Paradise Love / Paradies Liebe (2012)
★★★★☆
The first in Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise trilogy, Paradise: Love looks at holiday racism and fifty-something sex with the Viennese director’s familiar wry humour.
Country
The Iceman (2012)
★★★☆☆
Pushing the cold killer and family guy to breaking point, Ariel Vromen’s The Iceman features a stellar performance from Michael Shannon and a cluster of stars.
Thérèse Desqueyroux (2012)
★★★☆☆
A sumptuous adaptation of François Mauriac’s novel, Claude Miller’s final film Thérèse Desqueyroux makes murder most torrid.
Come As You Are / Hasta La Vista (2011)
★★★★☆
Polemicising the sexless adolescence of disabled youth, Geoffrey Enthoven’s Come As You Are seeks salvation on the Spanish costa.
The Comedian (2012)
★★★☆☆
A modern take on the clown’s tragedy, Tom Shkolnik’s The Comedian is short on laughs but strong on introspection.
Something In The Air / Après Mai (2012)
★★☆☆☆
A self-portrait of Olivier Assayas’ lost youth, Something In The Air evokes the Paris riots of 1968 with a nostalgic glow.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)
★★★★☆
Caught between tradition and progress, Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist turns Mohsin Hamid’s bestselling novel into a cat and mouse thriller.
Village At The End Of The World (2012)
★★★★☆
Husband and wife team Sarah Gavron and David Katznelson bring the Village At The End Of The World into the limelight of global warming and globalisation.
Gimme The Loot (2012)
★★★☆☆
Taking on the American dream in the Bronx, Adam Leon’s Gimme The Loot walks the highline from fading dreams to blossoming romance.
I’m So Excited / Los Amantes Pasajeros (2013)
★★★☆☆
Cross check and doors to manual, Almodóvar’s I’m So Excited smuggles camp humour onboard a plane heading into disaster. Only the sky’s the limit.
In The Fog / V Tumane (2012)
★★★★☆
Waiting for God, death and peacetime, Sergei Loznitsa’s In The Fog explores innocence, doubt and guilt transformed by war.
White Elephant / Elefante Blanco (2012)
★★★☆☆
A homage to the men of the cloth fighting poverty in Argentina, Pablo Trapero’s White Elephant explores the moral murk and courage of the missionary position.
Rebellion / L’Ordre et la Morale (2011)
★★★★☆
Restoring law and order in the South Pacific, Mathieu Kassovitz’s Rebellion is a war of words, bullets and cynical politicians.
Love Is All You Need / Den Skaldede Frisør (2012)
★★★★☆
A rom-com for realist romantics, Susanne Bier’s Love Is All You Need sees love blossom alongside life’s trials and tribulations.