BFI LFF 2019: The Two Popes (2019)
★★★★★
The Two Popes by Fernando Mereilles is a sparklingly written, joyfully acted, behind-the-scenes imagining of historic events made personal that has its international premiere at the BFI London Film Festival.
BFI LFF 2019: La Llorona (2019)
★★★★☆
La Llorona by Jayro Bustamente is a dark, powerful political and psychological horror, grounded in Guatemala’s history and folklore.
BFI LFF 2019: The Perfect Candidate (2019)
★★★☆☆
The Perfect Candidate by Haifaa Al-Mansour is a fascinating glimpse of women’s changing status in the patriarchal kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Moffie (2019)
★★★★☆
Oliver Hermanus evokes fear and loathing for a brutally homophobic, Apartheid-era South Africa among young LGBT conscripts in Moffie.
BFI LFF 2019: Bacurau (2019)
★★★★☆
Bacurau by Kleber Mendonça Filho is an exhilarating mixture of genres – political satire, western, science fiction – underpinned by savage political and social comment. It’s a blast.
BFI LFF 2019: The Climb (2019)
★★★★☆
In original, smart buddy comedy movie The Climb co-writer/directors Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino play two losers also called Kyle and Mike.
BFI LFF 2019: Atlantics (2019)
★★★★☆
Atlantics (Atlantiques) is Mati Diop’s dreamlike feature debut focusing on the women left behind when Senegalese migrant workers take to the seas.
BFI LFF 2019: The King (2019)
★★★☆☆
The King by David Michôd takes a revisionist look at the history we know from Shakespeare, with a star performance by Timothée Chalamet as Henry V.
Hitsville: The Making of Motown (2019)
★★★★☆
Hitsville: The Making of Motown is an enjoyable, nostalgic celebration of the 60th anniversary of the iconic record label Tamla-Motown.
BFI LFF 2019: The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
★★★☆☆
The Peanut Butter Falcon transcends initial discomfort to become a wish fulfilment, odd-couple odyssey with a soft centre.
BFI LFF 2019: 8-13 October
★★★★☆
BFI LFF 2019: 8-13 October. The Whistlers, Deerskin, Algo-Rhythm and So Long, My Son.
BFI LFF 2019: Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
★★★★★
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a sumptuously sensual lesbian love story set in 1770 that comments fiercely on the role of women in society – then and now.
BFI LFF 2019 OPENING GALA: The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)
★★★☆☆
The Personal History of David Copperfield is Armando Iannucci’s brilliantly imaginative transformation of Dickens’ novel to bring out its contemporary resonances.
BFI LFF 2019: By the Grace of God (Grâce à Dieu) (2018)
★★★★☆
Based on real-life events, in By the Grace of God François Ozon empathetically opens up a French scandal of child abuse in the Catholic Church going back over 20 years.