Stephen Dalton - The Film Verdict

Bugonia

Posted by Stephen Dalton | Aug 28, 2025 | Featured, Festivals, VENICE 2025 |

Emma Stone reunites with ‘The Favourite’ and ‘Poor Things’ director Yorgos Lanthimos for ‘Bugonia’, a slight but enjoyably bizarre remake of a cult Korean sci-fi kidnap comedy.

Mother

Posted by Stephen Dalton | Aug 27, 2025 | VENICE 2025, Festivals |

Noomi Rapace and director Teona Strugar Mitevska give young Mother Teresa a lightly feminist “punk” remix, but sadly their non-committal bio-drama ‘Mother’ is not ‘The Girl with the Jesus Tattoo’.

Phantoms of July

Posted by Stephen Dalton | Aug 22, 2025 | Sarajevo 2025, Festivals |

Director Julian Radlmaier’s charming small-town ensemble comedy ‘Phantoms of July’ finds poetry, political unease and romantic yearning at the heart of modern Europe.

Fantasy

Posted by Stephen Dalton | Aug 20, 2025 | Festivals, Sarajevo 2025 |

Young Slovenian writer-director Kukla celebrates sexual, ethnic and gender diversity in her slightly heavy-handed but big-hearted debut feature ‘Fantasy’.

In Hell with Ivo

Posted by Stephen Dalton | Aug 20, 2025 | Festivals, Sarajevo 2025 |

Director Kristina Nikolova’s lively documentary portrait of Bulgarian queer musician and performance artist Ivo Dimchev, ‘In Hell with Ivo’, is compelling but frustratingly light on detail.

Author: Stephen Dalton

Bugonia

Mother

Phantoms of July

Fantasy

In Hell with Ivo