Violette (2013)
★★★☆☆
With a powerful performance from Emmanuelle Devos, Martin Provost’s Violette is a stylish biopic of influential author Violette Leduc and the power of the female pen.
Europe
You And The Night / Les Rencontres d’Après Minuit (2013)
★★☆☆☆
After causing a stir in Cannes earlier this year, Yann Gonzalez’s You And The Night is an existential orgy of misfits finding each other after midnight.
Ida (2013)
★★★★☆
Beautifully shot in black and white, Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida leads us on a meaningful road trip into a dark night of the Holocaust, Catholicism, and jazz.
In Order Of Disappearance / Kraftidioten (2014)
★★★★☆
A Norwegian satire on mob warfare and Nordic habits, Hans Petter Moland’s In Order Of Disappearance is a hilarious comedy that takes us beyond ordinary scruples.
Pride (2014)
★★★★☆
Two very disparate communities forge an unexpected bond when a London gay and lesbian group supports a village of Welsh miners during the 1984/5 Miners’ Strike.
Attila Marcel (2013)
★★★★☆
A musical homage to Marcel Proust, Sylvain Chomet’s Attila Marcel is eye-catching, genre-busting and mad as a bag of frogs. Let’s face the music and dance.
The Keeper Of Lost Causes / Kvinden i buret (2013)
★★★☆☆
Suspenseful Scandi crime thriller – a disgraced homicide detective is assigned to the cold cases department and uncovers the unexplained disappearance of a politician five years earlier.
Two Days, One Night / Deux Jours, Une Nuit (2014)
★★★★☆
Dramatic social realism from Belgium’s Dardennes brothers – Marion Cotillard stars as a factory worker who has just two days to persuade her colleagues to forgo their bonuses so that she can keep her job.
The Police Officer’s Wife / Die Frau Des Polizisten (2013)
★★★☆☆
A history of (domestic) violence, Philip Gröning’s The Police Officer’s Wife combines contemplative chapters with stark moments of unsettling violence.
Lilting (2014)
★★★★☆
Giving Chinese whispers and cultural difference a voice, Hong Khaou’s Lilting is an intimate and moving study of translation, reconciliation and grief.
A Promise (2013)
★★★☆☆
A love letter to the unknown woman, veteran director’s Patrice Leconte’s English language debut A Promise reaches a pinnacle of mushy romanticism.
Grand Central (2013)
★★★★☆
Love in a radioactive time, Rebecca Zlotowski’s Grand Central is a stylish romance, of modern baroque and packed with symbolism.
Cycling With Molière / Alceste à Bicyclette (2013)
★★★☆☆
Sparks fly as two old friends rehearse Moliere’s Le Misanthrope, as Philippe Le Guay’s Cycling With Molière searches for honesty beneath the truth inside.
The 100-year-old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared (2013)
★★★☆☆
Forrest Gump meets Zelig in an absurd and ridiculous Swedish farce-cum-road movie about a centenarian’s accidental involvement in major events of 20th century world history and contemporary criminal adventures.