Traumatic events warp the timeline of a life: their emotional gravity pulls every other event in a life back towards them like a black hole. THE BURNING SEASON uses a non-linear structure and a focus on small character details to tell the story of a traumatic event that dominates the lives of two people and … Continue reading The Burning Season
TUMMY MONSTER, Ciaran Lyons’ directorial debut feature, is UNCUT GEMS by way of Glasgow, using its sense of confinement to build to a peak of anxiety and tense release that will stick with you long after the end.
SALTBURN ends up feeling like an aristocratic British estate. Superficially, it looks wonderful, but the deeper you get, the more you see the cracks and how much this symbolic edifice is crumbling away with nothing meaningful to hold it up.
SMOKING CAUSES COUGHING has thin characters, subplots that are never followed up on, and a main plot where the heroes’ actions make no difference: none of that matters because the film is so wildly absurd and entertaining.
ASTEROID CITY’s lasting gift is an emotional resonance that could act as a skeleton key to Anderson’s films, even for those who’ve previously found them cold and unapproachable. Simon Bowie reviews.
Nicolas Giraud directs and stars in THE ASTRONAUT (L’ASTRONAUTE), a gentle and beautifully shot film with some ambitious ideas around opening up space exploration and connecting with people on Earth. Although slow, the drama of the climax makes the journey worthwhile. Simon Bowie reviews.
Sophie Linnenbaum’s debut feature THE ORDINARIES crafts a story that very nearly collapses under its own concept but manages to say something about class and emotional expression. Simon Bowie reviews.
The theme of failure has such potency for a documentary film, but THE ARTIST AND THE WALL OF DEATH ends up with a rather traditional narrative trajectory that doesn’t get to the root of the importance of failure in creativity. Simon Bowie reviews.
Carol Morley’s TYPIST ARTIST PIRATE KING is a psychogeographic tour across England through the prism of an unappreciated artist suffering with mental illness. Simon Bowie reviews.
Although some structural issues weigh it down, TROPIC’s allusions to sci-fi horror elevate the story, mainly told through unspoken expressions and gestures. Simon Bowie reviews.
