THE ASSESSMENT has enough interesting ideas to bolster the excellent central performances and basic premise. It never quite rises to meet its loftier concerns, but intelligent writing and captivating performances result in something well above a passing grade.
SANTOSH is a patient film, that illustrates how a dysfunctional environment can pervert the meagre empowerment it offers marginalised people.
Over the past decade, there has been an inescapable feeling that the world is on fire. Not just in a literal sense, regarding climate change, but also the sense that society and the social contract are burning down around us. Opposition has become polarisation that has not just merely moved the Overton window but smashed … Continue reading 2073
CONCLAVE is an intelligently constructed film, where embellishments to its surface-level thriller mystery allow for its transubstantiation into an altar for broader themes.
SINCE YESTERDAY joyously celebrates the work of groups that, by all rights, should be better known today, and paints a vibrant picture of their artistry but also a damning picture of sexism, classism, and London-centrism that still plagues the UK’s arts scene today.
A picturesque chronicle of a young man’s life and the long shadow cast from whence he came, SUJO represents another assured piece of work from the creators of IDENTIFYING FEATURES.
STRANGER EYES is a film that is both deeply cynical and resoundingly humane in portraying the hyper-surveilled Singapore. Everyone is under scrutiny, but their humanity remains beyond the camera’s gaze.
WOKEN is a sci-fi thriller that packs a punch disproportionate to its small scale and short length. Despite some unfortunately clumsy tropes deployed in the third act, WOKEN still has enough twists and turns and enough contemporary relevance to be a thriller worth checking out.
Mira Shaib’s feature film debut, ARZE, chronicles the story of Lebanese mother Arzé (Diamand Abou Abboud) as she searches for a stolen motorcycle on the streets of sectarian Beirut.
Audacious in the extreme, THE BEAST delivers nothing new on each of its premises, but its combination is bold and stylish. The film does not rise above its shock value in commenting on society, but Seydoux and Mackay are in magnificent form.
