The Ciambra (2017)
★★★★☆
The Ciambra is an extraordinary first feature by Jonas Carpignano, a follow-up to Mediterraneo, that has ordinary people, non-professional actors, playing fictionalised versions of themselves in a reality-rooted drama.
2017
L’Amant Double (2017)
★★★☆☆
François Ozon is on quirky erotic form in L’Amant Double, a mystery of psychoanalysis and seduction.
Filmworker (2017)
★★★★☆
Tony Zierra’s intriguing Filmworker tells Stanley Kubrick’s assistant Leon Vitali’s story and casts a hitherto-hidden light on the great director and his working methods.
On Chesil Beach (2017)
★★★☆☆
On Chesil Beach is a well-acted, sensitive adaptation of Ian McEwan’s novella.
Redoubtable (2017)
★★★☆☆
In a timely release for the anniversary of the May 1968 almost-revolution in Paris, Michel Hazanavicius wickedly funny re-invention of Jean-Luc Godard in Redoubtable, as seen though the eyes of Anne Wiazemsky, his second wife.
How To Talk To Girls At Parties (2017)
★★★★☆
John Cameron Mitchell’s How To Talk To Girls At Parties is an unlikely mash-up of punk and aliens in the British suburbs.
Lean on Pete (2017)
★★★★☆
Andrew Haigh’s Lean on Pete is coming-of-age road movie grounded in the all-American setting of quarter-horse racing.
Beast
★★★★☆
Michael Pearce’s assured feature debut Beast is a clever, feral psychological horror that constantly surprises.
The Wound (2017)
★★★★☆
The Wound (Inxeba) by John Trengove stars Nakhane Touré in a tense drama of gay male sexuality brought into focus by the traditional Xhosa circumcision rite of passage.
Funny Cow (2017)
★★★★☆
Funny Cow showcases Maxine Peake’s versatility when she stars as a ground-breaking female comedian surviving in the misogynistic Seventies.
Let the Sunshine In (2017)
★★★★☆
Juliette Binoche stars in a rom-com departure for Claire Denis in Let the Sunshine In (Un Beau Soleil Interior).
Western (2017)
★★★★☆
The captivating German/Bulgarian culture clash in Valeska Grisebach’s Western could only happen in the EU and it’s subversive.
A Gentle Creature (2017)
★★★★☆
Savage satire by Sergei Loznitsa in A Gentle Creature eviscerates contemporary Russia.
Custody (2017)
★★★★☆
Custody is a superbly acted, terrifying domestic abuse drama by Xavier Legrand.