The film really shouldn’t work, but it does.

~ Richard Mowe -

The film really shouldn’t work, but it does.

~ Richard Mowe -

Huppert is perfect - no trace of self-pity waters down the complicated emotions at work.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Huppert is perfect - no trace of self-pity waters down the complicated emotions at work.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

He may provide too much shock detail for some audiences but the director proves himself a master story-teller.

~ Richard Mowe -

He may provide too much shock detail for some audiences but the director proves himself a master story-teller.

~ Richard Mowe -

All in all, this is a troubling but well-presented and thorough examination of the settler conundrum facing Israel today.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

All in all, this is a troubling but well-presented and thorough examination of the settler conundrum facing Israel today.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Davies looks at questions of the soul, family, war, creativity and how to be true to yourself - all in stunningly beautiful images.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Davies looks at questions of the soul, family, war, creativity and how to be true to yourself - all in stunningly beautiful images.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Stewart valiantly tries to soldier through but cannot make her character spring to life.

~ Richard Mowe -

Stewart valiantly tries to soldier through but cannot make her character spring to life.

~ Richard Mowe -

A powerful piece of cinema sustained by some great performances.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A powerful piece of cinema sustained by some great performances.

~ Jennie Kermode -

In keeping with the hagiographic tradition, Hamy keeps his performance rather flat, but this is problematic for The Ornothologist as a film; its success as a piece of art is somewhat at odds with audience appeal.

~ Jennie Kermode -

In keeping with the hagiographic tradition, Hamy keeps his performance rather flat, but this is problematic for The Ornothologist as a film; its success as a piece of art is somewhat at odds with audience appeal.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A triumphant piece of filmmaking.

~ Jennie Kermode -

A triumphant piece of filmmaking.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Jenkins doesn't just show us the experience of his young protagonist, he bathes us in it.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Jenkins doesn't just show us the experience of his young protagonist, he bathes us in it.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Manchester By The Sea is a masterful study of clumsiness.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Manchester By The Sea is a masterful study of clumsiness.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Mauro Herce's cinematography is stunning and merges perfectly with the soundscape created by Emilio García Rivas.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Mauro Herce's cinematography is stunning and merges perfectly with the soundscape created by Emilio García Rivas.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Hunnam gives a compelling performance as a man railing against the bigotry of his time, and yet simultaneously embodying it as a white explorer in a place already well-known to its inhabitants.

~ Seph Shewell Brockway -

Hunnam gives a compelling performance as a man railing against the bigotry of his time, and yet simultaneously embodying it as a white explorer in a place already well-known to its inhabitants.

~ Seph Shewell Brockway -

Almodóvar exudes a new found confidence.

~ Richard Mowe -

Almodóvar exudes a new found confidence.

~ Richard Mowe -

This film is not an encyclopedia entry but a living, breathing adventure ride into French cinema through the eyes and ears of the filmmaker.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

This film is not an encyclopedia entry but a living, breathing adventure ride into French cinema through the eyes and ears of the filmmaker.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

The full use of what film can do is eye-opening - the juxtapositions jolt awareness of what is important and remains necessary.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

The full use of what film can do is eye-opening - the juxtapositions jolt awareness of what is important and remains necessary.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

The film preserves a sense of immediacy and is achingly relevant for our times much in the same way Cathy Come Home was for the Sixties.

~ Richard Mowe -

The film preserves a sense of immediacy and is achingly relevant for our times much in the same way Cathy Come Home was for the Sixties.

~ Richard Mowe -

Cristian Mungiu is such a master of vivisecting human interrelations that we might almost overlook how he sets the tone with animals, vegetables and minerals.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Cristian Mungiu is such a master of vivisecting human interrelations that we might almost overlook how he sets the tone with animals, vegetables and minerals.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Jim Jarmusch has always been great at extracting stories from his subjects. Here, his role is focused more on containment.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Jim Jarmusch has always been great at extracting stories from his subjects. Here, his role is focused more on containment.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The symbolism in Fire At Sea is so organic that it might dawn on you hours or days after seeing the film.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

The symbolism in Fire At Sea is so organic that it might dawn on you hours or days after seeing the film.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Huppert's outstanding performance embraces with unswerving delicacy the controversial decisions she faces.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Huppert's outstanding performance embraces with unswerving delicacy the controversial decisions she faces.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Though it focuses on one company, this film encapsulates a struggle faced by travelling cinemas across India and in other parts of the world.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Though it focuses on one company, this film encapsulates a struggle faced by travelling cinemas across India and in other parts of the world.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Certain Women is a film suffused in uncertainties.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Certain Women is a film suffused in uncertainties.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

The Battle of Algiers is an unforgettable piece of cinema, utterly absorbing and very hard hitting.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The Battle of Algiers is an unforgettable piece of cinema, utterly absorbing and very hard hitting.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The closer the glance at the specifics, the more universal the plight becomes.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

The closer the glance at the specifics, the more universal the plight becomes.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Despite his besst intentions, James never really fully achieves the cinematic element that would lift this above being a well-illustrated encyclopaedia article.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Despite his besst intentions, James never really fully achieves the cinematic element that would lift this above being a well-illustrated encyclopaedia article.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Annette Bening gives a glorious, all-encompassing performance.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Annette Bening gives a glorious, all-encompassing performance.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Effectively assembles footage and facts in a relentless barrage that just overwhelms you, while confidently establishing connecting threads that have terrifying implications.

~ Owen Van Spall -

Effectively assembles footage and facts in a relentless barrage that just overwhelms you, while confidently establishing connecting threads that have terrifying implications.

~ Owen Van Spall -

While Verseau talks about how crucial the surgery was to her mental health, the complexity of the emotions experienced afterwards is also made clear.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The delight of the drama stems from the well crafted characters, while its heft hinges on toxicity that may not be immediately obvious.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The script is lean, the sword edges keen and the characters mean.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

An extraordinarily thorough film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

It’s the acting that carries it, and naturally Farahani, one of the finest talents of her generation, does not disappoint.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Subtle observations about the racism that underpins this superficially idyllic society pepper a film which repeatedly forces its hero to question his assumptions.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The film concludes with what is probably the most influential special effect in the history of cinema.

~ Donald Munro -

Bethmann understands the situation well, but her closeness to the teenager and the personal character that the film takes on as a result is something else.

~ Jennie Kermode -

So carefully balanced is this that the film could almost have emerged as a romcom, and it’s that possibility, that clash between the absurdity that cinema has taught us to expect and the bitterness of real life, that makes it so effective.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Through the lens of the men’s romance, Onir takes in a good deal more, exploring the complex realities behind assumptions of prejudice and the myriad factors that go into making each of us who we are.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Throughout the film there is a sense of play, and even as the story evolves to take on darker material, something of that lightness, that happy-go-lucky quality remains.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The film hinges on amazing vocal work by Lalama.

~ Jennie Kermode -

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 delight of the drama stems from the well crafted characters, while its heft hinges on toxicity that may not be immediately obvious.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

A very effective piece of low budget storytelling.

~ Jennie Kermode -

An extraordinarily thorough film.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Writer/director Sandhya Suri - who has a documentary background - is keen to show that everyone plays their part in the prejudices and corruption of the legal system.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

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 -

The director shows how it’s not just Julie’s tennis skills that have been groomed by the coach but large aspects of her life.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Cat’s viewpoint predominates, and Zilbalodis has an acute understanding of how the world looks from its point of view, of what catches its attention and how its body follows instinctively.

~ Jennie Kermode -

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 -

Lin and Sun studiously maintain the enigma around Shuo so that we are left guessing as to whether he’s just a disadvantaged teen trying to make his way in the world or a cuckoo in the nest.

~ Amber Wilkinson -