The Salesman (2016)
★★★★☆
Asghar Farhardi’s The Salesman illuminates universal moral arguments about masculinity by presenting them in parallel with a production of Arthur Miller’s stage play in contemporary Iran.
Alexa Dalby
The Olive Tree (2016)
★★★☆☆
The Olive Tree is a heartwarming film scripted by Ken Loach’s collaborator Paul Laverty, directed by Icíar Bollaín, demonstrating the power of personal conviction and positive action.
Uncertain (2015)
– ★★★★☆
Subtle, beautifully shot documentary about the residents of a small town in the middle of nowhere, so remote that it barely exists.
Elle (2016)
★★★★☆
Isabelle Huppert is elegantly transgressive in Paul Verhoeven’s disturbing Elle.
The Student (2016)
★★★★☆
Bringing Christian fundamentalism to the playground, Kirill Serebrennikov’s The Student satirises the conservatism of Russian institutions.
Certain Women (2016)
★★★★☆
Kelly Reichardt takes an appraising look at four women’s lives in Certain Women‘s intriguingly overlapping stories.
It’s Only the End of the World (2016)
★★★★☆
Xavier Dolan’s It’s Only The End Of The World is an intense, melodramatic family drama around the lunch table.
Bitter Harvest (2017)
★★☆☆☆
In Bitter Harvest George Mendeluk explores a tragic period in Ukraine’s history and makes it the background to a love story.
Sweet Dreams (2016)
★★★☆☆
Marco Bellochio’s Sweet Dreams is a journalist’s belated emotional coming of age as he investigates the death of his mother.
Moonlight (2016)
★★★★☆
Moonlight is a very different gay coming-of-age movie by Barry Jenkins and it will break your heart.
Hidden Figures (2016)
★★★★☆
In Hidden Figures Theodore Melfi reveals the hitherto hidden story of the African American women maths geniuses who got America to the moon.
Multiple Maniacs (1970, 2016)
★★★★☆
Now released in cinemas for the first time since it was made in 1970, John Waters shocks and awes with Divine in Multiple Maniacs – the clue’s in the title.
BAFTA Awards 2017
★★★★☆
Congratulations to all BAFTA award winners from Dog And Wolf.
Prevenge (2016)
★★★★☆
Prevenge is a darkly funny directorial debut for Alice Lowe, who also stars as a pregnant serial killer.