A lushly-beautiful documentary with a story that perfectly encapsulates the plight and humanity of refugees.
Continue readingCaptains of Za’atari (2021)
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Sun Children (Khorshid) (2020)
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This Oscar-nominated drama from Iranian director Majid Majidi begins as a heartfelt tale of plucky street urchins but soon reveals a deeper story of the grim realities for those who are most vulnerable.
Continue readingMayor (2020)
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This is a beautifully-made documentary that carries us close beside the mayor of the Palestinian city of Ramallah, Musa Hadid, as he goes about his day, dealing with everything from fountains to Israeli aggression.
Continue readingAtlantis (2019)
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Valentyn Vasyanovych knows how to frame and hold an image. This slow and poignant exploration of the aftermath of war is like a series of tableau, stitched together to create a compelling and rigorous story.
Continue readingDigger (2020)
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I can see what this austere drama from Georgis Grigorakis was trying to do and, for a first feature, it is well crafted and tonally interesting. Pitched as a David and Goliath battle between an everyman and a mining company and also, oddly as a ‘Western, revisited’, it didn’t quite achieve its aim.
Continue readingJust 6.5 (Metri Shesh Va Nim) (2019)
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From the first moments of this high-speed Iranian cop thriller, you think you know what it’s about. Drug dealers are bad, cops are a bit rough around the edges but basically good. They’ll struggle and the problem isn’t solvable but they’ll get their man. Saeed Roustayi second feature is much more than it says on the tin.
Continue readingFirst Cow (2019)
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We begin in true Kelly Reichardt style with a long slow shot that lets us take in the slow movement of a river and the sounds of a forest. We are in present day and watch as a woman (Alia Shawkat) unearths a bone, then uncovers two skeletons lying side by side.
Continue readingDingo (1991)
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Notable for being the most significant acting performance by Miles Davis, Rolf de Heer’s feel-good, boy-has-a-dream drama seems like a film from another era.
Continue readingCorpus Christi (Boze Cialo)(2019)
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This solid and compelling drama from Jan Komasa wraps a story about morality and choice around the limitations of class and culture in rural Poland.
Continue readingServants (2020)
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For its imagery alone, this bleak and beautiful drama by Ivan Ostrochovský is worth a look, although it’s love of an exquisitely composed frame distances you from the characters.
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