Reviews

Written by the world’s top critics, reviews in The Film Verdict are an authoritative guide to the most important new movies appearing on the international scene. In this section you can search for and find more than one thousand reviews that have appeared in The Film Verdict since it began in September 2021. The reviewers are a diverse group based all over the globe: Deborah Young and Jay Weissberg (Rome), Stephen Dalton and Ben Nicholson (London), Boyd Van Hoeij (Luxembourg), Jordan Mintzer (Paris), Clarence Tsui (Hong Kong), Oris Aigbokhaevbolo (Lagos), Patricia Boero (Punta del Este), Lucy Virgen (Guadalajara), Carmen Gray (Berlin), Kevin Jagernauth (Montreal), and Alonso Duralde (Los Angeles).

The Antique

The Antique

by | Nov 29, 2024 | , ,

A troubled, politically entangled premiere in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori has partly overshadowed Rusudan Glurjidze’s wistful Georgian comedy that cleverly targets Georgian-Russian relations.

Back to Life

Back to Life

by | Nov 27, 2024 |

Shot largely as a light-hearted comedy and buoyed by the charm of its young protagonists, Venezuela’s ‘Back to Life’ enters the Oscar race.

Moana 2

Moana 2

by | Nov 26, 2024 |

Shares most of the strengths and weaknesses of its predecessor, although at this point, novelty has sailed off to the seven seas. Kids who know the first movie by heart will delight in a second helping.

Imprinting

Imprinting

by | Nov 24, 2024 | ,

A man goes on a psychological and emotional journey into his subconscious in this lavishly mounted but somewhat perplexing short from Andrea Ciavatta, Imprinting.

Anywhere Anytime

Anywhere Anytime

by | Nov 23, 2024 | , ,

Director Milad Tshangir’s impressive debut feature ‘Anywhere Anytime’ puts a contemporary illegal-immigrant spin on Vittorio De Sica’s beloved Italian neorealist classic ‘Bicycle Thieves’.

Spring Came Laughing

Spring Came Laughing

by | Nov 22, 2024 | ,

The topic is marriage and the four compulsively watchable stories that make up Noha Adel’s ‘Spring Came Laughing’ nail the shallowness, hypocrisy and suffering of Egyptian middle-class women, caught in a web outdated traditions.

Ayse

Ayse

by | Nov 20, 2024 | ,

Drawn from his own family background, Turkish director Necmi Sancak’s prize-winning debut feature ‘Ayse’ is a bleak but powerful portrait of a highly stressed woman caring for her disabled brother,

Writing Hawa

Writing Hawa

by | Nov 19, 2024 | ,

The unpredictable nature of conflict robs ‘Writing Hawa’ of much of its compelling titular character, but Najiba Noori’s pro-feminist and anti-Taliban project emerges unscathed in ideological terms.

On The Border

On The Border

by | Nov 19, 2024 | ,

Gerald Igor Hauzenberger and Gabriela Schild have made a quietly spectacular documentary on the migration-related troubles of the Nigerien city Agadez through a trio of knowledgeable and remarkably telegenic mediators.

The Guest

The Guest

by | Nov 19, 2024 | ,

Zvika Gregory Portnoy and Zuzanna Solakiewicz’s documentary ‘The Guest’ showcases the best side of humanity in troubled times, with unforced intimacy and unavoidable staidness.

The Witness

The Witness

by | Nov 19, 2024 | , ,

Made in collaboration with feted dissident director Jafar Panahi, Nader Saeivar’s ‘The Witness’ is a muted but quietly furious protest drama about murder and misogyny in contemporary Iran,

A Want in Her

A Want in Her

by | Nov 19, 2024 | , ,

Drawing on her own troubled family background, Irish visual artist and first-time feature director Myrid Carten paints a slightly muddled but emotionally powerful portrait of addiction and depression, shame and blame with ‘A Want in Her’.

The Blue Lake

The Blue Lake

by | Nov 18, 2024 | ,

A captivating story, at once simple and profound, describes the relationship between a blind boy and his loving grandfather as they travel through the desert in Daoud Aoulad-Syad’s layered road movie, ‘The Blue Lake’.

Abo Zaabal 89

Abo Zaabal 89

by | Nov 17, 2024 | ,

Bassam Mortada’s ‘Abo Zaabal 89’ is a personal odyssey about the scars of political activism in contemporary Egypt, and a big win for Arab documentary filmmaking.

Gazan Tales

Gazan Tales

by | Nov 16, 2024 | ,

Shot over a year ago by students in a filmmaking workshop in Gaza, ‘Gazan Tales’ is a disarming snapshot of four men’s everyday lives, as they pass their days unaware of the disaster about to befall them

The World of Yousry Nasrallah

The World of Yousry Nasrallah

by | Nov 16, 2024 | ,

Yousry Nasrallah’s willingness to address social taboos, his commitment to depicting female protagonists, and his insight into the political and cultural struggles of Egyptian society have earned him popularity and the respect of Arab filmmakers and audiences.

Being John Smith

Being John Smith

by | Nov 16, 2024 | ,

Delivered in his typically playful style, John Smith’s latest film, Being John Smith, is a wry reflection on the conventionality of his name dotted with radical flourishes.

Undercover: Exposing the Far Right

Undercover: Exposing the Far Right

by | Nov 15, 2024 | ,

Controversially dropped from the London Film Festival, director Havana Marking’s timely documentary thriller about the work of anti-racist campaign group Hope Not Hate ‘Undercover: Exposing the Far Right’ is making its international debut in IDFA.

About a Hero

About a Hero

by | Nov 15, 2024 | ,

Based on an AI screenplay drawn from the works of legendary director Werner Herzog, Polish film-maker Piotr Winiewicz’s docu-fiction debut feature ‘About a Hero’ is a compellingly weird trip into the digital deepfake Twilight Zone.

Decoded

Decoded

by | Nov 15, 2024 | ,

 Popular director Chen Sicheng  brings Mai Jia’s bestseller ‘Decoded’ to the screen in a wildly imaginative if often confusing genre-buster that co-stars John Cusack as a brilliant mathematician pitted against his even more brilliant Chinese pupil.

Meet the Barbarians

Meet the Barbarians

by | Nov 14, 2024 | ,

Julie Delpy’s dark refugee comedy ‘Meet the Barbarians’ is a stark reminder of the absurd cruelty of ranking human suffering, and the resilience required to rebuild a life amid indifference and prejudice.

Passing Dreams

Passing Dreams

by | Nov 14, 2024 | , ,

 A stubborn boy searches all over Palestine for a lost pigeon in ‘Passing Dreams’, Rashid Masharawi’s unexpectedly gentle, non-confrontational allegory about the state of the country.

Gladiator II

Gladiator II

by | Nov 11, 2024 |

Ridley Scott displays his prodigious gifts for violence and camp in this Roman sequel, but there’s a lot of filler.

Red One

Red One

by | Nov 6, 2024 |

This search-and-rescue tale of a kidnapped Santa Claus doesn’t reinvent the action-movie wheel, but it’s a fun spin on holiday tropes.

The Battle for Laikipia

The Battle for Laikipia

by | Nov 1, 2024 | ,

Daphne Matziaraki and Peter Murimi’s essential documentary ‘The Battle for Laikipia’ describes global warming and the brutal impact of colonial land ownership in Kenya, showing the overlap of environmental and social issues without oversimplifying.

La Jetée, the Fifth Shot

La Jetée, the Fifth Shot

by | Oct 31, 2024 | ,

Director Dominique Cabrera’s investigation of her family connections to Chris Marker’s landmark sci-fi film ‘La Jetée’ takes a messy but sporadically magical mystery tour though history, memory, cinema and politics.

Morichales

Morichales

by | Oct 30, 2024 | ,

Chris Gude’s vivid doc on the ravages and inequalities of ages-long gold mining in Venezuela is startling in its poetry and meticulous in its contextualisation.

Balomania

Balomania

by | Oct 29, 2024 | ,

In her fascinating and visually dazzling debut feature ‘Balomania’, documentary maker Sissel Morell Dargis embeds herself in Brazil’s secretive underground subculture of illegal hot air balloon gangs.

Marching in the Dark

Marching in the Dark

by | Oct 28, 2024 | ,

A quietly angry film about suicidal Indian farmers and the women they leave behind, documentary director Kinshuk Surjan’s feature debut ‘Marching in the Dark’ is moving, lyrical and surprisingly uplifting.

Cairo Film Connection reveals line up

Cairo Film Connection reveals line up

by | Oct 26, 2024 |

Cairo Film Connection (CFC) has announced the selected projects for its 10th edition, which will take place during the 45th Cairo International Film Festival. The selected works include six from Egypt, two each from Tunisia, Iraq, and Lebanon, and one each from...

Here

Here

by | Oct 26, 2024 | ,

Robert Zemeckis’ fixed-camera observation of the passage of time is a slick and profoundly shallow movie aching for depth.

Venom: The Last Dance

Venom: The Last Dance

by | Oct 23, 2024 |

Nothing means anything in the conclusion of Tom Hardy’s comic-book trilogy, which makes it either a complete waste of time or a superhero movie in its purest form.

Meet the DOK Leipzig 2024 Jury

Meet the DOK Leipzig 2024 Jury

by | Oct 14, 2024 |

At the 67th edition of DOK Leipzig, juries of acclaimed filmmakers, arts professionals, and an audience jury will award short and feature-length animated and documentary films in competition. International Competition Documentary Film The five jury members will...

Busan 2024: The Awards

Busan 2024: The Awards

by | Oct 11, 2024 | ,

Park Ri-woong’s South Korean tale of racism and inequality ‘The Land of Morning Calm’ and The Maw Naing’s stirring tale of exploitation in Myanmar, ‘MA – Cry of Silence’, took top honors in the New Currents section.

Saturday Night

Saturday Night

by | Oct 11, 2024 |

Jason Reitman’s print-the-legend look behind the scenes of the birth of a legendary comedy TV fixture succeeds on its breathless “let’s put on a show” energy.

Tale of the Land

Tale of the Land

by | Oct 7, 2024 | ,

Indonesian filmmaker Loeloe Hendra’s feature debut in Busan, ‘Tale of the Land’, is a melancholic, beautifully mounted Borneo-set story about a young indigenous woman who has lived her life in a floating house in the middle of the sea.

For Rana

For Rana

by | Oct 7, 2024 | ,

Iranian director Iman Yazdi offers predictable melodrama with his first feature ‘For Rana’, which is in the running for Busan’s New Currents award.

Gingerbread for her Dad

Gingerbread for her Dad

by | Oct 6, 2024 | ,

Reflective, heartwarming and funny, ‘Gingerbread for her Dad’ is Kazakh filmmaker Alina Mustafina first feature, in which she embarks on a transcontinental journey to search for her great-grandfather’s remains.

Village Rockstars 2

Village Rockstars 2

by | Oct 5, 2024 | ,

With ‘Village Rockstars 2’, Assamese director Rima Das reunites with the cast of her highly-acclaimed 2017 festival hit in a mesmerizing portrait of a teenage girl guitarist’s struggles with nature and culture in northeast India.

MA – Cry of Silence

MA – Cry of Silence

by | Oct 4, 2024 | , ,

The Maw Naing’s second fiction feature, ‘MA – Cry of Silence’, is a riveting cri du coeur about life under authoritarian rule in Myanmar, seen through the struggle of aggrieved factory workers against their abusive employers.

Yen and Ai-lee

Yen and Ai-lee

by | Oct 4, 2024 | ,

Powerful performances from Taiwanese actors Kimi Hsia and Yang Kue-mei anchor Taiwanese filmmaker Tom Lin Shu-yu’s beautifully filmed black-and-white family drama ‘Yen and Ai-lee’.

Kaneko’s Commissary

Kaneko’s Commissary

by | Oct 3, 2024 | ,

Bowing in Busan’s New Currents competition, Japanese filmmaker Go Furukawa’s feature-length debut, ‘Kaneko’s Commissary’, offers a delicate, humane and relentlessly life-affirming tale about an ex-con.

Uprising

Uprising

by | Oct 2, 2024 | ,

Park Chan-wook produces and pens Kim Sang-man’s ‘Uprising’, a visually and politically-stirring period-drama-meets-action-thriller set during the Japanese invasion of Korea at the end of the 16th century.

2024 DOK Exchange XR Expands to Two Days

2024 DOK Exchange XR Expands to Two Days

by | Oct 1, 2024 |

The 2024 DOK Neuland program features eleven works in VR, AR, 360° film, gaming, installation, and participatory film. The exhibition takes place from October 29 to November 3 and is spread across four locations.in Leipzig: in the Museum of Fine Arts (MdbK), at the...

San Sebastian Industry Awards Announced

San Sebastian Industry Awards Announced

by | Sep 26, 2024 |

WIP LATAM INDUSTRY AWARD UN CABO SUELTO / A LOOSE END DANIEL HENDLER (URUGUAY) Best Digital / Deluxe Content Services Spain / Dolby Iberia / Laserfilm Cine y Video / Nephilim producciones / No Problem Sonido / Sherlock Films EGEDA PLATINO INDUSTRIA AWARD FOR THE BEST...

Hard Truths

Hard Truths

by | Sep 26, 2024 | , ,

Mike Leigh returns from a lengthy excursion shooting period films to the kind of chamber piece he excels in, in ‘Hard Truths’, a small story about family dysfunction magnified into high drama by Mariane Jean-Baptiste’s formidable lead performance as a wife and mother going over the edge.

Turn Me On

Turn Me On

by | Sep 25, 2024 | ,

Director Michael Tyburski’s charmingly offbeat dystopian sci-fi rom-com ‘Turn Me On’ takes place in a cult-like community where sex and love, joy and anger have been chemically erased.

Cuando las nubes esconden las sombras

Cuando las nubes esconden las sombras

by | Sep 25, 2024 | , ,

Usando los impactantes paisajes del lugar, su compleja historia e intrigante aislamiento, el director José Luis Torres Leiva lentamente desenreda las emociones largamente reprimidas de una citadina angustiada a través de inspiradores encuentros con un grupo de locales en Cuando las nubes cubren las sombras de José Luis Torres Leiva.

Bagger Drama

Bagger Drama

by | Sep 25, 2024 | ,

Piet Baumgartner excavates the unspoken truths of a dysfunctional family with his first fiction feature film ‘Bagger Drama’, screened in San Sebastián’s New Directors section.

La virgen roja

La virgen roja

by | Sep 24, 2024 | , , ,

Un ensayo imaginativo y fascinante sobre el feminismo y la maternidad, ‘La virgen roja’ de Paula Ortiz presenta a una inolvidable Najwa Nimri como una madre infernal y dominante que ve a su brillante hija de 16 años como una escultura que ha creado para cambiar el mundo en la España de los años 30.

My Eternal Summer

My Eternal Summer

by | Sep 23, 2024 | ,

Danish director Sylvia Le Fanu makes a powerful debut in feature filmmaking with the loss-centric drama ‘My Eternal Summer’, screened in San Sebastián’s New Directors section.

Soy Nevenka

Soy Nevenka

by | Sep 23, 2024 | , , ,

Veinticuatro años después de la primera denuncia por acoso sexual a un político en España, Iciar Bollaín cuenta la historia en Soy Nevenka con sensibilidad y urgencia. Sir Isaac Newton dijo que su perspectiva era mejor que la de sus antecesores porque estaba parado en...

Zafari

Zafari

by | Sep 23, 2024 | , ,

When the cupboard is bare, a middle-class family in an unnamed Latin American country first goes hungry and then feral in ‘Zafari’, Mariana Rondon’s chilling dystopian fable that will put audiences off their dinner.

The Red Virgin

The Red Virgin

by | Sep 22, 2024 | , , ,

An imaginatively engrossing essay on feminism and motherhood, Paula Ortiz’s taken-from-history ‘The Red Virgin’ features an unforgettable Najwa Nimri as a stage mother out of hell, who sees her brilliant 16-year-old daughter as a sculpture she has created to change the world in 1930’s Spain.

The End

The End

by | Sep 22, 2024 | , ,

Acclaimed documentary director Joshua Oppenheimer makes his fiction feature debut with ‘The End’, an ungainly but wildly ambitious post-apocalypse musical co-starring Tilda Swinton, Michael Shannon, George MacKay and Moses Ingram.

Emmanuelle

Emmanuelle

by | Sep 20, 2024 | ,

French director Audrey Diwan’s excruciatingly dull remake of Just Jaeckin’s 1970s soft-porn classic ‘Emmanuelle’ delivers fifty shades of joyless, witless, pointless, mostly sexless tedium.

On Falling

On Falling

by | Sep 19, 2024 | ,

Backed by Ken Loach’s production company, writer-director Laura Carreira’s debut feature ‘On Falling’ is a well crafted but grindingly glum depiction of poverty, alienation and soul-crushing low-wage work.

San Sebastian 2024: Meet the Juries

San Sebastian 2024: Meet the Juries

by | Sep 17, 2024 |

The Jury of the Official Selection of the 72nd edition of the San Sebastian Festival will be chaired by Jaione Camborda, whose film 'Rye Horn' won last year’s Golden Shell. In the 2023 review of ‘Rye Horn’, TFV Critic Deborah Young states “Jaione Camborda displays her...

Saint Clare

Saint Clare

by | Sep 13, 2024 | ,

Mitzi Peirone’s sophomore feature, Saint Clare, about a college student on a mission from God to rid the world of predatory men is stylish, weird, sometimes overdone – and a blast.

Swing Bout

Swing Bout

by | Sep 13, 2024 | ,

Maurice O’Carroll’s propulsive boxing-cum-crime drama, Swing Bout, bristles with the energy of the ring in this tale of young hopefuls waiting for their chance.

Transformers One

Transformers One

by | Sep 12, 2024 |

Lore-crazed fans will devour this animated prequel that is, at the very least, slightly more intentionally funny than the Michael Bay live-action franchise.

Traumnovelle

Traumnovelle

by | Sep 12, 2024 | ,

A doctor goes on a dreamlike odyssey into sexual temptation in Traumnovelle, a new adaption of Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella, which has an archness fitting its absurdity.

Mi Bestia

Mi Bestia

by | Sep 11, 2024 | ,

Religious rumours combine with a blood moon eclipse and a girl’s journey to womanhood in Mi Bestia, a beguiling coming-of-ager with fantasy elements from Camila Beltran.

Electra

Electra

by | Sep 11, 2024 | ,

Secrets and lies combine with an air of surrealism in Electra, Hala Matar’s fresh and funny riff on Greek myth, Hitchcock and Highsmith, all dripping with Italian style.

Diva Futura

Diva Futura

by | Sep 9, 2024 | ,

The birth of Italian porn films in the 1980’s is told as a sentimental, gently humorous biopic about porn entrepreneur Riccardo Schicchi in ‘Diva Futura’, a well-written romp made to cash in on its airbrushed sketches of adult film stars Moana Pozzi, Cicciolina and Eva Henger.

Venice 2024: The Awards

Venice 2024: The Awards

by | Sep 7, 2024 | ,

Pedro Almodóvar’s first English-language feature ‘The Room Next Door’ was a dignified winner of the Golden Lion: a quietly profound meditation on love and death, pain and glory, buoyed by knockout performances from TIlda Swinton and Julianne Moore.

Love

Love

by | Sep 7, 2024 | ,

Dag Johan Haugerud’s trilogy about relationships in present day Oslo continues with the cleverly moving ‘Love’, screened in Venice’s main competition.

Stranger Eyes

Stranger Eyes

by | Sep 6, 2024 | , ,

A kidnap thriller rooted in surveillance, voyeurism and the unkindness of strangers, Yeo Siew Hua’s third feature ‘Stranger Eyes’ is the first ever Singaporean film to compete for the Golden Lion in Venice

Peacock

Peacock

by | Sep 5, 2024 | ,

A professional friend-for-hire wakes up to the horrors of his soul-destroying job and hollow lifestyle in Austrian writer-director Bernhard Wenger’s sharp-witted, superbly acted black comedy ‘Peacock’.

April

April

by | Sep 5, 2024 | , ,

Choosing a narrative style as austere and unforgiving as her OB-GYN heroine, rising Georgian director Dea Kulumbegashvili (‘Beginning’) plumbs the depths of female suffering and self-sacrifice in ‘April’, a festival film which, like its protag, is destined to be admired more than loved.

The Quiet Son

The Quiet Son

by | Sep 4, 2024 | ,

Delphine and Muriel Coulin deliver a compelling family drama with their third feature ‘The Quiet Son’, screened in Venice’s main competition.

Queer

Queer

by | Sep 3, 2024 | ,

Daniel Craig stars in Luca Guadagnino’s sumptuous adaptation of the cult William Burroughs novel ‘Queer’, a trippy erotic fever dream that mostly hits the target, despite some narrative flaws.

Harvest

Harvest

by | Sep 3, 2024 | ,

Strewn with beauty, sadness and food for thought, Rachel Tsangari’s gripping adaptation of Jim Crace’s novel ‘Harvest’ is an allegory on how modernity has rapidly destroyed our natural relationship with the world.

Phantosmia

Phantosmia

by | Sep 2, 2024 | , ,

A retired military sniper tries to atone for his murderous past in ‘Phantosmia’, Philippine auteur Lav Diaz’s poetic, reflective, modest yet visually captivating study of guilt and redemption.

The Brutalist

The Brutalist

by | Sep 1, 2024 | , ,

Writer-director Brady Corbet’s monumental period drama about a tortured genius of modernist architecture, ‘The Brutalist’ is ponderous and bloated, but visually stunning and superbly acted.

The Order

The Order

by | Aug 31, 2024 | ,

White-supremacist violence in the US is an evergreen subject, but this docudrama about an FBI takedown of a racist cell plays like countless other feds-versus-terrorists thrillers.

Battleground

Battleground

by | Aug 31, 2024 | , ,

Three doctors of different political views struggle to treat soldiers returning from the front during WWI and combat a new menace, the Spanish flu, in director Gianni Amelio’s grimly shocking film about war’s after-effects, ‘Battleground’.

Trois amies

Trois amies

by | Aug 30, 2024 | ,

A trio of French couples exchange partners while they search for love in Emmanuel Mouret’s professionally crafted but unsurprising salute to a great French film genre, ‘Trois amies.’

An ‘accidental’ film enthusiast

An ‘accidental’ film enthusiast

by | Aug 30, 2024 |

Jo Mühlberger began working for European Film Promotion (EFP) in 1998 after working for the Berlinale, the European Film Market and Filmfest Hamburg. As EFP’s Deputy Director he is part of the strategic team within EFP, developing activities to promote the spirit of...

One to One: John & Yoko

One to One: John & Yoko

by | Aug 30, 2024 | , ,

The life, politics, music and relationship of cultural idols and revolutionary artists John Lennon and Yoko Ono are brilliantly blasted onscreen amid exploding shards of 1970’s Americana in Kevin Macdonald’s and Sam Rice-Edwards’ irresistibly original and high-energy documentary, ‘One to One: John & Yoko’.

Chain Reactions

Chain Reactions

by | Aug 29, 2024 | ,

Alexandre O. Philippe pays tribute to a classic on its 50th anniversary with the heartfelt documentary ‘Chain Reactions’, screened in Venice’s Classics sidebar.

Maria

Maria

by | Aug 29, 2024 | ,

Pablo Larraín’s third portrait of the private pain of a public woman exists most effectively as a platform for Angelina Jolie’s diva-as-diva performance.

Riefenstahl

Riefenstahl

by | Aug 29, 2024 | ,

 The film auteur of Nazi Germany par excellence, Leni Riefenstahl and her controversial legacy are examined in fascinating depth in the new German doc ‘Riefenstahl’ by Andres Veiel.

Feeling Better

Feeling Better

by | Aug 28, 2024 | ,

Valerio Mastandrea makes good use of his gruff persona in his second directorial feature ‘Feeling Better’, screened in Venice’s Orizzonti competition.

EFP supports outstanding European films

EFP supports outstanding European films

by | Aug 27, 2024 |

European Film Promotion (EFP) is highlighting 17 European titles from a long list of outstanding European films that will be part of this years‘ line-up at the Toronto International Film Festival. Some 17 national film promotion institutes plus five world sales...

Mother Mara

Mother Mara

by | Aug 23, 2024 | ,

Mirjana Karanovic shines as both creator and star of Mother Mara, a nuanced drama about a middle-aged woman navigating loss, adapted from elements of a Tanja Sljivar play.

Blink Twice

Blink Twice

by | Aug 22, 2024 |

Zoë Kravitz makes an impressive directorial debut with a twisty, topical thriller in the Jordan Peele/Ira Levin vein.

Cent’anni

Cent’anni

by | Aug 22, 2024 | ,

Documentarist Maja Prelog follows her partner on an arduous post-leukemia cycling trip in Cent’anni, a deeply personal reflection on the emotional effects of serious illness.

Avant-Drag!

Avant-Drag!

by | Aug 18, 2024 | , ,

A lively documentary from Greek director Fil Ieropoulos, ‘Avant-Drag!’ salutes the radical roots and ongoing bravery of queer performers who defy gender norms, especially in more conservative societies.

Timestalker

Timestalker

by | Aug 16, 2024 | ,

Alice Lowe returns behind the camera with her second feature ‘Timestalker’, a century-spanning rom-com screened in Locarno’s Piazza Grande.

Agora

Agora

by | Aug 14, 2024 | ,

In a quasi-political thriller, Ala Eddine Slim translates a nightmare of two sleeping animals into a mysterious multilayered investigative story referring to a morally and environmentally corrupt Tunisian village.

Locarno Open Doors Announces Winners

Locarno Open Doors Announces Winners

by | Aug 13, 2024 |

Open Doors, Locarno Pro’s co-production and talent development program for artists from underrepresented communities around the world, has announced its 2024 winners. Eight projects in development were selected for its coproduction platform, the Projects Hub, and were...

Moon

Moon

by | Aug 13, 2024 | , ,

Kurdwin Ayub’s sophomore feature about a mixed martial arts trainer on peculiar assignment to housebound sisters in Jordan offers sensationalist suspense but few layers of depth.

Red Path

Red Path

by | Aug 9, 2024 | ,

Lotfi Achour’s engrossing psychodrama ‘Red Path’ (‘Les enfants rouges’) is a powerful investigation into the traumatized mind of a young shepherd who witnessed the beheading of his cousin by an extremist group. 

The Flood

The Flood

by | Aug 7, 2024 | , ,

Gianluca Jodice’s Locarno opener is a handsome but airless portrait of obsolescence, as Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette sit out their last months imprisoned in a Paris chateau.

Trap

Trap

by | Aug 2, 2024 |

Too few surprises and too many endings makes for a tension-free thriller from M. Night Shyamalan, despite Josh Hartnett’s best efforts.

Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine

by | Jul 26, 2024 |

Ryan Reynolds fires off quips and bullets with equal precision, but both the meta-comedy and the exaggerated violence wear thin before the film’s denouement.

Twisters

Twisters

by | Jul 16, 2024 |

This 28-years-later sequel delivers the weather-porn thrills of its predecessor, while managing to be the tiniest bit less silly when the actors open their mouths.

Locarno 77 Festival Selection Announced

Locarno 77 Festival Selection Announced

by | Jul 10, 2024 |

The official selection of the 77th edition of the Locarno Film Festival has been announced. For eight decades, Locarno has been at the forefront of the international festival circuit, premiering films by both established auteurs and rapidly rising talents. Among the...

Fly Me to the Moon

Fly Me to the Moon

by | Jul 7, 2024 |

The space race is back in the peppy, bouncy ‘Fly Me to the Moon’, but a sparky face-off between NASA launch director Channing Tatum and marketing wizard Scarlett Johansson can’t disguise an outdated feeling.

Cabo Negro

Cabo Negro

by | Jul 5, 2024 | ,

In writer-director Abdellah Taïa’s ode to youthful rebellion ‘Cabo Negro’, two heartbroken queer Moroccans take refuge in a luxury villa to confront old traumas and share solidarity.

Tropicana

Tropicana

by | Jul 5, 2024 | ,

Director Omer Tobi’s debut feature ‘Tropicana’ is a relentlessly dark but grimly compelling portrait of repressed lives and sexual outlaws in a small Israeli desert town.

Xoftex

Xoftex

by | Jul 3, 2024 | ,

Writer-director Noaz Deshe’s ambitious horror-tinged drama about the surreal absurdism of life in a refugee camp, ‘Xoftex’ is messy and muddled but commendably orginal.

WINNERS OF KVIFF EASTERN PROMISES

WINNERS OF KVIFF EASTERN PROMISES

by | Jul 2, 2024 |

KVIFF Eastern Promises, the festival's Industry section and film market’s mission is bridging the gap between talented filmmakers and their potential co-production partners, festivals, and audiences. “This year has once again brought a diverse selection of strong...

Celebration

Celebration

by | Jul 1, 2024 | ,

Full of atmospheric gloom, Bruno Ankovic’s powerful, decades-spanning feature debut shows how wartime violence and desperation seep through a Croatian village like a contagion.

Windless

Windless

by | Jul 1, 2024 | ,

A son returns to Bulgaria from abroad to settle the affairs of his estranged father in Windless, a confined drama about confronting the past and the act of memorial.

Lapilli

Lapilli

by | Jun 30, 2024 | ,

Overcome with grief at the sudden loss of her grandparents, filmmaker Paula Durinova’s expressive documentary Lapilli finds solace in the geological formations of the Aral Sea.

Real

Real

by | Jun 30, 2024 | ,

Former political prisoner turned army commander Oleh Sentsov captures a raw slice of Ukraine frontline combat in his accidental “found footage” war documentary ‘Real’.

Panopticon

Panopticon

by | Jun 30, 2024 | ,

George Sikharulidze’s debut on masculinity and identity in today’s Georgia is an unusual coming-of-age drama alive with ideas and a bold political imagination.

Banzo

Banzo

by | Jun 28, 2024 | ,

In the setting of a Portuguese plantation on Principe in the early 20th century, Margarida Cardoso crafts a haunting and unsettling portrait of colonial destruction in the form of Banzo.

The Strangers’ Case

The Strangers’ Case

by | Jun 28, 2024 | ,

Confronting the world refugee crisis head-on in highly dramatic scenes that refuse to let go, Brandt Andersen’s etched-with-an-axe ‘The Strangers’ Case’ is a human disaster movie that passionately describes a chain reaction of real-life horror.

Palazzina Laf

Palazzina Laf

by | Jun 27, 2024 | ,

Italian actor-director Michele Riondino transforms a notorious real-life case of mass workplace bullying into a boisterous social satire in his lively debut feature ‘Palazzina Laf’.

A Quiet Place: Day One

A Quiet Place: Day One

by | Jun 27, 2024 |

Not much here that the earlier two films didn’t already establish more effectively; its only depth comes from Lupita Nyong’o’s intuitive lead performance.

My Way

My Way

by | Jun 26, 2024 | ,

The colourful back story behind Frank Sinatra’s signature song ‘My Way’ gets the all-star biopic treatment in this slight but engaging French documentary.

Location Flashback: Munich (2005)

Location Flashback: Munich (2005)

by | Jun 25, 2024 |

In this scene, having stayed behind to collect the shell casing from the first killing, Clara (Claran Hinds) arrives at the rendezvous point at an outdoor café in Rome where he meets Avner (Eric Bana) and the rest of the team. Munich was released by Universal Pictures...

Negu Hurbilak

Negu Hurbilak

by | Jun 25, 2024 | ,

At the end of the Basque armed conflict, a young woman waits to flee across the border in ‘Negu Hurbilak’, an atmospheric and rigorously shot but mystifying tale that leaves too much to the viewer’s imagination.

Location Flashback: Gladiator (2000)

Location Flashback: Gladiator (2000)

by | Jun 24, 2024 |

In this scene, Praetorian guards, sent by Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), surround Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) after his excape in an attempt to reunite with his former servant Cicero (Tommy Flanagan) as part of a plot to over Emperor Commodus....

Backstage

Backstage

by | Jun 23, 2024 | ,

Mysterious personal dramas unfold off-stage when a modern dance company has a bus break-down traveling to Marrakech in Tunisian codirectors Afef Ben Mahmoud and Khalil Benkirane’s intelligently avant-garde on-the-road drama, ‘Backstage’.

Location Flashback: Midnight Express (1978)

Location Flashback: Midnight Express (1978)

by | Jun 22, 2024 |

In this scene, Billy Hayes (Brad Davis) dressed in a guard’s uniform and after killing the abusive guard Hamidou (Paul Smith) walks out of the Turkish prison after spending five years locked up for dealing drugs. The prison drama was directed by Alan Parker and...

Dear Jassi

Dear Jassi

by | Jun 22, 2024 | , ,

An engaging Romeo and Juliet romance between rich and poor Punjabis slowly reveals its darker side in Tarsem Singh Dhandwar’s laid-back but ultimately devastating social critique. ‘Dear Jassi’.

Sweet Dreams

Sweet Dreams

by | Jun 22, 2024 | ,

Dutch-Bosnian director Ena Sendijarevic’s playful, surreal, stylish second feature ‘Sweet Dreams’ finds a rich seam of darkly absurd comedy in Europe’s murky colonial history.

Location Flashback Popeye (1980)

Location Flashback Popeye (1980)

by | Jun 22, 2024 |

In this scene, Popeye (Robin Williams) sends the local Taxman (Donald Moffat) down the shoot of the fishing dock after he tries to get Popeye to pay a tax for moving in after he moved out of Olive Oyl’s (Shelley Long) boarding house, and a baby tax for having Swee’Pea...

Location Flashback: Troy (2004)

Location Flashback: Troy (2004)

by | Jun 20, 2024 |

Filmed in Malta: In this scene, Achilles (Brad Pitt) walks along the coast of ‘Greece’ looking for his mother, the Sea Nymph Thetis (Julie Christie), in order to ask her advice about joining Odysseus (Sean Bean), the King of Ithaca, in the siege on Troy. The epic...

AVP Summit Challenges the Status Quo

AVP Summit Challenges the Status Quo

by | Jun 19, 2024 | ,

The third edition of Italy’s international Audiovisual Producers Summit (June 10-12, 2024) wrapped at the Altafiumara Resort & Spa last week. The AVP Summit is a three-day conference dedicated to the Italian and international entertainment industry with attendees...

Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2

by | Jun 12, 2024 |

This Pixar sequel brings its protagonist into puberty and examines, with humor and poignancy, the complicated process of building an identity.

Norah

Norah

by | May 29, 2024 | ,

Tawfik Alzaidi’s classically narrated, slow-burn drama ‘Norah’ is a tribute to art and artists in socially conservative societies like 1990s Saudi Arabia.

Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

by | May 29, 2024 | , ,

Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck (‘I Am Not Your Negro’) once again makes masterful use of the documentary form as a vehicle for social and political commentary in ‘Ernest Cole: Lost and Found’, an intense viewing experience that leaves its mark long after the last photo fades.

The Most Precious of Cargoes

The Most Precious of Cargoes

by | May 25, 2024 | , ,

Michel Hazanavicius’s (‘The Artist’) long-cherished animation project ‘The Most Precious of Cargoes’, bowing in Cannes competition, nimbly combines a classic, grim fairy tale with the horrors of the Holocaust in a well-made but sentimental tale whose audience is unclear.

Sister Midnight

Sister Midnight

by | May 24, 2024 | ,

A newly married Mumbai housewife unleashes her inner monster in writer-director Karan Kandhari’s stylish, punky, compellingly strange comedy thriller ‘Sister Midnight’.

All We Imagine As Light

All We Imagine As Light

by | May 23, 2024 | ,

Featuring nuanced performances from its leads, Payal Kapadia’s tender relationship drama ‘All We Imagine As Light’, about three women working in a Mumbai hospital, is the first Indian film to compete for the Palme d’Or in more than three decades.

Grand Tour

Grand Tour

by | May 22, 2024 | ,

 Another genre-bending fantasy from Portuguese director Miguel Gomes, ‘Grand Tour’ takes the viewer on a dreamy ride through colonial Asia in 1918, though the present day often pushes through the whimsical story of two characters chasing each other across Asia.  

To a Land Unknown

To a Land Unknown

by | May 22, 2024 | ,

Mahdi Fleifel’s masterful feature debut ‘To a Land Unknown’ marks a new chapter in Palestinian cinema with its harsh yet empathetic walk in the brutal world of being an Arab refugee in Greece.

Viet and Nam

Viet and Nam

by | May 22, 2024 | ,

Bowing in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, Truong Minh Quy’s third feature ‘Viet and Nam’ leans more on innovative imagery and historical allegory than its underwritten story and characters.

Parthenope

Parthenope

by | May 22, 2024 |

In the lush ‘Parthenope’, which he has called his first “feminine epic”, Paolo Sorrentino captures the passion and decadence, the misery, tragedy and baroque riches of his native Naples.

Location flashback: Ronin (1998)

Location flashback: Ronin (1998)

by | May 21, 2024 |

In this scene: Sam (Robert De Niro) and Deirdre (Natascha McElhone) walk along the waterfront, posing as a touring husband and wife. to get a look at the area around the hotel where they plan to steal the suitcase. Ronin is a 1998 American action thriller directed by...

Anora

Anora

by | May 21, 2024 | , ,

A Brooklyn lapdancer falls for a super-rich Russian playboy in ‘Tangerine’ and ‘Red Rocket’ director Sean Baker’s latest walk on the wild side, ‘Anora’.

The Shrouds

The Shrouds

by | May 21, 2024 | , ,

Veteran cult Canadian director David Cronenberg channels personal feelings of grief, loss and enduring love into his latest underpowered but absorbingly weird techno-gothic thriller, ‘The Shrouds’.

The Apprentice

The Apprentice

by | May 20, 2024 |

Ali Abbasi’s portrait of a young monster, ‘The Apprentice’, wisely chooses a humorous key in which to chronicle Donald Trump’s formative years as a businessman and how lawyer Roy Cohn helped his empire get its crooked start, though well-informed viewers will find nothing much new.

The Substance

The Substance

by | May 20, 2024 | , ,

Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley co-star in French director Coralie Fargeat’s wild Cannes contender ‘The Substance’, a gloriously tasteless but finely crafted feminist body-horror fairy tale.

Limonov: The Ballad

Limonov: The Ballad

by | May 19, 2024 | ,

In ‘Limonov: The Ballad’, director Kirill Serebrennikov turns up the volume on his already explosive style (Petrov’s Flu), which is really the only way to recount the mad, violence-tinged rise of Russian poet and political extremist Eduard Limonov.

Caught by the Tides

Caught by the Tides

by | May 18, 2024 | ,

Re-shuffling footage from films he has shot over the last 23 years, Jia Zhang-ke places his awe-inspiring cinematic mastery on full display in ‘Caught by the Tides’, though its ravishing poetic beauty tends to obscure the story.

The Brink of Dreams

The Brink of Dreams

by | May 18, 2024 | ,

In ‘The Brink of Dreams’, Nada Riyadh and Ayman El Amir deliver a fierce, against-all-odds documentary about a group of young women artists in southern Egypt out to prove their independence as theater performers and independent women in a male-dominated society.

Oh, Canada

Oh, Canada

by | May 17, 2024 |

The Richard Gere-Cannes starrer ‘Oh, Canada’ gives us good and bad Paul Schrader in its dry tautness and weirdly unsatisfactory ending.

Desert of Namibia

Desert of Namibia

by | May 17, 2024 | ,

Yuumi Kawai delivers a storm of a performance as a young bipolar woman struggling with Japan’s unspoken social norms in “Desert of Namibia”, Japanese filmmaker Yoko Yamanaka’s stunning sophomore effort.

The Invasion

The Invasion

by | May 17, 2024 | ,

Sergei Loznitsa follows up his landmark 2014 doc ‘Maidan’ with a more recent portrait showing the impact of Russian aggression on his country in ‘The Invasion’.

IF

IF

by | May 17, 2024 |

John Krasinski’s sledgehammer whimsy kills whatever charm this celebration of childhood imagination might have possessed.

Bird

Bird

by | May 16, 2024 | , ,

In ‘Bird’ Andrea Arnold once again shows she has the magic keys – in this case Franz Rogowski’s piercingly tender bird-man, and Barry Keoghan’s manically affectionate drug-dealer dad — to extract drama, fantasy and authentic emotion from characters living on the lowest rungs of English society.

Furiosa

Furiosa

by | May 16, 2024 | ,

Fails to meet the impossible task of matching, let alone surpassing, its legendary predecessor, but George Miller’s action sequences still pack a punch, even when they reek of déjà vu.

The Second Act

The Second Act

by | May 15, 2024 | ,

Profilic French prankster Quentin Dupieux finds the funny side of cancel culture, AI and actorly vanity in his meta-comic Cannes film festival curtain-raiser ‘The Second Act’.

Location flashback: Rocketman (2019)

Location flashback: Rocketman (2019)

by | May 14, 2024 |

In this scene, Elton John (played by Taron Egerton), marks his continued efforts to gain control over his struggles with physical and mental health, performing on the beach in the music video for for his hit song “Im Still Standing". The video serves as a tribute to...

Location Flashback: Paris Can Wait (2016)

Location Flashback: Paris Can Wait (2016)

by | May 13, 2024 |

In this scene, Anne Lockwood (Diane Lane), takes a last glance at the scenic French Riviera before heading to the Cannes Film Festival with her husband, a film producer (Alec Baldwin). Unfortunately, her husband is too absorbed in business matters to appreciate the...

Cannes Launches Immersive Competition

Cannes Launches Immersive Competition

by | May 12, 2024 |

The Festival de Cannes is introducing a new Immersive Competition, aimed at highlighting the next generation of international artists who are redefining storytelling through new narrative-driven experiences that transcend the traditional two-dimensional cinema screen....

Location Flashback: To Catch a Thief (1955)

Location Flashback: To Catch a Thief (1955)

by | May 12, 2024 |

In this scene: John Robie/Conrad Burns (played by Cary Grant) and Francie Stevens(played by Grace Kelly) stroll through the gardens of the Sanford Villa pretending to look for a property to buy. However, Francie is more interested in discussing John’s choice of women,...

Cinéma de la Plage 2024 Schedule

Cinéma de la Plage 2024 Schedule

by | May 12, 2024 |

Cinéma de la Plage 2024 Schedule: This year’s schedule includes films by Jackie Chan, Brian De Palma, Martin Scorsese, Rachid Bouchareb, Tony Gatlif, Danny Boyle, and continuation of the tribute to Studio Ghibli. Tuesday May 14 TRAINSPOTTING (4K Restoration) Danny...

I Bambini di Gaza

I Bambini di Gaza

by | May 12, 2024 |

A Palestinian and an Israeli boy bond over surfing in a vivid if familiar story from the Second Intifada that today feels more than slightly unread.

Time To Be Strong

Time To Be Strong

by | May 8, 2024 | ,

Scooping three awards at the Jeonju International Film Festival, Namkoong Sun’s ‘Time To Be Strong’ is a winning drama about three traumatized losers in the brutal K-pop rat race.

eoFlix to partner with médiaClub

eoFlix to partner with médiaClub

by | May 2, 2024 |

Entertainment Oxygen, also known as eoFlix, a digital networking and self-distribution platform for the entertainment industry has recently announced a strategic partnership with médiaClub, the largest association of media professionals in France. This partnership is...

The Fall Guy

The Fall Guy

by | May 1, 2024 |

This valentine to action-packed moviemaking works best when it ignores the plot and focuses on stunt craft and the explosive rom-com banter between Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt.

Adam Ghobiral launches Edgy Media

Adam Ghobiral launches Edgy Media

by | Apr 26, 2024 |

Edgy Media is a new film distribution and sales company, aiming to make its mark with a fresh and ambitious approach. The company is founded by Adam Ghobrial, an industry veteran with 20 years of experience. The company's goal is to link groundbreaking storytelling...

Challengers

Challengers

by | Apr 12, 2024 |

Luca Guadagnino’s twisty, sexy, adult tennis saga entwines three players who understand each other (and themselves) on the court but have a harder time working outside the lines.

Civil War

Civil War

by | Apr 12, 2024 |

Alex Garland can mount a battle sequence as well as any filmmaker working today, but the lack of political context and specificity undermines this ambitious film.

Cannes 2024 Line Up Announced

Cannes 2024 Line Up Announced

by | Apr 11, 2024 |

The 77th edition of the Festival de Cannes announced. Opening film THE SECOND ACT (LE DEUXIÈME ACTE) by Quentin DUPIEUX – Out of Competition In Competition THE APPRENTICE by Ali ABBASI MOTEL DESTINO by Karim AÏNOUZ BIRD by Andrea ARNOLD EMILIA PEREZ by Jacques AUDIARD...