Festival Review: Dheepan (2015)
★★★★☆
Set on the battlefields of Sri Lanka and the banlieues, Jacques Audiard’s Palme d’Or winning Dheepan is an inspirational tale on the power of family.
★★★★☆
Set on the battlefields of Sri Lanka and the banlieues, Jacques Audiard’s Palme d’Or winning Dheepan is an inspirational tale on the power of family.
★★★★☆
Gently prodding men’s insecurities and weaknesses, Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Chevalier offers a sardonic look at the games men play.
★★★★☆
An impressionistic portrait of the Louvre Museum under Nazi occupation, Alexander Sokurov’s Francofonia reveals the chequered history of art.
★★★★☆
Adapted from the novel by Patricia Highsmith, Todd Haynes’ Carol basks in a 1950s glow of glorious chiffons, illicit love and stifled emotion.
★★★★☆
The funny and poignant tale of Bennett’s live-in codger, Nicholas Hytner’s The Lady In The Van is entertainment at its most prestigious.
★★★★☆
A brilliant adaptation of Colm Tóibin’s novel, John Crowley’s Brooklyn is a funny and moving portrait of an Irish girl finding herself and emigrating to the USA.
★★★★☆
A sensitive study of imprisonment and the painfulness of freedom, Lenny Abrahamson’s Room is an emotional, cinematic tour-de-force.
★★★★☆
A devastating portrait of life in Auschwitz’ Sonderkommando, László Nemes’ Son Of Saul is a powerful testament of faith.
★★★★☆
A beautiful, haunting monochrome vision of a lost world, Ciro Guerra’s The Embrace Of The Serpent exposes the indigenous peoples at risk from the white man.
★★★★☆
Beautifully paced and scripted, Dagur Kári’s Virgin Mountain is the deft tale of an ageing mummy’s boy who finds both love and himself.
★★★★☆
Winning Oscars for his Roman Holiday and The Brave One scripts, Hollywood blacklister Dalton Trumbo becomes an unlikely hero in Jay Roach’s Trumbo.
★★★★☆
A female road-trip with a devastating performance from Lily Tomlin, Paul Weitz’s Grandma delves into feminism past, present and future.
★★★★☆
Bringing a fearsome pace and inescapable style to Shakespeare’s tragedy of murderous ambition, Justin Kurzel’s Macbeth is a luscious, bloody triumph.
★★★★☆
A very personal film, Nanni Moretti’s Mia Madre sees a film director cope with the death of her mother whilst shooting a film with an uncontrollable star.