Cannes review: Before We Vanish (2017)
★★★★☆
Before We Vanish by Kiyoshi Kurosaw is a genre-bending Japanese bodysnatchers movie that provokes an alien apocalypse on Earth.
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Cannes review: A Man of Integrity (Lerd) (2017)
★★★★☆
Mohammad Rasoulof laments institutional corruption in Iranian society in A Man of Integrity (Lerd).
Cannes review: 24 Frames (2017)
★★★★☆
Abbas Kiarostami’s experimental, posthumous 24 Frames is a meditative insight into a great filmmaker’s creative process.
Cannes review: Okja (2017)
★★★★☆
Netflix’s Okja is Bong Joon-ho’s and Jon Ronson’s satire-cum-expose of the genetically modified food industry through the adventures of a delightful Korean girl and an outsize giant pig.
Harmonium (2016)
★★★★★☆
In Koji Fukada’s Harmonium, the fragile harmony of a Japanese family is shattered by the arrival of a mysterious stranger.
The Handmaiden (2016)
★★★★☆
A sumptuous new adaptation of Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith, Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden is a dazzling tale of duplicity and deception.
The Salesman (2016)
★★★★☆
Asghar Farhardi’s The Salesman illuminates universal moral arguments about masculinity by presenting them in parallel with a production of Arthur Miller’s stage play in contemporary Iran.
A Silent Voice (2016)
★★★★☆
A Silent Voice is an unusual and sensitive anime about deafness and teen bullying based on the long-running manga by Yoshitoki Oima.
The Nights Of Zayandeh-Rood
★★★★☆
Mohsen Makmalbaf’s The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood, banned in Iran since 1990, gets its first showing in London.
On The Beach At Night Alone (2017)
★★☆☆☆
With its quiet portrait of a lovesick actress, Hong Sang-soo’sOn The Beach At Night Alone reveals a disappointingly light vision of a male fantasy.
Have A Nice Day (2017)
★★★☆☆
Sleek in its industrial animation, Jian Liu’s Have A Nice Day makes up for a lack of substance with style.
Mr Long (2017)
★★☆☆☆
Rehabilitating the hitman with Japanese kindness, Sabu’s Mr Long flickers between moments of splendour, kitsch and sentimentality.
Mirzya (2016)
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s epic Mirzya is a lavish Bollywood Romeo and Juliet extravaganza with music, action and a fantastic international cast. Mirzya CAUTION: Here…
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Your Name (2016)
In Makoto Shinkai’s haunting Japanese anime, two teenagers swap bodies and lives.
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