The Universal Theory (2023) (Die Theorie von Allem)
★★★☆☆
The Universal Theory directed by Timm Kröger is a stunning homage to all those black-and-white film-noir mysteries of the 1940s with a dreamlike sci-fi twist.
Venice
BFI LFF 2024: Harvest (2024)
★★★☆☆
Life in a remote rural community is disrupted by three intruders and then by a new landlord threatening upheaval in director’s Athina Rachel Tsangari’s drama Harvest.
BFI London Film Festival 2024: Aïcha (2023)
★★★☆☆
Aïcha, directed by Mehdi Barsaoui, is a gripping, thrilling study of the evolution of a young woman as she tries to find a new life and new identity after being assumed dead, amid endemic corruption in Tunisia.
BFI LFF 2024: Maldoror (2024)
★★★☆☆
Maldoror directed by Fabrice du Welz is a dark, tense and moral thriller in its examination of the nature of evil based on a horrific real-life Belgian case.
Venice 2024: Maldoror (2024)
★★★☆☆
Maldoror directed by Fabrice du Welz is a dark thriller based on a horrific real-life case.
VENICE 2024: Aïcha (2024)
★★★☆☆
Aïcha, directed by Mehdi Barsaoui, is a thrilling study of a young woman’s life amid endemic corruption in Tunisia, as she tries to find a new life and new identity.
Venice 2024: The Witness (2024) (Shahed)
★★★★☆
The Witness, directed by Nader Saeivar and co-written with Jafar Panahi, uses women and dance to tell the story of contemporary Iran.
VENICE 2024: TWST (2024)
★★★★☆
Romanian director Andrei Ujica’s documentary TWST is a snapshot of America in a hot August 1965, the year The Beatles arrived.
Venice and Toronto 2024: Mistress Dispeller (2024)
★★★☆☆
Mistress Dispeller, an intimate documentary by Elizabeth Lo, shows a unique Chinese practice.
VENICE 2024: Manas (2024)
★★★☆☆
Manas by Marianna Brennand takes us into turmoil in a closed Amazonian community.
VENICE 2024: The Mohican (2024) (Le Mohican)
★★★☆☆
The Mohican directed by Frédéric Farrucci is a beautifully shot, deeply felt film about an ordinary goatherd who becomes a social media hero in Corsica when he defends his beliefs.
VENICE 2024: Vittoria (2024)
★★★☆☆
Vittoria is an extraordinary, moving drama based on real events about a woman’s need to adopt a child, directed by Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman.
VENICE 2024: Quiet Life (2024)
★★★☆☆
Quiet Life, directed by Alexander Avranas, shows how the stress of being a Russian refugee in Sweden can result in resignation syndrome (a ‘shutting down’).
VENICE 2024: Super happy forever (2024)
★★★★☆
Super Happy Forever by Kohei Igarashi is a star-studded Japanese love story in reverse.