Black Mountain Poets (2015)
★★★☆☆
Comically skewering creative pretensions, Jamie Adams’ Welsh romp Black Mountain Poets is sharply observed and very funny.
Europe
Eddie The Eagle (2016)
★★★★☆
A gentle portrait of the British ski jumper determined to win, Dexter Fletcher’s Eddie The Eagle is a funny, feel-good and well-made British film.
Iona (2015)
★★★☆☆
Charting the undercurrents of a remote island, Scott Graham’s tale of return Iona is a dazzling portrait of the wilds of the Scottish isle.
Marguerite (2015)
★★★★☆
A delicious update of the Emperor’s new clothes parable, Xavier Giannoli’s Marguerite exposes the well-meaning flattery of the have-nots.
High-Rise (2015)
★★★☆☆
A visually brilliant adaptation of JG Ballard’s satire, Ben Wheatley and Amy Jump’s High-Rise seems strangely dated with its Seventies’ dystopian future.
The Ones Below (2015)
★★★☆☆
A chilling psychodrama in primary colours of maternal and social anxiety, David Farr’s The Ones Below leaves a generic horror plot holding the baby.
Festival Review: 24 Weeks (2016)
★★★☆☆
As a couple struggle to come to terms with their unborn baby’s condition, Anne Zohra Berrached’s 24 Weeks uncovers a grey world of female courage.
Festival Review: Letters From War (2016)
★★★★☆
A black and white correspondence between an army medic and his new wife, Ivo Ferreira’s Letters Of War is a hauntingly beautiful portrait of war.
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: Saint Amour (2016)
★★★☆☆
Another French loser comedy about love, men, wine and heritage, Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern’s Saint Amour finds a gentle, fruity sparkle.
Festival Review: United States Of Love (2016)
★★★☆☆
A portrait of four pained women on the cusp of freedom, Tomasz Wasilewski’s United States Of Love takes its passion removed, rejected and unrequited.
Festival Review: News From Planet Mars (2016)
★★☆☆☆
After Lemming and The Monk, Dominik Moll’s News From Planet Mars is a desperate comedy of male empowerment and family harmony.
Festival Review: Théo et Hugo Dans le Même Bateau (2016)
★★★★☆
A deliciously simple story of one night of romance, Ducastel and Martineau’s Théo et Hugo Dans le Même Bateau uncovers the ins and outs of gay love.
Festival Review: Genius (2016)
★★★★☆
Documenting the relationship between Thomas Wolfe and his editor, Michael Grandage’s Genius reveals the irreconcilable nature of creation and analysis.