Francesc, an unhappy 13 year-old boy living in Barcelona, is inadvertently introduced to the works of Albert Camus, whose existentialist ideas he finds unconvincing but intriguing. Arming himself with a new French name, Jean-François, the boy sets out for Paris to give the writer a piece of his mind — unaware that Camus has been … Continue reading Jean-François i el sentit de la vida
It’s not hard to see why Dimitri de Clercq’s first solo feature as a director (he previously shared co-credit with Alain Robbe-Grillet on THE BLUE VILLA in 1995) has become a film festival favourite, recently winning Best Picture at Bogota, Houston and Orlando and picking up nominations for its cinematography, score and two lead actors … Continue reading You Go To My Head
Two images recur in this documentary about the years following the end of General Franco’s brutal regime, and the struggle of victims’ relatives to get some sort of justice: a group of gaunt statues on a Spanish hillside representing those murdered (which immediately after being put up was riddled with bullets and thus ‘completed’ according … Continue reading The Silence Of Others
Illness spans all ages, as does the need to come to terms and live with the challenges it brings. Tom Martin’s KINETICS grants us a view of the emotional landscape of two people receiving different diagnoses, and how they become each other’s confidant. At the heart of this film is Rose, a drama teacher and … Continue reading Kinetics
A sea shanty of a family drama in director, Gilles Coulier’s story about three brothers fighting not only to keep their failing fishing business alive but to mend their own familial relationships. Rain crazed windows, the thrum of engines and the creaking of the ship’s boughs set the scene and much of the soundtrack to … Continue reading Cargo
ROSEMARY’S BABY meets REAR WINDOW and THE CONJURING: ISABELLE tells the story of young couple Larissa (Amanda Crew) and Matt (Adam Brody) who are about to embark on the journey of parenthood, and if that wasn’t enough, they’ve just moved into a new house. Complete with suspicious neighbour and her strange daughter which is a … Continue reading Isabelle
Fourteen year-old Fortuna has been separated from her parents during the perilous journey from Africa to Europe and now waits In a refugee centre, which has been set up within a monastery in the Swiss mountains. The handful of monks who live, work and worship there try to come to terms with the intrusion of … Continue reading Fortuna
THE PIGEON is an intrinsically detailed, minimalist film focusing on one boy’s transition from a quiet life of bird-keeping to a confrontation with the realities of working life. Director Banu Sivaci takes viewers on a humbling journey through the Adana slums of Turkey, where life prospers within the small urban community, but protagonist Yusuf struggles … Continue reading The Pigeon
Dubbed by Netflix audience as “the scariest horror film ever”, VERONICA has almost too much to live up to. Whether that statement is true or not, Paco Plaza delivers an entertaining film with just a couple of letdowns throughout. As eerie as it may sound for some, it has been already more than a decade … Continue reading Verónica
Unpretentious and fresh in its approach to tackle patriarchy within a local Spanish church, HOPELESSLY DEVOUT offers a feast of eccentric characters who will definitely make you smirk. There is always some kind of genuine excitement when you take a seat in the cinema and you are about to watch a young director’s first feature. Even … Continue reading Hopelessly Devout
