Phoenix (2014)
★★★★☆
In war-damaged Berlin a disfigured concentration camp survivor strives to rediscover her identity as she searches for the husband who may have betrayed her.
★★★★
Force Majeure / Turist (2014)
★★★★☆
Exposing the domestic tensions of a family following a near-avalanche, Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure offers a captivating and wry look at male weakness.
Wild Tales / Relatos Salvajes (2014)
★★★★☆
Crazy, caustic, and ingeniously clever, Damián Szifrón’s Wild Tales is an excellent Argentine selection box of intricate short stories.
Mommy (2014)
★★★★☆
A violent, visual explosion of fiercely maternal love and insuppressible energy, Xavier Dolan’s Mommy reveals a love that will surely tear us apart.
Difret (2014)
★★★★☆
Dragging Ethiopia into the modern age, Zeresenay Mehari’s Difret is a compelling account of two women fighting the strong arm of patriarchy.
Good for Nothing / Buoni a Nulla (2014)
★★★★☆
Gianni di Gregorio’sGood for Nothing is a quirky tale about friendship and standing up for yourself when it is the only thing left to do.
The Mafia Kills Only in Summer / La Mafia Uccide Solo d’Estate (2013)
★★★★☆
Pierfrancesco Diliberto’s The Mafia Kills Only in Summer is an unlikely comedy centred on the bloodshed perpetrated by Sicily’s ruthless Cosa Nostra.
White God / Fehér isten (2014)
★★★★☆
Fierce and unflinchingly brutal, Kornél Mundruczó’s White God is an unsettling Hungarian allegory brimming with passion, imagination and socio-political resonance.
The Duke Of Burgundy (2014)
★★★★☆
Evoking Lynch, Polanski and Buñuel, The Duke of Burgundy is a boldly unique film from an exciting British filmmaker; it’s quite mad, quite funny, and quite brilliant.
Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter (2014)
★★★★☆
With a delicate, mesmerising performance from Rinko Kikuchi, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter is a darkly comic tale of misadventure – tragic, odd and uplifting.
Festival Review: The Second Mother / Que Horas Ela Volta?
★★★★☆
The glorious story of one woman’s emancipation, Anna Muylaert’s The Second Mother is a hilarious and quietly devastating parable of modern Brazil.
Festival Review: What Happened, Miss Simone (2015)
★★★★☆
Pieced together out of archive footage, interviews and diaries, Liz Garbus’ What Happened, Miss Simone? makes a soul-stirring melody out of the blues.
Greenery Will Bloom Again / Torneranno i prati (2014)
★★★★☆
A stunning portrait of life in the trenches during the Great War, Ermanno Olmi’s Torneranno i prati is a handsome tribute to loneliness and fear.
Festival Review: Sworn Virgin / Vergine Giurata (2015)
★★★★☆
With a great performance from Alba Rohrwacher, Laura Bispuri’s Sworn Virgin is a stunning but underwhelming glimpse into celibacy in the Albanian mountains.