FIlm Review
Film Review: Wild Tales
Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film tend to be of a very high standard. Two of the best films from last year, Leviathan and Ida, were both in the mix, but the winner turned out to be a Mauritanian film called Timbuktu. Also in contention were Tangerines and the Argentine entrant, Wild Tales. Damián …
Film Review: Girlhood (Bande de Filles) – BFI Flare 2015
For the first time in an age, I’m back at the British Film Institute’s LGBT festival, in the only screen that matters. This evening NFT1 hosted Céline Sciamma’s 2014 feature ‘Girlhood’ (originally screened at last year’s London Film Festival) about the lives and trials of Marieme and her friends in a group of estates on …
Film Review: My Name Is Salt
We often take our standard of living and comfortable lifestyles for granted. Not to mention modern technology, infrastructure and all the trappings of living in a Western liberal democracy. Precisely for this very reason, I find watching films about other cultures and countries incredibly fascinating. What is everyday to someone in say rural India, can …
ShAFF Preview: Valley Uprising
Since the birth of humanity, man has longed for adventure and discovery. This can take many forms, but there’s a certain type of person whose eye are always looking upwards. Mountains have inspired people for centuries and their conquest, film-makers. Traditionally, it has been the huge peaks which have claimed the limelight, however there are …
Film Review: Life of Riley
Until his passing last year, French director Alain Resnais had a celebrated career spanning seven decades. Undoubtedly, his most fertile period was in the late ’50s/early ’60s. However, he continued to make interesting and challenging films throughout. His first film, Hiroshima mon amour, along with Last Year in Marienbad and Muriel, established him as one …
Film Review: Dreamcatcher
Kim Longinotto has spent her entire career behind the camera giving a voice to female victims of oppression and discrimination. She’s covered topics including divorce in Iran, sexual identity, Female Genital Mutilation and a female gang in India combating violence against women. The hallmark of her work is her use of observational film-making. She follows …
Film Review: Difret
With International Women’s Day on Sunday, Difret is a timely reminder of the discrimination, persecution and victimisation suffered by females around the world. Whilst the situation is hardly perfect in The West, women’s rights in Africa are often non-existent. And whilst legal systems exists in many countries, there are often customary laws which take precedence. …
Film Review: White God
Whilst dogs are a man’s best friend, they’re often restricted to such fluffy nonsense as Cats & Dogs, Hotel For Dogs or Snow Dogs on the big screen. The most iconic canine appearances have probably come on television from Lassie and The Littlest Hobo. However, there’s also a darker side to their nature. I still …
DVD Review: Wolves
B Movie horror films, are to say the least, a mixed bag. The spectrum tends to run from absolutely atrocious to quite enjoyable. Occasionally, they’re so bad that they achieve a kind of cult status. Birdemic is a prime example of this. As is Troll 2 (Spoiler – Nilbog is goblin backwards?). Then there are …
Film Review: Hinterland
British films come in many shapes and sizes, but often don’t get the opportunity to find an audience. The ones which get major exposure tend to fall into two categories. There are the films filled with big names (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The King’s Speech, Theory of Everything etc). Or, those from a well-known …