Le jeune Karl Marx (2017)
★★☆☆☆
Filmed in French, German and English, Raoul Peck’s Le jeune Karl Marx is an erudite rendition of Marx’s journey to Das Kapital.
Discreet (2017)
★★★☆☆
Turning his gaze on vibrational rhythms and the Texan underworld, Travis Mathew’s Discreet is a broken portrait of a broken man.
A Fantastic Woman (2017)
★★★☆☆
Facing the humiliation of social exclusion after losing a loved one, Sebastián Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman is a heartbreaking portrait of loneliness.
BAFTA Awards 2017
★★★★☆
Congratulations to all BAFTA award winners from Dog And Wolf.
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.
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.