Festival Review: An (2015)
★★★☆☆
With cherry blossom, sweet red bean paste and lovable pensioners, Naomi Kawase’s An is a light, soft-centred Japanese fancy.
festivals
Festival Review: Desierto (2015)
★★☆☆☆
A horror movie set on the Mexican border, Jonas Cuaron’s Desierto is a barren wasteland of American violence and Mexican victims.
Festival Review: The Lady In The Van (2015)
★★★★☆
The funny and poignant tale of Bennett’s live-in codger, Nicholas Hytner’s The Lady In The Van is entertainment at its most prestigious.
Festival Review: The Lobster (2015)
★★★★★
A delicious metaphor on romance and the dangers of being single, Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Lobster is a strangely perfect world.
Festival Review: The Endless River (2015)
★★★☆☆
Drifting through a gamut of murder, revenge and forgiveness, Oliver Hermanus’ The Endless River offers three perspectives on violence in South Africa.
Festival Review: The People Versus Fritz Bauer (2015)
★★★☆☆
Shining a light on German denazification, Lars Kraume’s The People Versus Fritz Bauer is an important story of a forgotten hero.
Festival Review: A Bigger Splash (2015)
★★★☆☆
A sumptuous but strangely outdated adaptation of La Piscine, Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash is a watery enigma of jealousy and miscommunication.
Festival Review: Evolution (2015)
★★★☆☆
A stylish dystopia set in a world without men, Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s Evolution comes adrift in a sea of beautiful images.
Festival Review: Brooklyn (2015)
★★★★☆
A brilliant adaptation of Colm Tóibin’s novel, John Crowley’s Brooklyn is a funny and moving portrait of an Irish girl finding herself and emigrating to the USA.
Festival Review: Our Little Sister (2015)
★★★☆☆
When three sisters become four, Hirokazu Koreeda’s Our Little Sister is a homely rumination on family and female friendship.
Festival Review: The Witch (2015)
★★☆☆☆
An old fashioned tale of God-fearing devilry and witchcraft in New England, Robert Eggers’ The Witch sacrifices tension for gothic set pieces.
Festival Review: Very Big Shot (2015)
★★★☆☆
With gangster cartels, a film set and violent politicians, Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya’s Very Big Shot has a strangely watchable identity crisis.
Festival Review: Black Mass (2015)
★★★☆☆
Exposing the links between the FBI and Boston’s most notorious gangster, Scott Cooper’s Black Mass comes undone with a criminal lack of story.
Festival Review: From Afar (2015)
★★★☆☆
With a fantastic performance from Alfredo Castro, Lorenzo Vigas’ From Afar is a delicate but passionless tale of a love that dare not speak its name.