Dark Horse (2011)
★★★☆☆
Delicately new and surprisingly tender, Todd Solondz’s Dark Horse is both a break from the past and a ghostly visitation of the indie auteur’s oeuvre.
dogandwolf
Silent Souls / Ovsyanki (2010)
★★★☆☆
A ritualised mourning for a lost civilisation, Aleksei Fedorchenko’s Silent Souls is a poetic stream of images and ideas.
Polisse (2011)
★★★★☆
With a fantastic ensemble cast, Maïwenn’s Polisse offers an enjoyably human look into the nether reaches of humanity and its bluecoat defenders.
A Royal Affair / En Kongelig Affære (2012)
★★★★☆
Something is revolting in the state of Denmark, Nikolaj Arcel’s A Royal Affair is an intriguing insight into a royal romance and a bloodless revolution.
The Turin Horse / A Torinói ló (2011)
★★★★☆
An apocalyptic tale of human survival in a godless world, Béla Tarr’s The Turin Horse is a graceful rebuke to the hypnotic temptations of nothingness.
Sing Your Song (2011)
★★★☆☆
Charting fifty years of prejudice and injustice, Susanne Rostock’s biopic documentary Sing Your Song is a serenade to Harry Belafonte and the philanthropy of celebrity.
Angel And Tony / Angèle Et Tony (2010)
★★★☆☆
A miscellany of cinematic influence from Visconti to Pagnol, Alix Delaporte’s Angèle Et Tony is a slow-burn love story with a lot of soul.
Café de Flore (2011)
★★★★☆
Twisting through two love stories in Sixties’ Paris and modern Montreal, Jean-Marc Vallée’s Café de Flore is a devastating tornado of story and image.
Beloved / Les Bien-Aimés (2011)
★★★☆☆
A razzledazzle musical reprise of Man At Bath, Christophe Honoré’s Beloved is a fractured but enjoyable romp through the swinging Sixties and the nervous Noughties.
Elles (2011)
★★★★☆
A devastating bedroom battle of the sexes, Malgorzata Szumowska’s Elles offers a glimpse into the secret lives of women behind closed doors.
This Must Be The Place (2011)
★★★★☆
His first English language feature, Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must Be The Place turns the U-turn into a narrative art as a has-been popstar turns Nazi-hunter.
Headhunter / Hodejegerne
★★★★☆
Based on the bestselling novel by Jo Nesbø, Headhunters is a taut Norwegian thriller of slick art thefts, aggressive male rivalry and big inferiority complexes.
Wild Bill (2011)
★★★☆☆
Set in Stratford’s badlands, Dexter Fletcher’s debut feature Wild Bill has Olympian dreams of turning a wayward father into a family hero. So very London 2012.
Tiny Furniture (2010)
★★★☆☆
Tiny Furniture sees young filmmaker Lena Dunham trying to carve out a path for herself amidst the monochrome post-graduate confusion of New York.