The Student (2016)
★★★★☆
Bringing Christian fundamentalism to the playground, Kirill Serebrennikov’s The Student satirises the conservatism of Russian institutions.
Europe
It’s Only the End of the World (2016)
★★★★☆
Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only The End Of The World is an intense, melodramatic family drama around the lunch table.
Sweet Dreams (2016)
★★★☆☆
Marco Bellochio’s Sweet Dreams is a journalist’s belated emotional coming of age as he investigates the death of his mother.
The King’s Choice (2017)
★★★★☆
It’s desperate times for democracy in Erik Poppe’s The King’s Choice as Norway’s monarch attempts to save both King and country.
Ana, Mon Amour (2017)
★★★☆☆
An intimate portrait of the codependency of love, Cãlin Peter Netzer’s Ana, Mon Amour falters through its very male gaze.
Pieles (2017)
★★☆☆☆
A rhapsody in pink and purple pastels, Eduardo Casanova’s episodic debut Pieles doesn’t quite have the smarts to match its looks.
The Bar (2017)
★★★☆☆
Returning to the horror-comedy genre of his early films, Álex de la Iglesia’s The Bar uncovers Spanish society at a frightening pace.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
★★★★☆
A delightfully nostalgic and evocative portrait of young love, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name has all of the pleasure and only some of the pain.
Return to Montauk (2017)
★★★☆☆
Pianissimo rather than Moderato Cantabile, Volker Schlöndorff’s Return To Montauk fails to soar despite the best possible score.
Colo (2017)
★★☆☆☆
An observational portrait of a family falling apart, Teresa Villaverde’s Colo goes beyond crisis towards independence.
Festival Review: God’s Own Country (2017)
★★★☆☆
A gay romance set high in the Yorkshire moors, Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country is a no-nonsense evocation of hard-won life in the country.
Beuys (2017)
★★★☆☆
A portrait of the artist as a revolutionary thinker, Andres Veiel’s documentary Beuys is a simple but elegant and educational bio-doc.
The Other Side of Hope (2017)
★★★★☆
Offering a warm welcome to refugees in gloomy Finland, Aki Kaurismäki’s The Other Side of Hope is one of the director’s lightest and brightest.
The Queen of Spain (2017)
★☆☆☆☆
The story of a Hollywood production filming in Franco’s Spain, Fernando Trueba’s The Queen of Spain offers entertainment with no respite.