Festivals
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Berlin 2019: Our picks of the programme
The 69th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival kicks off this week (7-17 February) with Lone Scherfig’s The Kindness of Strangers, a “modern-day fairytale about hope, forgiveness and love” starring Andrea Riseborough, Bill Nighy, Caleb Landry Jones, Jay Baruchel, Tahar Rahim and Zoe Kazan. Given the announcement in late 2017 that this year’s edition…
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IFFR 2019: Transnistra review
★★★★☆ Swedish director Anna Eborn’s documentary follows six teenagers as they go about their lives in Transnistria, an unrecognised state which broke off from Moldova and attempted to assert its independence after the fall of the USSR. Intimately shot on 16mm film, Eborn explores the dynamics of the group, commenting discreetly on youth, love and…
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MAMI 2018: Colette review
★★★★☆ Wash Westmoreland’s biopic on the French literary icon takes its audience through Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette’s early years and sees her coming into her own both as a writer and as a woman. The film, though moving forward on a fairly conventional arc, is ultimately triumphant and entertaining, and offers spirited performances from its leads. Names…
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Busan 2018: Festival round-up
Slowly emerging from the political turmoil and boycotts it had faced the past few years, the Busan International Film Festival 2018 was one of rejuvenation and reunion for the community. This year’s festival saw a rise in metrics all around: attendances, world premieres, market participants and industry meetings. Nestled between the imposing hills and idyllic…
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MAMI 2018: Long Day’s Journey Into Night review
★★★☆☆ Bi Gan’s follow-up to Kaili Blues is a stylish noir which drifts through a fluid world of dreams, memories and languid conversations as its protagonist looks for people from his past. A technically ambitious venture, the film’s definite high point is the 59-minute 3D long take that makes up its second half. In Long Day’s Journey Into…
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MAMI 2018: Shadow review
★★★★☆ Famous Fifth Generation Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou’s latest wuxia tale based in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history is about power, intrigue and survival, and the common man’s role in the affairs of the mighty. What stands out, though, is the film’s stunning visual style and spectacular action sequences. Yin and yang, the concept of…
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MAMI 2018: Grass review
★★★☆☆ A writer sits in a café listening in on conversations had over coffee and soju about serious and mundane matters. This 66-minute film is shot in simple black and white with Hong Sang-soo’s classic two-shots and zooms. Prolific South Korean arthouse master Hong Sang-soo has made another Hong Sang-soo film – economical in…
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Czech100: Winter Flies review
★★★★☆ Adolescent delinquents Mára (Tomás Mrvík) and Heduš (Jan Frantisek Uher) are best friends, wiling away the hours by joy riding in old Audis and taking pot shots at passersby with Heduš’ frighteningly realistic-looking automatic BB gun. Told through a non-linear narrative and brimming with warmth, Winter Flies is an effortlessly charming third feature from the director of Family Film and A…
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Czech100: The White World According to Daliborek review
★★★★☆ Dalibor K. lives in a small house with his mother. He works a poorly-paid job in a factory, and spends his free time playing video games and making amateur videos on YouTube. He’s also a neo-nazi. Vít Klusák’s documentary is a chilling, tragic and often ugly examination of a lonely, hateful and very confused…
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Czech100: Barefoot review
★★★★☆ Based on the autobiographical novel by Zdenek Svěrák, and co-directed with Zdenek and his son Jan, Barefoot tells the story of eight-year-old Eda (Alois Grec), who is taken to live with his extended family in the country after his city-dwelling parents resist collaboration with the occupying Nazis. A prequel to Jan Svěrák’s 1991 feature debut, The Elementary School, Barefoot brings…
