’s Weekend (2011) – starring Tom Cullen and Chris New – is a refined and touching affair that showcases up-and-coming British film talent and an original approach to its subject matter.On a Friday night after hanging out with his straight mates, Russell (Cullen) – an introverted lifeguard – heads…
-
BFI London Film Festival 2011: ‘Shame’
★★★★☆ It may not be a world or even a European premiere, but the first showing of Hunger (2008) director Steve McQueen’s latest effort Shame (2011) – starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan – looks set to give this year’s BFI London Film Festival a much needed kiss of life (though where this kiss could…
