Lore (2012)
★★★★☆
Set in 1945 in a Germany coming to terms with defeat, Cate Shortland’s Lore is an intimate and evocative portrait of lost innocence.
Europe
Fire In The Blood (2012)
★★★☆☆
Dylan Mohan Gray’s edifying documentary Fire In The Blood pays tribute to those who brought down the multinationals and brought an end to Africa’s AIDS crisis.
A Liar’s Autobiography (2012)
★★★☆☆
Seventeen short films about Graham Chapman, A Liar’s Autobiography offers a kaleidoscopic view of the legendary gay and alcoholic Python.
Bullhead / Rundskop (2011)
★★★★★
With a tour-de-force and muscle-bound performance from Matthias Schoenaerts, Michaël R. Roskam’s debut feature Bullhead puts masculinity on trial in Belgium.
I Anna (2012)
★★★☆☆
Starring his own mother Charlotte Rampling, Barnaby Southcombe’s psychological London thriller I, Anna is taking motherhood to task.
Sightseers (2012)
★★★★☆
Where do British serial killers go on holiday? Caravanning in the Lake District, of course.
The Hunt / Jagten (2012)
★★★★☆
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, as Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt exposes the brutality of blind prejudice faced with the spectre of child abuse.
Aurora (2010)
★★★☆☆
Darkly ruminative, Cristi Puiu’s Aurora is a slow-burning murder mystery like you’ve never seen before.
Amour / Love (2012)
★★★★☆
An intimate two-hander between Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva, Michael Haneke’s Amour sneaks a peek at love behind Parisian closed doors.
My Brother The Devil (2012)
★★★★☆
A London La Haine, Sally El-Hosaini’s mesmerising debut My Brother The Devil looks at brotherhood, homosexuality and turf wars in post-riot Hackney.
Rust And Bone / De Rouille Et D’Os (2012)
★★★★☆
A tour-de-force of violence and casual love, Jacques Audiard’s Rust And Bone sees the human spirit triumph over the body’s all-too-vulnerable fragility.
Elena (2011)
★★★☆☆
With its divided society of rich and poor, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s Elena pushes its morals aside for a murderous take on modern Russia.
Holy Motors (2012)
★★★★☆
Denis Lavant’s tour-de-force odyssey across the Parisian stage sees Leos Carax’s Holy Motors is an anarchic love story, romancing the silver screen.
Barbara (2012)
★★★★☆
Braving surveillance, repression and dreams of escape, Christian Petzold’s Barbara looks at life behind the Iron Curtain in this genre-busting romantic thriller.