New Wave Films
Film Review: Il Buco
Modern exploration is usually looking up to the stars, but there are still so many places on this planet which are mysteries to us. The heart of the Amazon Rainforest, the deepest oceans and sometimes the ground beneath our feet. In the 1960s, young speleologists (cave scientists and enthusiasts) explored Europe’s deepest cave. They reached …
Film Review: Playground
I think most of us still have vague memories of our first day or days at school. Especially if we’ve moved around and have endured several. Even if they’re now just abstract feelings of terror. Everything seemed so big and scary, and that wasn’t just the older kids! There was a system. A hierarchy. One …
Film Review: There is No Evil
The use of the death penalty remains controversial, to say the least. While in most developed countries, but tellingly not all of the United States of America, it has been phased out, there are over fifty countries where it’s still actively used. Even Iran’s fairly dreadful COVID record didn’t stop the Islamic republic using it …
Film Review: You Will Die at Twenty
Life in Sudan isn’t easy at the best of times, but the ongoing military coup highlights just how fragile human rights and democracy remain in the north-east African country. With an economy driven by oil production, there’s much to fight over, but any profits are only shared by the few. As is the case in …
Film Review: Rose Plays Julie
Humans are naturally curious. Whilst this inquisitiveness often fades as we get older, the impulse to discover our roots remains strong. Whether this is in the forlorn hope that despite an entirely unremarkable life we might have colourful and/or famous ancestors or simply an attempt to understand why we are the person we’ve become. For …
Film Review: It Must Be Heaven
Unfortunately, once again our news feeds are dominated by tensions in Israel and it seems that there’s unlikely to ever be a satisfactory resolution to this lengthy conflict. Whilst there are often Israeli films at European festivals it’s much rarer to get content from Palestinian directors. Let’s be honest, occupation tends to focus the mind …
Film Review: Ava
It’s certainly not easy growing up as a teenage girl in the modern world, regardless of where you live. You probably feel assailed from every side. If it’s not the media’s relentless obsession towards beauty and perfection or the toxic social media, it’s boys being utter twerps. At least growing up in a Western democracy …
Film Review: Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc holds a fairly unique position as a historical female. Not only is she still revered after hundreds of years, her reputation has only grown since her death. Although, like many of her sisters, that didn’t prevent her being burned at the stake. The ‘Maid of Orléans’s story has been captured on film …
LFF Review: Martin Eden
Jack London was one of the most important and influential American novelists of his generation. His writings embodied the thirst for adventure which epitomised the era but also were a product of his radical political opinions. Much of his work reflected his socialist leanings, most notably in The Iron Heel and Martin Eden. The latter …
LFF Review: Talking About Trees
The cinema of Sudan is almost completely unknown on a world stage. Whilst not overly surprising for an impoverished African country, this hasn’t always been the case. Years of oppressive governments, hard-line religion and a struggling economy has resulted in almost all the cinemas closing down. Film-makers, who at one stage were winning awards on …