Viceroy’s House
★★★☆☆
An upstairs-downstairs portrait of Indian independence and Partition, Gurinder Chadha’s Viceroy’s House is a history lesson with a big heart.
Country
Spoor (2017)
★★☆☆☆
A clarion call against the mistreatment of animals and the hunting confederacy of men, against Agnieszka Holland’s Spoor loses its way in the snowy mountains.
Es war einmal in Deutschland… (2017)
★★★☆☆
With returning Jews looking to get rich and make it to the US, Sam Garbarski’s Es war einmal in Deutschland… unpicks the postwar search for truth with bitter glee.
Wild Mouse (2017)
★★★☆☆
A delicious comedy exposing the tit-for-tat that sees violence perpetuate, Josef Hader’s Wild Mouse is an uproarious plea for emotional honesty.
Final Portrait (2017)
★★★☆☆
Documenting the creative process of Alberto Giacometti painting his model, Stanley Tucci’s Final Portrait offers a tantalising glimpse inside the artist’s studio.
On Body And Soul (2017)
★★★☆☆
Intersplicing oneiric images of deer in the snow with slaughterhouse romance, Ildikó Enyedi’s On Body And Soul is an unexpectedly romantic vision of star-cross’d loving.
Django (2017)
★★★☆☆
Giving a face to the plight of Roma and Sinti during the Final Solution, Etienne Comar’s Django makes a strange hero of the King of Swing.
Prevenge (2016)
★★★★☆
Prevenge is a darkly funny directorial debut for Alice Lowe, who also stars as a pregnant serial killer.
The Unknown Girl (2016)
★★★★☆
The Dardennes brothers’ The Unknown Girl is a bleak examination of guilt and personal responsibility.
Cannes Review: Toni Erdmann (2016)
★★★★☆
A feelgood father-and-daughter comedy, Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann sees the joylessness of the corporate world undone by paternal clowning.
T2 Trainspotting (2017)
★★★★☆
T2 Trainspotting is Danny Boyle’s brilliant follow-up reunites the original cast of the iconic original for more filmic pyrotechnics.
Denial (2016)
★★★★☆
Timothy Spall excels in Mick Jackson’s Denial, a timely film whose high spot is a gripping courtroom drama.
Jackie (2016)
★★★★☆
Pablo Larrain’s portrait of a widowed Jackie Kennedy in the days following the President’s assassination has intriguing contemporary resonance.
Lion (2016)
★★★★☆
Garth Davis’s Lion is a gripping, unsentimental adaptation of Saroo Brierley’s moving memoir.