Soda Pictures
Blu-Ray Review: The Childhood of a Leader
It’s perhaps quite apt, given what has been happening around the world, that Brady Corbet released his directorial debut in 2016. It rides this year’s wave of growing right-wing sentiment. However, whilst we can see the end product of years of political neglect and failure to combat unpalatable (and sometimes justified) opinions, the American film-maker …
DVD Review: The Lovers and the Despot
As one of the few remaining ‘closed’ countries in the world, North Korea has continued to fascinate, bemuse, bewilder and scare much of the free world since the Korean War over sixty years ago. In terms of cinema, many documentarians have struggled over the years to steal a peek behind the curtain. The most notable …
DVD Review: The Lighthouse
It’s not so long ago that the whole of Europe relied on sea travel for prosperity. The Spice Wars were probably the peak of maritime engagement, but we still rely on shipping for commercial transportation heavily today. Equally important as the vessels themselves were the lighthouses which kept them away from the rocks. Chris Crow’s …
DVD Review: The Library Suicides
In this day and age filmmakers are no longer solely reliant upon the whims of studios or attracting rich benefactors. With new technology making it cheaper than ever to make a film, the way they are funded has changed profoundly over the decades. Managed by Ffilm Cymru Wales, Cinematic is a film fund which produces …
Film Review: Phantom Boy
The production of animated films has been dominated by North America and Japan for decades. Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks and Studio Ghibli have monopolised the market. However, in recent years European animators have been back on the rise. The Triplets of Belleville, The Secret of Kells, Persepolis and Song of the Sea have showcased some of …
Film Review: Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
In the history of Hollywood there have perhaps only been a handful of actors who could walk into a room and command silence. Not only did Ingrid Bergman have that star quality she also had a intelligence, charisma and charm which wasn’t always evident in many of her peers in that era. She went on …
DVD Review: Disorder
Diane Kruger and Matthias Schoenaerts will now be familiar faces to English-speaking audiences. Kruger for the likes of Troy, National Treasure and The Bridge and Schoenaerts for A Bigger Splash, Suite Française and The Danish Girl. However, their best work has come in French language films, notably Schoenaerts in Rust and Bone and Bullhead. They …
Film Review: Remainder
Memories can be fragile and fleeting; their absence can lead to confusion, anxiety and emotional torment. The sudden loss of this function has been covered in myriad books and films, most notably in Christopher Nolan’s Memento in 2000. Based on the popular experimental cult novel by Tom McCarthy, Omer Fast’s feature debut focuses a man …
Film Review: Louder Than Bombs
Joachim Trier is one of the most exciting and talented Scandinavian film directors of the last decade. Louder Than Bombs is only his third feature but it follows on from the highly acclaimed Reprise and Oslo, August 31st. The former is a study on young love, ambition and depression whilst the latter is a day …
Film Review: Rams
If you’ve read Halldór Laxness’ Independent People you’ll have a good idea of the relationship between Icelandic farmers and their sheep. Fast-forward almost a hundred years and there are still people struggling to eke out a living in the Icelandic hills, exposed to the harshness of the county’s climate. Grímur Hákonarson’s film Rams follows a …