Appropriate Behavior (2014)
★★★☆☆
Directed, written by and starring Desiree Akhavan, Appropriate Behavior is a very personal New York story of the conflicting demands of love, self and family.
Americas
Still Alice (2014)
★★★☆☆
In Still Alice Julianne Moore gives a moving performance as a woman struggling to retain her sense of self as she develops early onset Alzheimer’s.
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
★★★★☆
With a delicate, mesmerising performance from Rinko Kikuchi, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter is a darkly comic tale of misadventure – tragic, odd and uplifting.
Festival Review: The Second Mother / Que Horas Ela Volta?
★★★★☆
The glorious story of one woman’s emancipation, Anna Muylaert’s The Second Mother is a hilarious and quietly devastating parable of modern Brazil.
Festival Review: What Happened, Miss Simone (2015)
★★★★☆
Pieced together out of archive footage, interviews and diaries, Liz Garbus’ What Happened, Miss Simone? makes a soul-stirring melody out of the blues.
Festival Review: I Am Michael (2015)
★★★☆☆
Charting Michael Glatze’s path from gay poster-boy to Christian pastor, Justin Kelly’s I Am Michael is a confused, emotionless journey back into the closet.
Festival Review: Misfits (2015)
★★★☆☆
A portrait of life for gay and lesbian youth in Tulsa, Jannik Splidsboel’s Misfits explores homophobia and identity in the Bible Belt.
Festival Review: Cinderella (2015)
★★☆☆☆
A live action remake of Disney’s cartoon classic, Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella is saved by great performances from Cate Blanchett and Helena Bonham Carter.
Love Is Strange (2014)
★★★★★
A poignant New York story of love in a dark time, Ira Sachs’ Love Is Strange makes for a fine romance of the most human kind.
Festival Review: 54 The Director’s Cut (2015)
★★★★☆
Chosen to premiere at Berlin (home of Cabaret), Mark Christopher’s 54: The Director’s Cut recreates a bygone age of synth-infused hedonism.
Festival Review: Nasty Baby (2015)
★★★☆☆
The comic story of a New York gay couple trying for a baby with their 30-something best friend, Sebastián Silva’s Nasty Baby falls apart in the final reel.
Festival Review: Every Thing Will Be Fine (2015)
★★★☆☆
A gloriously atmospheric 3D thriller, Wim Wenders’ Every Thing Will Be Fine charts the soul’s repair after a bruising trauma.
Festival Review: The Club / El Club (2015)
★★★★☆
A scurrilous comedy about degenerate priests, Pablo Larrain’s The Club rides a dark political undercurrent as God’s rejects refuse to see the light.
Festival Review: Love & Mercy (2015)
★★★★☆
More than a biopic, Bill Pohlad’s Love & Mercy is a portrait of musical genius and mental illness with tour de force performances from Dano, Cusack and Banks.