Maudie (2016)
★★★★☆
Aisling Walsh’s biopic inspires a transcendent performance from Sally Hawkins as Nova Scotian folk painter Maudie.
★★★★☆
Aisling Walsh’s biopic inspires a transcendent performance from Sally Hawkins as Nova Scotian folk painter Maudie.
★★★★☆
The Big Sick by director and comedian Michael Showalter is a culture-clash rom-com set in Chicago that’s genuinely moving and funny – what’s more, it’s based on a real-life love story.
★★★★☆
Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled is compelling Southern Gothic, richly textured and deeply feminine.
★★★★☆
Albert Serra’s compelling film about the slow death of the Sun King features an extraordinary performance by the legendary Jean-Pierre Léaud.
★★★★☆
Chubby Funny is Harry Michell’s sophisticated debut as writer, director and star in a very funny comedy about contemporary generational angst.
★★★★☆
Netflix’s Okja is Bong Joon-ho’s and Jon Ronson’s satire-cum-expose of the genetically modified food industry through the adventures of a delightful Korean girl and an outsize giant pig.
★★★★☆
Sodom is an impressive, assured, thought-provoking debut for writer/director Mark Wilshin.
★★★★☆
In The Shepherd (El Pastor) Jonathan Cenzual Burley captures the heart of rural Spain in a beautifully observed and moving David and Goliath battle.
★★★★☆
Trump-era America is under an unforgiving spotlight in Miguel Arteta’s visually beautiful dark comedy Beatriz at Dinner, starring a luminous Salma Hayek.
★★★★☆
To coincide with a major show at London’s National Gallery, Michelangelo: Love and Death, the latest offering from Exhibition on Screen, retraces the genius of the Florentine master.
★★★★☆
The Big Sick by director and comedian Michael Showalter is a culture-clash rom-com set in Chicago that’s genuinely moving and funny – what’s more, it’s based on a real-life love story.
★★★★☆
The Desert Bride (La Novia del Desierto) is a charming Argentinian road move about a late-life blossoming.
★★★★☆
Taylor Sheridan’s heart is on his sleeve in his directorial debut in gripping, atmospheric Native American thriller Wind River.
★★★★☆
Abbas Kiarostami’s experimental, posthumous 24 Frames is a meditative insight into a great filmmaker’s creative process.