Monos (2019)
★★★★★
Monos by Alejandro Landes, set among volatile, trainee teenage guerillas in Latin America, is quite simply of this year’s best and most disturbing films.
By the Grace of God (2019)
★★★★☆
Based on recent 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.
BFI LFF 2019: Fanny Lye Deliver’d (2019)
★★★★☆
Fanny Lye Deliver’d by Thomas Clay is a provocative, transgressive story of political, religious and sexual liberation in Puritan times showcasing a powerful performance by Maxine Peake.
The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)
★★★☆☆
The Peanut Butter Falcon transcends initial discomfort to become a wish fulfilment, odd-couple odyssey with a deliciously soft centre.
BFI LFF 2019: Judy & Punch (2019)
★★★★☆
Judy & Punch by Mirrah Foulkes is a feminist reimagination and reversal of the traditional, violent seaside Punch and Judy puppet show that takes it back its 16th century origins.
BFI LFF 2019: COMPETITION WINNERS
★★★★☆
BFI LFF 2019: COMPETITION WINNERS
BFI LFF 2019: The Deathless Woman (2019)
★★★★☆
Roz Mortimer’s The Deathless Woman blends fiction and documentary in a ghostly reading of our times.
BFI LFF 2019: Moffie (2019)
★★★★☆
Oliver Hermanus evokes fear and loathing for a brutally homophobic, Apartheid-era South Africa among young conscripts in Moffie.
American Woman (2018)
★★★☆☆
American Woman is sensitively directed byy Jake Scott, son of Ridley, who produced this surprisingly emotionally involving saga with a star-making lead performance from Sienna Miller.
BFI LFF 2019: The Lighthouse (2019)
BFI LFF 2019: It Must Be Heaven (2019)
★★★★☆
It Must Be Heaven continues Elia Suleiman’s deadpan global quest for recognition of Palestinian identity and homeland.
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.