Following the death of his mother, 13 year-old Fin (Ed Oxenbould) has retreated into a fantasy world of butterflies and other insects. Meanwhile his father Al (Ewen Leslie) drowns his sorrows in a sea of one-night stands and ill-advised short-term … Continue reading REVIEW: The Butterfly Tree (2017)
Yoji Yamada is one of the most significant film directors in Japan. While he may lack the profile of earlier, critically adored filmmaker like Ozu, Mizoguchi, or Akira Kurosawa – or indeed contemporary favourites like Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation) or … Continue reading REVIEW: The Little House (2014)
Hazuki (Sayu Kubota) and Aoi (Minori Hagiwara) are Japanese high school students. Despite attending the same classes, they may as well live in different worlds. Hazuki is in the popular crowd of bitchy queen bees, although her position there is … Continue reading REVIEW: Hello Goodbye (2016)
Lao Liu returns to his home in Yunan province for the first time in many years. The town is all but abandoned now: of his friends only A Jie still lives there. An ex-girlfriend is by chance passing through on … Continue reading REVIEW: Ghost in the Mountains (2017)
In AD 1636, Korea’s Joseon kingdom has been invaded by an army the Manchu Qing dynasty. King Injo (Park Hae-il) and his court escaped to the northern fortress of Namham, but are now under siege from Manchu soldiers. Trapped for … Continue reading REVIEW: The Fortress (2017)
The release of Sara Colangelo’s post-9/11 drama Worth onto Netflix seems well-timed, giving the 20th anniversary of the New York and Washington terror attacks is fast approaching. Unfortunately, while it is a well-intentioned and deeply respectful film, it does not seem … Continue reading REVIEW: Worth (2020)
In 16th century Central America, a rapidly diminishing band of Spanish deserters trek through the jungle. They follow a hand-drawn map purporting to lead to El Dorado – the fabled city of gold. Surrounded by territorial indigenous tribes and deadly wildlife, … Continue reading REVIEW: Gold (2017)
Mariam (Mariam Al Farjani) is a 21 year-old university student living in Tunis. When we first see her, she is camped out in the bathroom of a nightclub. She has torn her dress, and waits for a friend to bring … Continue reading REVIEW: Beauty and the Dogs (2017)
Maryline (Adeline D’Hermy) is an aspiring actor who travels from her rural home town to Paris in the hope of forging a successful career. When disaster strikes at her first attempt, she finds herself working in a postal office with … Continue reading REVIEW: Maryline (2017)
Around 2010 I travelled to Hong Kong where – among other things – I watched a fantastic live performance at the music venue Hidden Agenda. Getting there for a tourist was an ominous experience: an MTR ride to Kowloon, and … Continue reading REVIEW: The Way We Keep Dancing (2020)
