MUBI
Film Review: The Apparition
Vincent Lindon has played a variety of roles since the beginning of the 1980s, none more intriguing than ‘very drunk man’ in Mathieu Kassovitz’s seminal La Haine. Whilst he’s been a consistently impressive actor, it’s only in the last decade or so that he’s begun to receive the recognition he deserves. In 2015, Lindon won …
Film Review: Have A Nice Day
Given the events of the last few years, the future doesn’t exactly look rosy. The global political climate seems to go from bad to worse whilst we seem hell-bent on destroying the environment before lunch. Over the past couple of decades, China has been rapidly catching up with the rest of the developed world. Along …
Film Review: Lover for a Day
Philippe Garrel trades in relationships. The French director’s focus is on that eternal fascination for many of his countrymen; love. With a filmography including Regular Lovers, Wild Innocence, The Birth of Love and Emergency Kisses, it’s not like he makes any secret of it. Following on from Jealousy and In the Shadow of a Woman, …
Incoming: FÉLICITÉ
Felicity, free and proud, is a singer in the evenings in a bar in Kinshasa. Her life changes when her 14-year-old son is the victim of a motorcycle accident. To save him, she begins a frantic race through the streets of an electric Kinshasa, a world of music and dreams. FÉLICITÉ is out in cinemas …
Film Review: On Body and Soul
Dreams still remain one of the most mysterious aspects of sentient life. There’s a whole section of literature purely concerned with trying to decode them. We’ll probably never know if androids dream of electric sheep and the human brain still remains a puzzle. If there’s a meaning behind our dreams and nightmares then we’ve yet …
Film Review: Mimosas
Despite the continued smattering of dreadful Christian films which get released every year, religion is hardly a cool subject. This is especially the case in North American cinema. Whether it’s Noah, The Passion of Christ or Risen, it’s all a little bit overblown and worthy. Thankfully, many independent film-makers have a much more innovative, fresh …
Film Review: The Event (Sobytie)
Modern day Russia has a long and tumultuous political and social history. Starting with Peter the Great, the Tsars ruled for almost two hundred years until the aristocracy was overthrown in the October Revolution. After a civil war, the Soviet Union was formed in 1922. In 1991, as the USSR was on the verge of …
Film Review: The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki
I’m not a fan of boxing, and by extension, most films about boxing tend to leave me cold. However, it’s a sport which has produced some notable movies over the decades. Raging Bull is the obvious highlight, but the Rocky series demonstrates just how popular a sub-genre it can be. There’s been a recent resurgence, …
Film Review: The Son of Joseph
Biblical themes crop up in all kinds of films. Whether it’s Henry Cavill acting all crucified in Man of Steel or notions around what it means to be human in Blade Runner, Christian metaphors, parables, and allegories pop-up in the most unlikely of places. On Occasion, films like the impressive Brand New Testament are more …
Film Review: I, Olga
In 1975 Olga Hepnarová was the last woman executed in Czechoslovakia. As with Ruth Ellis, who was the last woman to receive the death penalty in the UK, people are fascinated by female killers. Indeed, you’d be hard-pressed to name the last men hanged in Britain whilst Ellis is well-known. In 1973 Hepnarová drove her …