The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)
★★★★★
Love and the circle of life are put to the test in Felix Van Groeningen’s heartbreaking The Broken Circle Breakdown. But will the circle be unbroken?
★★★★★
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.
Keep The Lights On (2012)
★★★★★
A fictional retelling of a boy’s own story, Ira Sachs’ Keep The Lights On charts a nine-year relationship from love’s first highs to its bitterest lows.
Shame (2011)
★★★★★
Michael Fassbender is at his leg-tapping best in Steve McQueen’s Shame, a tale of lonely frustration, sexual addiction and grim redemption.
The Artist / L’Artiste (2011)
★★★★★
With dazzling performances from Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, Michel Hazanavicius’ The Artist is a vibrant homage to silent films and the talkies’ falling stars.
We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)
★★★★★
With Tilda Swinton’s soul-splintering performance as the mother of a high-school psychopath, Lynne Ramsay’s We Need To Talk About Kevin is killing me. Softly.
A Separation (2011)
★★★★★
Following its own merciless and tragic logic, Asghar Farhadi’s divorce parable A Separation is deceptively straightforward, exposing the loss of humanity beyond bitter recriminations.
Incendies (2010)
★★★★★
Blazing a trail through Lebanon and a family’s past, Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies tiptoes through a chain of unstoppable fires to a reconciliatory future.
Potiche (2010)
★★★★★
A return to form for François Ozon, Potiche is a melting pot of satire, farce and high camp with a sprinkling of stardust.
Eyes Wide Open (2009)
★★★★★
Forbidden desire in Jerusalem’s orthodox community, the love affair between two Haredi Jews raises eyebrows in Haim Tabakman’s Eyes Wide Open. And razes the temple.
I Am Love / Io Sono L’Amore (2009)
★★★★★
I Am Love is a feast for the senses. The partnership between Luca Guadagnino and Tilda Swinton creates the perfect dish in this capolavoro of Italian cinema.
Un Prophète / A Prophet (2009)
★★★★★
Thrills-and-spills jailbird Bildungsroman or darkly poetic gangster thriller? Whatever it is, Audiard’s Un Prophète is the arthouse blockbuster par excellence.