The Empty Home (Pustoi Dom)
Kyrgyzstan’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film in the Academy Awards of 2013, THE EMPTY HOME, explores how individual ambition in the modern world has its price.
All posts by Mark Byrnes
Sons of Norway (Sønner av Norge)
Having extolled the virtues of British butter and country living, John Lydon has found time to champion a Norwegian film, labelling it as the ‘true story of punk’ seen through the eyes of a troubled youth.
The Last Elvis (El Último Elvis)
This year marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, and the enduring obsession he holds over one of his fans is the subject of Armando Bo’s impressive directorial debut, THE LAST ELVIS.
Free Men
Mark Byrnes reviews FREE MEN, where director Ismaël Ferroukhi adopts a measured view of the past to uncover a fascinating, hitherto untold story.
HEADHUNTERS (HODEJEGERNE)
The search for a successor to Stieg Larsson’s crime fiction crown appears to have ended at the doorstep of Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø, author of the internationally acclaimed Harry Hole series. Mark Byrnes reviews the deliciously dark crime thriller HEADHUNTERS.
Die Bad (죽거나 혹은 나쁘거나)
Ryoo Seung Wan’s critically revered 2000 debut, DIE BAD is yet to receive a UK release but it remains ripe for discovery as it showcases the origins of a talented young film maker. TAKE ONE will be interviewing Ryoo this weekend, when he visits Cambridge Art Picturehouse in the last leg of the Korean Film Festival. Oh, and before you ask – yes, a pointless English remake is on the cards. Step away from Korean film, lazy English film makers!
Beatboxing – The Fifth Element of Hip-Hop
Mark Byrnes reviews Klaus Schneyder’s documentary which investigates the cultural phenomenon of beatboxing.
Ispansi
Carlos Iglesias’ film explores the phenomena of ‘war children’, the many thousands of refugees evacuated from Spain in 1937 to countries such as the USSR, where the film unfolds.
Intimate Grammar
INTIMATE GRAMMAR is a wonderful portrait of adolescence in extremis; of how a sensitive soul is stifled in an increasingly virile world.