The third in a trilogy of films raising the voices of women (after Waru (2017) and Vai (2019)), Kāinga (or home) gives us eight short films each focusing on a girl or woman from an Asian country trying to find her place in Aotearoa New Zealand. The connection between them, as the stories span decades, is the same house on 11 Rua Road where they all live or visit.
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Told in 12 chapters (with a prologue and an epilogue), Joachim Trier immerses us in a contemplative story of a woman who seems to be failing at being an adult.
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Pedro Almodóvar gives us two tenuously connected stories, worth watching for the powerful performances of Penélope Cruz and newcomer Milena Smit.
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I have been waiting for the release of this one for many months. The trailer is a cracker with a drunk Cassie (Carey Mulligan) being picked up a series of ‘nice guys’ who then sexually assault her in her comatose state.
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Christmas movies ideally should give us love and hope and not drown us in corn syrup. This queer Christmas rom-com has just enough tartness to balance the sugar.
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It’s refreshing to watch a ‘sick teen drama’ that avoids easy sentimentality and instead builds complex characters.
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It seems churlish to criticise this sepia-toned homage to working class heroes as it’s clear from the outset that it’s not trying to rock any boats. And who doesn’t love Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren in a ‘based on a true story’ hagiography of the man who stole a painting from the London National Gallery in 1961?
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From it’s whimsical name to it’s awkwardly stylish mise en scène, Licorice Pizza should feel like a sweet and poignant dip into growing up in the 70s. Then why does it feel so creepy?
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Rules for escaping a totalitarian state: 1) Don’t use a mobile phone; 2) Don’t use a mobile phone to call the daughter-in-law of your pursuer; 3) Don’t use a torch when crossing a patrolled border at night. And a hot tip – Siberian aluminium foil is the bomb!
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Robert Eggars (The Lighthouse (2019), The Witch (2015)) gives us toxic masculinity writ large without a shred of irony or insight.
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