Russian Film Week 2017
★★★★☆
Russian Film Week (RFW) returns for a second year – the biggest cross-cultural Russian event to take place outside Russia
Country
Strangled (2016)
★★★★☆
A gruesome serial killer thriller based on a disturbing true story, Árpád Sopsits’ Strangled reflects its post-revolution Hungarian setting.
Mudbound (2017)
★★★★☆
Dee Rees, in Netflix’s Mudbound adapted from Hillary Jordan’s novel, evokes a period and place in the Deep South where racial prejudice engulfs rural communities like a muddy swamp.
Heartstone (2016)
★★★★☆
A simmering study of youth and sexuality set against jaw-dropping Icelandic landscapes, Heartstone gets kids right, if not necessarily which kids to focus on.
Ingrid Goes West (2017)
★★★★☆
A sharply cautionary tale about the dangers of social media, Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West is sharp, funny and very, very timely.
Good Time (2017)
★★★★☆
A manic night of nonstop motion ensues as a small-time bank robber tries to free his brother in the Safdie brothers’ ironically titled thriller Good Time.
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2017)
★★★★☆
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool by Paul McGuigan is a beautifully made adaptation of a true story that’s stranger than fiction
A Caribbean Dream (2017)
Shakirah Bourne’s A Caribbean Dream is a luscious retelling of Shakespeare’s comedy in a modern Barbados setting. A Caribbean Dream CAUTION: Here be spoilers…
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Félicité (2017)
★★★★☆
The (African) portrait of a lady, Alain Gomis’ Félicité is a dazzling, vibrant depiction of Africa, womanhood and dreams of a life.
The Florida Project (2017)
★★★ύ☆
Sean Baker’s The Florida Project is a gorgeous sugar-rush adventure and a sobering study of poverty, though it leans too much on the former for the latter to leave its sting.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
★★★★☆
In The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Yorgos Lanthimos creates a disturbingly strange and brutal dilemma.
Marjorie Prime (2017)
★★★★☆
Michael Almereyda’s Marjorie Prime takes us into a future where human holograms help families cope with memories, death and grief.
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
★★★★☆
A delightfully nostalgic and evocative portrait of young love, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name has all of the pleasure and only some of the pain.
Breathe (2017)
★★★☆☆
Opening the BFI London Film Festival, Andy Serkis’s debut as a director is the inspiring drama Breathe, a very moving true story.