The deeper into the film we get, and the closer the realities of the war become to Unamuno, the more Amenábar and his co-writer Alejandro Hernández lean into the melodrama.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The deeper into the film we get, and the closer the realities of the war become to Unamuno, the more Amenábar and his co-writer Alejandro Hernández lean into the melodrama.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

This is one of the most beautiful animated films of the year.

~ Jennie Kermode -

This is one of the most beautiful animated films of the year.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Rylance is superb throughout in a role perfectly suited to his talents.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Rylance is superb throughout in a role perfectly suited to his talents.

~ Jennie Kermode -

In less sensitive hands than Kore-eda's, it could have come across as cloyingly introverted but instead there is wit and warmth in the observed relationship between the two women.

~ Richard Mowe -

In less sensitive hands than Kore-eda's, it could have come across as cloyingly introverted but instead there is wit and warmth in the observed relationship between the two women.

~ Richard Mowe -

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 -

As character studies go, it's familiar ground but Funes succeeds in exploring it with some tenacity and strikes emotional chords without resorting to melodrama.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

As character studies go, it's familiar ground but Funes succeeds in exploring it with some tenacity and strikes emotional chords without resorting to melodrama.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

A narrative that hits your emotional solar plexus with the raw power of the performances and the deceptive simplicity of the story.

~ Richard Mowe -

A narrative that hits your emotional solar plexus with the raw power of the performances and the deceptive simplicity of the story.

~ Richard Mowe -

A chiller of displaced domesticity

~ Anton Bitel -

A chiller of displaced domesticity

~ Anton Bitel -

Nothing here is as peaceful as the various characters are trying to make it seem.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Nothing here is as peaceful as the various characters are trying to make it seem.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Tightly structured and well-shot

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Tightly structured and well-shot

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The camera is, literally, down with the kids, at their eye level, drinking in their mayhem, their laughter and their viewpoint.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The camera is, literally, down with the kids, at their eye level, drinking in their mayhem, their laughter and their viewpoint.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The narrative manages to balance the personal with the wider world of space exploration while dealing with the issues of domesticity and family demands and the conflicts of pursuing a demanding work arc.

~ Richard Mowe -

The narrative manages to balance the personal with the wider world of space exploration while dealing with the issues of domesticity and family demands and the conflicts of pursuing a demanding work arc.

~ Richard Mowe -

What could have been a traditionally lavish costume drama has been pared down to highlight the erotic tension and sensuality

~ Richard Mowe -

What could have been a traditionally lavish costume drama has been pared down to highlight the erotic tension and sensuality

~ Richard Mowe -

Bong Joon Ho's tale of two families explores the wealth gap in South Korean society with wit, insight and a pitch black sense of humour.

~ Jennie Kermode -

Bong Joon Ho's tale of two families explores the wealth gap in South Korean society with wit, insight and a pitch black sense of humour.

~ Jennie Kermode -

The way ahead may be a little pre-destined but the director let's the tension drip through every beautifully shot moment by cinematographer Michal Englert - with the sort of imagery that could see her film achieve its own cult appeal.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The way ahead may be a little pre-destined but the director let's the tension drip through every beautifully shot moment by cinematographer Michal Englert - with the sort of imagery that could see her film achieve its own cult appeal.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

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 -

Looking at the colours, the entire film could be taking place inside a mushroom. Cigarette smoke penetrates almost every scene.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Looking at the colours, the entire film could be taking place inside a mushroom. Cigarette smoke penetrates almost every scene.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Ly wanted the people who have lived in these schemes to have the chance to tell their own stories, which gives Les Misérables an unerring sense of authenticity.

~ Richard Mowe -

Ly wanted the people who have lived in these schemes to have the chance to tell their own stories, which gives Les Misérables an unerring sense of authenticity.

~ Richard Mowe -

The film feels surprisingly modern but never anachronistically so.

~ Rebecca Naughten -

The film feels surprisingly modern but never anachronistically so.

~ Rebecca Naughten -

Scrimshaw captures Lynn's warring emotions perfectly.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Scrimshaw captures Lynn's warring emotions perfectly.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The trouble with all this mood, is that it eventually gets laid on too thick.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The trouble with all this mood, is that it eventually gets laid on too thick.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Phoenix strips the skin off your eyeballs. What happens next is a gasp away from easy.

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

Phoenix strips the skin off your eyeballs. What happens next is a gasp away from easy.

~ Angus Wolfe Murray -

There's much to enjoy here, from the gripping performances, particularly from Taujanskaité and Bagdziunas to the handsome cinematography from Denis Luschick, showing bags of potential in his first feature

~ Amber Wilkinson -

There's much to enjoy here, from the gripping performances, particularly from Taujanskaité and Bagdziunas to the handsome cinematography from Denis Luschick, showing bags of potential in his first feature

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Remnants of bygone ways of life are beautifully shot in Giraffe.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

Remnants of bygone ways of life are beautifully shot in Giraffe.

~ Anne-Katrin Titze -

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 -

In terms of basic plotting, there might not seem to be much here, but emotions crackle beneath the surface and the mood burns deep.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

In terms of basic plotting, there might not seem to be much here, but emotions crackle beneath the surface and the mood burns deep.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The Endless Trench marries its effective prison drama element to a relationship drama, artfully highlighting the impact of hiding out, not just on those forced to do it but on their loved ones.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The Endless Trench marries its effective prison drama element to a relationship drama, artfully highlighting the impact of hiding out, not just on those forced to do it but on their loved ones.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Di Girolamo has a compelling intensity in the role but it's still hard to believe that everyone would fall quite so hard and fast for Ema's devil may care charms and unpredictability, especially with so much on the line.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Di Girolamo has a compelling intensity in the role but it's still hard to believe that everyone would fall quite so hard and fast for Ema's devil may care charms and unpredictability, especially with so much on the line.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The jarring juxtaposition of sparkly, sexualised Seventies choreography and fire-and-brimstone Catholicism is absolutely key to a film that explores the mismatch between devout religious beliefs and modernity.

~ Anton Bitel -

The jarring juxtaposition of sparkly, sexualised Seventies choreography and fire-and-brimstone Catholicism is absolutely key to a film that explores the mismatch between devout religious beliefs and modernity.

~ Anton Bitel -

The acutely caught observational humour is what gives The Climb its motor.

~ Richard Mowe -

The acutely caught observational humour is what gives The Climb its motor.

~ Richard Mowe -

Some patience is required but the general calm and tranquillity of the film becomes part of its charm.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Some patience is required but the general calm and tranquillity of the film becomes part of its charm.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The evocation of 1945 Leningrad is brilliantly captured with crumbling buildings and over-crowed trams but too often the dramatic set pieces fail to register

~ Richard Mowe -

The evocation of 1945 Leningrad is brilliantly captured with crumbling buildings and over-crowed trams but too often the dramatic set pieces fail to register

~ Richard Mowe -

The difficult reality of life in Senegal dances with something much more otherworldly in Mati Diop's debut film.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

The difficult reality of life in Senegal dances with something much more otherworldly in Mati Diop's debut film.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Every time we are away from the older generation, they're sorely missed and the action drags without their presence.

~ Amber Wilkinson -

Every time we are away from the older generation, they're sorely missed and the action drags without their presence.

~ 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 -

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 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 -

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 -

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 -

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 -