The Birth of a Nation (2016)
★★★★☆
The Birth of a Nation is director Nate Parker’s emotional condemnation of America’s brutal history of slavery through the true story of one man who led a rebellion.
biopic
A United Kingdom (2016)
★★★★☆
Director Amma Asante evokes a powerful interracial love story that threatened the British Empire.
Napoleon (1927)
A silent masterpiece years ahead of its time. Napoleon by French director Abel Gance has been lovingly restored by Kevin Brownlow, with a new score by Carl Davis.
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BFI LFF 2016: QUEEN OF KATWE (2016)
Queen of Katwe is a joyous true story of triumph against the odds told by Mira Nair, starring Madina Nalwanga, Lupita Nyong’o and David…
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BFI LFF 2016: Lion (2016)
Garth Davis’s Lion is a gripping, unsentimental adaptation of Saroo Brierley’s moving memoir. Film Title CAUTION: Here be spoilers Dev Patel carries the film…
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BFI LFF 2016: THE BIRTH OF A NATION (2016)
★★★☆☆
The Birth of a Nation is director Nate Parker’s emotional condemnation of America’s brutal history of slavery through the true story of one man who led a rebellion.
BFI LFF 2016 OPENING GALA: A UNITED KINGDOM (2016)
★★★★☆
The first film by a black woman director to screen as the Opening Gala of the BFI London Film Festival, Amma Asante’s A United Kingdom evokes a powerful interracial love story that threatened the British Empire.
Southside With You (2016)
How the Obamas became the Obamas – Richard Tanne’s Southside With You is a charming biopic of their first date. Southside With You CAUTION:…
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Sid and Nancy (1986)
Alex Cox’s biopic charts the downward spiral of a doomed relationship against the background of punk and the Sex Pistols. Sid and Nancy CAUTION:…
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Born To Be Blue (2015)
Robert Budreau’s Born To Be Blue showcases Ethan Hawke as the tormented jazz trumpeter Chet Baker in a fictionalised biopic. Born To Be Blue…
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La Danseuse (2016)
★★☆☆☆
A portrait of revolutionary dancer Loie Fuller, Stephanie Di Giusto’s La Danseuse makes for a disappointingly pedestrian biopic.
Festival Review: Steve Jobs (2015)
★★★★☆
A binary biopic of the computer genius and flawed man, Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs is a dazzling, moving tale of the digital revolution.
Festival Review: The People Versus Fritz Bauer (2015)
★★★☆☆
Shining a light on German denazification, Lars Kraume’s The People Versus Fritz Bauer is an important story of a forgotten hero.
Festival Review: The Program (2015)
★★★☆☆
With an outstanding performance from Ben Foster, Stephen Frears’ The Program gets bogged down in intricately retelling the rise and fall of Lance Armstrong.