I liked director Davy Chou’s 2016 film Diamond Island and his latest feature, set in South Korea rather than Cambodia, has the same slow, introspective quality.
Continue readingReturn to Seoul (Retour à Séoul) (2022)
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Holy Spider (2022)
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Even though it’s two hours long, there isn’t a minute wasted in this taut thriller that shines a light on the precariousness of being a woman in Iran.
Continue readingThree Thousand Years of Longing (2022)
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This is a lush and enthralling ‘fairytale’ based on A S Byatt’s short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” and director by Australian legend George Miller.
Continue readingSilent Land (Cicha Ziemia) (2021)
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A compelling parable about the indifference of those with more than enough.
Continue readingEmily the Criminal (2022)
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Emily the Criminal is a solid thriller that is elevated by two excellent lead performances.
Continue readingNothing Compares (2022)
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Sinéad O’Connor was ahead of her time, unapologetically outspoken for all the things we believed but didn’t have the courage to say.
Continue readingBroker (브로커) (2022)
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This latest film from Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda is masterful storytelling. I came out of the screening with a similar feeling to when I watched Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019); contemporary South Korea where the dramatic tension comes from depth of character not plot.
Continue readingUnclenching the Fists (Разжимая кулаки) (2021)
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This is a quintessential film festival film. It immerses you into a little known culture (North Ossetia), claustrophobically shows you the grim reality of an abused person (Ada), weaves a metaphor throughout (those clenched fists), and gives you a final act that will leave you confounded, exhilarated and thinking about it long afterwards.
Continue readingThe Novelist’s Film (소설가의 영화)(2022)
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I find myself wanting to like South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo’s work. Maybe I’m choosing the wrong ones out of his huge filmography as they seem whimsically pedestrian and self-absorbed, albeit in a way that’s meant to be charming.
Continue readingCorsage (2022)
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This is one of those dense, evocative films that will sweep you up whilst also leaving you not sure of what you’ve just seen.
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