Taking a decidedly more casual approach to its noirish stylings than Diao Yi’nan’s THE WILD GOOSE LAKE (or even the second chapter of Jia Zhang-ke’s ASH IS PUREST WHITE), Li Xiaofeng’s BACK TO THE WHARF has a quality that could trip a viewer up on occasion.
DREAMS ON FIRE is a film about graft, inspiration, camaraderie and the struggles of flourishing in the real world; in all its awful and wonderful surrealness. Clara Strachan reviews at Glasgow Film Festival.
On top of Kacey Rohl’s mesmerising Katie, the performances are all realistic and well-judged and the technical credits impressive in WHITE LIE.
THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY has grand ambitions but skirts around too many weighty topics. Murray Ferguson reviews.
While some areas of THE MAURITANIAN are slightly rough around the edges, it is more than certainly a film of merit; as an informed, thought-provoking and emotionally charged piece of cinema.
CREATION STORIES occasionally hits a good note, but after the cacophonous entropy it generates getting tuned up, it struggles to recover anything harmonious from its orchestra of creative talents.
In the end, BLACK BEAR is a bit of a Penrose triangle of a film. Viewed from certain angles, it may make little sense, but when considered from a new vantage point or spun around, it paradoxically comes together elegantly and beautifully.
MINARI is an emotionally graceful portrait of a family whose members are trying to find their way in the world and amongst each other. Lee Isaac Chung lays out the path for their story with skill and a beautifully light touch.
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH doesn’t quite ascend to divine status, but it uses its lead actors’ bright performances to shine a new light on the infernal actions of intolerant institutions.
In 2021, it is somewhat surprising that As You Like It has not yet had the same mainstream rom-com update as The Taming of the Shrew (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) and Twelfth Night (SHE’S THE MAN). With any luck, Hung-i Chen and Muni Wei’s Taiwanese adaptation – which evokes the 90s films’ adaptive … Continue reading As We Like It
