Looking For Hortense / Cherchez Hortense (2012)
★★☆☆☆
With the fate of a young woman hanging on a middle-aged nobody, Bonitzer’s Looking For Hortense is a rather bloodless comedy on husbands and wives, fathers and sons.
★★
A Field In England (2013)
★★☆☆☆
A search for treasure on the fringes of the English Civil War, Ben Wheatley’s A Field In England draws a blank.
Summer In February (2013)
★★☆☆☆
The portrait of a love triangle in Lamorna, Christopher Menaul’s cinematic debut Summer In February drags woman through the rose madder.
Something In The Air / Après Mai (2012)
★★☆☆☆
A self-portrait of Olivier Assayas’ lost youth, Something In The Air evokes the Paris riots of 1968 with a nostalgic glow.
Papadopoulos & Sons (2012)
★★☆☆☆
Like a Greek hero of yore, Marcus Markou is taking on the economic crisis single-handedly with Papadopoulos & Sons, his fleecy, feel-good, culture-clash comedy.
Michael H Profession Director (2013)
★★☆☆☆
Breaking the silence in his documentary Michael H. Profession: Director Yves Montmayeur unpicks the Austrian director’s quest for violent truth and beauty.
The Referees / Les Arbitres (2009)
★★☆☆☆
A fly-on-the-wall documentary spotlighting the beautiful game’s men in black, The Referees looks at soccer from a different angle. More obtuse than acute.
The First Grader (2010)
★★☆☆☆
With its noble African spirit and picturesque, violent savannah, Justin Chadwick’s The First Grader may be historical tourism, but it’s cine-colonialism with a good heart.
Abel (2010)
★★☆☆☆
With its little boy lost fresh from the mental ward, Diego Luna’s fictional debut Abel is a family story, both comic and tragic. Albeit a bit bipolar.
Kakera – A Piece Of Our Life (2009)
★★☆☆☆
Jellied in postpubescent malaise, Momoko Ando’s debut feature Kakera is a lesbian love story with a dusting of fantasy sprinkles. But is it all sweet nothings?
Nightwatching (2008)
★★☆☆☆
Beautifully baroque, Peter Greenaway’s Nightwatching uncovers the hidden plot behind Rembrandt’s most famous painting. He’s got obscurity down to a fine art.
Dirty Oil (2009)
★★☆☆☆
Exposing Canada’s toxic Dirty Oil industry, Leslie Iwerks’ documentary investigates the casualty list at Athabasca’s tar sands and beyond. There will be blood.
A Serious Man (2009)
★★☆☆☆
In A Serious Man, their most autobiographical film to date, the Coen Brothers lay bare their Jewish identity, as a mentsh of constant sorrow.
The Road (2009)
★★☆☆☆
Is it really worth it? With no hope or catharsis, John Hillcoat’s The Road is a grimly nihilistic portrait of suffering in the face of the apocalypse.