Peccadillo Pictures
Film Review: Cocoon
Whilst coming-of-age films are a studio staples, most of what is produced in Hollywood just doesn’t feel authentic; regardless of how good or bad the film actually is. European cinema tends to be much better at it. Céline Sciamma’s Girlhood and Lukas Moodysson’s Show Me Love are both great modern examples of films which are …
Film Review: A White, White Day
Icelandic cinema is enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment. Whilst its golden age was perhaps the turn of the century (101 Reykjavik, Nói albinói, Stormy Weather), the likes of Rams, Of Horses and Men, Woman at War and The County have garnered critical acclaim and wowed audiences around the world. Although Grímur Hákonarson …
Film Review: A Deal with the Universe
For most couples, having a child (or children) is one of the most important driving forces in their relationship. Whilst many pregnancies are unplanned, some people struggle for years to have offspring, whilst it’s just not possible for others. They often become increasingly desperate in the lengths they will go to in order to give …
Film Review: Sauvage
Love has to be one of the strangest, most bizarre and bafflingly amazing afflictions suffered by human beings. It can bring the strongest person to their knees or give the weakest the strength to succeed. If that love is unrequited then it can be soul-destroying and heart-wrenching. It can drive you to distraction, dangerous obsession …
Film Review: 1985
The 1980s was a remarkable decade in many ways. It was arguably the last great decade for cinema and one of the most interesting musically. Then there’s there was the fashion….Whilst it was an era characterised by vibrant colours and youthful exuberance it also remained a profoundly conservative time for most of America. Given the …
DVD Review: The Wound
Over the course of human history, taking the journey into manhood has been a pivotal moment in a boy’s life. Whilst the developed world has largely left this tradition in the past, religious ceremonies aside, it still an integral part of many cultures. However, there’s a distinct divide between urban and rural in many African …
Film Review: The Ciambra
After shaking of the yoke of dictatorship and censorship, the post-War period in Italy was a fertile time for film-making. From the neo-realism of Rossellini and Visconti, through the classics of Fellini and Antonioni, to the spaghetti westerns of Leone and the giallo of Argento, it was a hotbed of creativity. As we approached the …
Film Review: Beach Rats
Electric, energetic and raw film-making is one of the greatest joys in cinema. It’s also one of the most difficult and complicated feats to achieve. Translating the verve and zest of real life onto the big screen has proved problematic for most directors. One of the greatest triumphs of 2015 was Sean Baker’s Tangerine. It …
Film Review: In Between
Israeli films which make it as far as the UK, as a rule, tend to fall into two categories. The first, unsurprisingly, is about all aspects of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The second tends to focus on those living outside of the norms of orthodox religion or gender disparity. The latter has been admirably represented of …
Film Review: Tom of Finland
Historically, artists haven’t always held the most prestigious or reputable positions within societies. It’s hard to imagine what it’s like to be a gay homoerotic artist living in a country where homosexuality is illegal. Touko Valio Laaksonen was arguably the most influential gay erotic artist of the 20th century. Over four decades he drew thousands …