Nagahisa...understands and embraces the complexity of early adolescence, when kids are finding their own way,

~ Jennie Kermode -

Nagahisa...understands and embraces the complexity of early adolescence, when kids are finding their own way,

~ Jennie Kermode -

Compelling viewing.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Compelling viewing.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A charming and playful consideration of her career.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

A charming and playful consideration of her career.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

A study in grief, using magic realism, seems metaphorically top heavy.

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

A study in grief, using magic realism, seems metaphorically top heavy.

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

Bustamante employs physical earthquakes as well, with a similar subtlety that he goes on to use the myth of La Llorona in his follow up film

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Bustamante employs physical earthquakes as well, with a similar subtlety that he goes on to use the myth of La Llorona in his follow up film

~ Amber Wilkinson -

This isn't an easy watch but it's a compelling one.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This isn't an easy watch but it's a compelling one.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The film is held together less by the tale than by tensions.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The film is held together less by the tale than by tensions.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

If looks could kill, the audience would be dead.

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

If looks could kill, the audience would be dead.

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

The costumes in The Souvenir speak volumes about female and male desire and the search for identity that garments can encompass.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

The costumes in The Souvenir speak volumes about female and male desire and the search for identity that garments can encompass.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

There are some powerful moments in Skin, but however lasting some of its impacts the film isn't as deep as it hopes.

~ Andrew Robertson -

There are some powerful moments in Skin, but however lasting some of its impacts the film isn't as deep as it hopes.

~ Andrew Robertson -

Longinotto has always had a knack for getting interviewees to open up in such a way that even they can seem surprised at what they end up saying.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Longinotto has always had a knack for getting interviewees to open up in such a way that even they can seem surprised at what they end up saying.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The actors do their best but Lou is far more interested in how rain looks blazing in the light of car headlights or how a fight scene might benefit from some nice pirouettes than he is in developing character.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The actors do their best but Lou is far more interested in how rain looks blazing in the light of car headlights or how a fight scene might benefit from some nice pirouettes than he is in developing character.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Whilst the film will surely help to promote her as an artist, one cannot help but feel that, from an artistic perspective, she took on this challenge too soon.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Whilst the film will surely help to promote her as an artist, one cannot help but feel that, from an artistic perspective, she took on this challenge too soon.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The thing that makes Piranhas watchable is the performance of its star, Francesco Di Napoli.

~ Donald Munro -

The thing that makes Piranhas watchable is the performance of its star, Francesco Di Napoli.

~ Donald Munro -

With Petterson’s novel heavily focused on Trond’s inner life, it’s no easy task to bring it to the screen.

~ Jennie Kermode -

With Petterson’s novel heavily focused on Trond’s inner life, it’s no easy task to bring it to the screen.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Landes' film has the queasy, uneasy feel of a nightmare - and that's before magic mushrooms are involved.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Landes' film has the queasy, uneasy feel of a nightmare - and that's before magic mushrooms are involved.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Unlike a more conventional refugee documentary - shot by an outsider parachuting in - this is an intimate and ongoing study in which the family have complete agency, lending the film an additional ring of truth.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Unlike a more conventional refugee documentary - shot by an outsider parachuting in - this is an intimate and ongoing study in which the family have complete agency, lending the film an additional ring of truth.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

This is astonishing stuff.

~ Andrew Robertson -

This is astonishing stuff.

~ Andrew Robertson -

Credit to the actor-turned-director for thinking big with his first directorial project but in pursuit of the bigger picture, quite a lot of the smaller intricacies are lost.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Credit to the actor-turned-director for thinking big with his first directorial project but in pursuit of the bigger picture, quite a lot of the smaller intricacies are lost.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

This is not conventional narrative, start to end, born in, schooled at, died documentary.

~ Jane Fae -

This is not conventional narrative, start to end, born in, schooled at, died documentary.

~ Jane Fae -

This is a world of ballgowns, sequins and lace...but none of that diminishes the ability of its heroes to think clearly or take charge of their own fates.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is a world of ballgowns, sequins and lace...but none of that diminishes the ability of its heroes to think clearly or take charge of their own fates.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The real star here is Marine Altan's cinematography, investing locations both lavish and drab with the kind of spiritual wonder seen only through the eyes of those who have always been outsiders.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The real star here is Marine Altan's cinematography, investing locations both lavish and drab with the kind of spiritual wonder seen only through the eyes of those who have always been outsiders.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The challenging moral and psychological undercurrent that keeps it interesting as the primary narrative begins to flounder.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The challenging moral and psychological undercurrent that keeps it interesting as the primary narrative begins to flounder.

~ Jennie Kermode -

House Of Hummingbird centres on a quiet yet never passive performance from Park, who draws us into Eun-hee's world as we watch her absorbing and processing the events going on around her.

~ Jennie Kermode -

House Of Hummingbird centres on a quiet yet never passive performance from Park, who draws us into Eun-hee's world as we watch her absorbing and processing the events going on around her.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Every cinematic trick in the book to make Hero's violence as sexy as a car commercial

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

Every cinematic trick in the book to make Hero's violence as sexy as a car commercial

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

Instead of context and plot, Cantet has aimed at a character-based narrative, which falls flat due to lack of characters.

~ David Stanners -

Instead of context and plot, Cantet has aimed at a character-based narrative, which falls flat due to lack of characters.

~ David Stanners -

The bleak chill of the Quebecois winter seeps into the very bones of Denis Côté's latest film, giving a sense of aching longing to the action.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The bleak chill of the Quebecois winter seeps into the very bones of Denis Côté's latest film, giving a sense of aching longing to the action.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Ochipinti's film benefits from a strong documentary underpinning - with the lead actress saying that 70 per cent of what occurs is based on her own story at the film's Berlin screening - showing how strong cultural expectations like this can be.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Ochipinti's film benefits from a strong documentary underpinning - with the lead actress saying that 70 per cent of what occurs is based on her own story at the film's Berlin screening - showing how strong cultural expectations like this can be.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Beautifully acted all round, Driveways is a small film with a big heart.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Beautifully acted all round, Driveways is a small film with a big heart.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lisa Zi Xiang's astutely written début uses the familiar formula of a multi-generation family saga as a launchpad for thematic and structural experiment.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Lisa Zi Xiang's astutely written début uses the familiar formula of a multi-generation family saga as a launchpad for thematic and structural experiment.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Ozon does not smooth over the rough edges and the icy roads stay icy.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Ozon does not smooth over the rough edges and the icy roads stay icy.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Rathjen captures the monotony of this existence and the casual violence of it with mounting tension as Chakra himself becomes brutalised - we view key violent acts, not by watching them, but by observing the effect they have

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Rathjen captures the monotony of this existence and the casual violence of it with mounting tension as Chakra himself becomes brutalised - we view key violent acts, not by watching them, but by observing the effect they have

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The territory that it takes the film to makes the last third is rushed in comparison to what has gone before, where the simplicity of the storyline provided the perfect backdrop for complex emotions.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The territory that it takes the film to makes the last third is rushed in comparison to what has gone before, where the simplicity of the storyline provided the perfect backdrop for complex emotions.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Whatever you expected to happen is not about to do so.

~ Jane Fae -

Whatever you expected to happen is not about to do so.

~ Jane Fae -

There's a simple and engaging directness to this documentary.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

There's a simple and engaging directness to this documentary.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

One doesn't need to be religious to find something ineffable not just in the music itself but in the way it is expressed.

~ Jennie Kermode -

One doesn't need to be religious to find something ineffable not just in the music itself but in the way it is expressed.

~ Jennie Kermode -

To call the film haunting is an understatement.

~ Luke Shaw -

To call the film haunting is an understatement.

~ Luke Shaw -

This is a grand vision, grandly executed, and like the solutions it depicts it exists today.

~ Andrew Robertson -

This is a grand vision, grandly executed, and like the solutions it depicts it exists today.

~ Andrew Robertson -

There’s a genuine unpredictability to Honey Bunch, both structurally and thematically.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Where the episodes work is when they have a driving, kinetic energy about them. When they don't it's repetitious loop.

~ Donald Munro -

The film, directed by feature debutant Shaun Dozier, retains the density of dialogue you might expect from a stage play but, by leaning into the theatrical nature of the proceedings, Dozier is in some ways able to make this into a virtue.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

A very effective piece of low budget storytelling.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Coogan is well cast in this tricky role, moving easily from humour to heartbreak..

~ Jennie Kermode -

Manizha Bakhtari may not be a household name but after watching Natalie Halla’s documentary you’re likely to think she ought to be.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Sung’s own camera plays tricks, placing objects too close in the foreground so that parts of an image are out of focus, like an incomplete memory.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The concept, narrative, dialogue, cinematography and action sequences are elements of Scanners that can't be faulted.

~ Donald Munro -

The film hangs on Pemberton’s performance, and he imbues Doug with a sweetness that makes us feel for him despite his deeply misguided actions.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The screenplay written by the filmmaker and Andrea Piva is a proper masterwork, from the basic plotting to the intelligent, insightful dialogue.

~ Marko Stojiljkovic -

From the start, there is something different about this film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Despite the anger at the unfairness of what has gone before, this is ultimately a warm-hearted, life-affirming film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

It is a ride, okay, and it is a bit nauseating and therefore not sterile.

~ Marko Stojiljkovic -

It’s also striking to think that when Leila is looking forward into the future, she is already, in some senses, looking at our recent past, which only reinforces the sense of the cyclical and ongoing nature of her themes.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Thorne still comes across as being at the stage where many aspects of her work are experimental. She’s yet to settle into her style.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The characters work well...but there’s never quite enough energy to events.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Ahmed doesn’t need to include war footage for us to feel its weight and understand its shadow.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The colour elements prove all the more striking when in contrast to black and white.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The beautiful cinematography, the bluesy jazz score and the gentle pace of the film are beguiling, but Masciari makes sure that we don’t lose sight of the ridiculous.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Shot over 17 years, it mingles intimate personal moments with visceral concert footage, its musical sequences knitted together with some of the best editing you’re likely to see this year.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A very effective piece of low budget storytelling.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Having set up all the elements of a thriller, the film proceeds to untangle them in a refreshingly different and mature way.

~ Jennie Kermode -

[Hart] doesn’t turn up the volume, but uses tone and repetition so effectively that the film becomes a microcosm of the real experience.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Once again, Guiraudie proves himself the master of setting up a mystery by the means of perfect script economy that functions strictly on “need to know” basis.

~ Marko Stojiljkovic -

It’s ironic that a film about a family who have built a perfect facsimile of a life for themselves should feel so overly constructed itself

~ Amber Wilkinson -