The Nights Of Zayandeh-Rood
★★★★☆
Mohsen Makmalbaf’s The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood, banned in Iran since 1990, gets its first showing in London.
Asia
On The Beach At Night Alone (2017)
★★☆☆☆
With its quiet portrait of a lovesick actress, Hong Sang-soo’sOn The Beach At Night Alone reveals a disappointingly light vision of a male fantasy.
Have A Nice Day (2017)
★★★☆☆
Sleek in its industrial animation, Jian Liu’s Have A Nice Day makes up for a lack of substance with style.
Mr Long (2017)
★★☆☆☆
Rehabilitating the hitman with Japanese kindness, Sabu’s Mr Long flickers between moments of splendour, kitsch and sentimentality.
Mirzya (2016)
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s epic Mirzya is a lavish Bollywood Romeo and Juliet extravaganza with music, action and a fantastic international cast. Mirzya [rating=4] CAUTION:…
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Your Name (2016)
In Makoto Shinkai’s haunting Japanese anime, two teenagers swap bodies and lives.
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BFI LFF 2016: The Handmaiden (2016)
★★★★☆
A sumptuous new adaptation of Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith, Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden is a dazzling tale of duplicity and deception.
BFI LFF 2016: MIRZYA (2016)
★★★★☆
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s stunning Mirzya receives its European premiere at the 60th BFI London Film Festival.
BFI LFF 2016: MA’ ROSA (2016)
★★★★☆
Director Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’ Rosa is a gritty evocation of poverty and survival in the backstreets of Manila starring Cannes Best Actress Jaclyn Jose.
Under the Shadow (2016)
An original supernatural horror movie set in Iran, Under the Shadow is an impressive debut for director Babak Anvari. Under the Shadow [rating=3] CAUTION:…
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Festival Review: Cemetery Of Splendour (2015)
★★★☆☆
A visually haunting meeting of souls in a country hospital, Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cemetery Of Splendour puts a spectacle of lights over story.
Festival Review: Inside The Chinese Closet (2015)
★★★☆☆
With fake marriage markets and illegal babies, Sophia Luvara’s intimate documentary Inside The Chinese Closet reveals gay men and women shouldering their parents’ burden.
Festival Review: A Dragon Arrives! (2016)
★★★★☆
A multilayered blast of mysterious occurrences in the desert, Mani Haghighi’s A Dragon Arrives! is an enjoyable bafflement.
Festival Review: Crosscurrent (2015)
★★☆☆☆
An ambitious portrait of modern China, Yang Chao’s Crosscurrent is a poetic knot of yearning, mourning and the shifting sands of time.