Film
Film Review: The Banishing
The haunted house is a perennial favourite of genre cinema. As anyone who has stayed in a really old building will know, they seem to have a life and personality of their own. Strange noises are common, as are unexplained occurrences. They have provided the atmospheric setting for many of the best horror films, including …
BFI Flare Review: No Ordinary Man
Born in Oklahoma City, Billy Tipton was a talented pianist and jazz musician who both played with the greats and became a renowned bandleader. He was also a dedicated family man, living with his wife and three adopted sons. However, when he died suddenly in his 70s, his family and friends were in for one …
Film Review: Malmkrog
Spearheading the Romanian new wave and one of the most intriguing, interesting and confounding of his countrymen, Cristi Puiu has an eye for the epic. Whether it’s his hilariously obtuse The Death of Mr Lazarescu, oddly engaging Sieranevada or the pleasantly baffling Aurora, he can never be accused of not making his audience work for …
Blu-Ray Review: Russian Raid
Russia is unquestionably a highly complex country full of contradictions and battles between tradition and progression. One of the greatest upheavals of the last few decades was the conversion from communism to capitalism. It’s a transition which has been choppy, to say the least. Resulting in a number of extremely rich oligarchs left to get …
BFI Flare: Sweetheart
Being a teenager is never easy. Stuck somewhere between childhood and adulthood, with your body undergoing a number of unseen and seen changes. It can all be extremely confusing. Especially, with peer pressure, parental expectations and the almost constant cultural assault on adolescents. When you’re different, or at least feel different, it can become isolating. …
BFI Flare Review: Firebird
Until relatively recently, being openly gay in the military was a criminal offence, and that was in the more progressive nations. Even then, there’s often a reluctance to ‘come out’ for fear of bullying, harassment and discrimination. In less tolerant and usually only vaguely democratic countries, it’s still illegal. However, in ‘ancient’ Sparta or Medieval …
BFI Flare Review: The Greenhouse
The loss of a loved one can be paralysing. The death of someone who has played a huge part in your daily life can leave a gap which can never be filled. Whilst most people find a way to move on, step by step, it’s just too painful for others. They retreat within themselves. Often …
French Film Festival UK Review: Home Front
Whilst Europe might have prospered financially from its colonies, the decades of misrule and abuse have left lasting scars. The process of independence has been a natural evolution for some but in other instances has been incredibly fractious. This was the case in Algeria where French rule began in 1830 and culminated with the Algerian …
Film Review: After the Murder of Albert Lima
The death of a parent is almost always devastating. Whether they’re taken suddenly after a long and fulfilling life or following a long illness, the grief and trauma can be impossible to cope with. Their absence a constant shadow. It can take months and even years for children to be able to move on with …
BFI Flare Review: Mama Gloria
Whilst Western societies have come a long way when it comes to equal rights for all, that doesn’t mean that everyone is being afforded the same treatment. Or that there’s not been a backslide over the past few years with the rise of popularism. Whilst there are still massive issues surrounding race relations, gender inequality …