Barbara (2012)
★★★★☆
Braving surveillance, repression and dreams of escape, Christian Petzold’s Barbara looks at life behind the Iron Curtain in this genre-busting romantic thriller.
Wilshin
Tabu (2012)
★★★★☆
A two-part tale of romantic longing and illicit love, Miguel Gomes’ Tabu offers a very cine-literate yet inscrutable look at Murnau, murder and mystery.
Lawless (2012)
★★★☆☆
Revisiting the fraternal bonds of The Proposition and gloomy nihilism of The Road, John Hillcoat’s Lawless is a boisterous fable of male bravado and violence.
Eames: The Architect And The Painter (2011)
★★★☆☆
Beyond the illustrious modernist chair, Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey’s Eames: The Architect & The Painter unseats the man and wife design team with an illuminating bio-doc.
7 Days In Havana / 7 Días En La Habana (2012)
★★★☆☆
With seven shorts over seven days, in 7 Days In Havana Del Toro, Trapero, Medem, Suleiman, Noé, Tabio and Cantet journey into the hidden delights of the Cuban capital.
Nostalgia For The Light (2010)
★★★★☆
In search of lost time, Patricio Guzmán’s documentary Nostalgia For The Light is a celebration of memory, remembering the past in the Atacama Desert.
The Soul Of Flies / El Alma De Las Moscas (2010)
★★★☆☆
Against a Spanish backdrop of fantasy and fable, Jonathan Cenzual Burley’s debut The Soul Of Flies puts low-budget filmmaking to the test.
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.
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.