The Bar (2017)
★★★☆☆
Returning to the horror-comedy genre of his early films, Álex de la Iglesia’s The Bar uncovers Spanish society at a frightening pace.
Berlinale
Joaquim (2017)
★★★☆☆
A pastoral account of the politicisation of Brazilian hero Tiradentes, Marcelo Gomes’ Joaquim makes up for its slow pace with delicious images.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
★★★★☆
A delightfully nostalgic and evocative portrait of young love, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name has all of the pleasure and only some of the pain.
Return to Montauk (2017)
★★★☆☆
Pianissimo rather than Moderato Cantabile, Volker Schlöndorff’s Return To Montauk fails to soar despite the best possible score.
Colo (2017)
★★☆☆☆
An observational portrait of a family falling apart, Teresa Villaverde’s Colo goes beyond crisis towards independence.
Festival Review: God’s Own Country (2017)
★★★☆☆
A gay romance set high in the Yorkshire moors, Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country is a no-nonsense evocation of hard-won life in the country.
Beuys (2017)
★★★☆☆
A portrait of the artist as a revolutionary thinker, Andres Veiel’s documentary Beuys is a simple but elegant and educational bio-doc.
Mr Long (2017)
★★☆☆☆
Rehabilitating the hitman with Japanese kindness, Sabu’s Mr Long flickers between moments of splendour, kitsch and sentimentality.
The Queen of Spain (2017)
★☆☆☆☆
The story of a Hollywood production filming in Franco’s Spain, Fernando Trueba’s The Queen of Spain offers entertainment with no respite.
The Party (2017)
★★★★☆
With a whipcracking script and a stellar cast, Sally Potter’sThe Party is an uproarious comedy with a nostalgic whiff.
Bright Nights (2017)
★★★☆☆
A war of the wordless, Thomas Arslan’s Bright Nights is a painfully accurate if unilluminating portrait of the father-son relationship.
1945 (2017)
★★★★☆
A more sobre companion piece to Es war einmal in Deutschland…, Török Ferenc’s1945 offers a new perspective on the horrors of war.
Le jeune Karl Marx (2017)
★★☆☆☆
Filmed in French, German and English, Raoul Peck’s Le jeune Karl Marx is an erudite rendition of Marx’s journey to Das Kapital.
Discreet (2017)
★★★☆☆
Turning his gaze on vibrational rhythms and the Texan underworld, Travis Mathew’s Discreet is a broken portrait of a broken man.