Heal the Living (2016)
★★★★☆
As a heart intended for transplant passes from teenage accident victim to middle-aged-mother recipient, humanity, compassion and medical professionalism triumph in Katell Quillévéré’s moving Heal the Living.
Europe
The Pyramid Texts (2015)
★★★★☆
An old boxer returns to the ring one last time to record a video message to his son. It’s an award-winning,moving monologue from veteran star James Cosmo in the Shammasian Brothers’ The Pyramid Texts.
Their Finest (2016)
★★★★☆
Danish director Lone Scherfig’s Their Finest is a very British romcom.
Clash (2016)
★★★☆☆
In Clash director Mohamed Diab creates an intensely moving microcosm of Egyptian society in the confined space of a police van as riots erupt outside.
The Sense of an Ending (2017)
★★★★☆
The Lunchbox director Ritesh Batra’s adaption of Julian Barness’ The Sense of an Ending is a sensitive, unflinching reflection the deceptiveness of emotions.
Letters from Baghdad (2016)
★★★★☆
Clever use of previously unseen archive footage and original letters brings to life the extraordinary story of a forgotten female Lawrence of Arabia in fascinating biopic Letters from Baghdad.
City of Tiny Lights (2016)
★★★☆☆
Multicultural London gets the film noir treatment from director Pete Travis in Patrick Neate’s City of Tiny Lights.
Neruda (2016)
★★★★☆
Free Fire (2016)
★★★★☆
Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire is a Tarantino-esque splatterfest of bullets and bad jokes.
Another Mother’s Son (2017)
★★★★☆
Another Mother’s Son is a true story of wartime courage and a mother’s love starring Jenny Seagrove and a cast of well-known British actors, directed by Christopher Menaul.
Aquarius (2016)
★★★★☆
Aquarius is Kleber Mendonça Filho’s unhurried portrait of a fascinatingly complicated woman, meticulously characterised in a career-best performance by Sonia Braga.
The Olive Tree (2016)
★★★☆☆
The Olive Tree is a heartwarming film scripted by Ken Loach’s collaborator Paul Laverty, directed by Icíar Bollaín, demonstrating the power of personal conviction and positive action.
Elle (2016)
★★★★☆
Isabelle Huppert is elegantly transgressive in Paul Verhoeven’s disturbing Elle.
Viceroy’s House (2017)
★★★☆☆
An upstairs-downstairs portrait of Indian independence and Partition, Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House is a history lesson with a big heart.