https://youtu.be/O9kfZkx9lfY Written by Clare Dunne Directed by Phillipa Lloyd ★★★ From the insipid musical diabetes which is Mamma Mia! To the politically ambiguous The Iron Lady, film and theatre director Phyllida Lloyd is nothing if not versatile. Seeking to avoid the large scale filmmaking ventures of the past, Lloyd’s release of Herself entrusts itself to the daily exhaustion women, and … Continue reading Herself – London Film Festival
https://youtu.be/aqKpAFdpuyI Written & Directed by John-Paul Davidson & Stephen Warbeck UK/ 200/ 94 mins ★★★★ There’s a tremendous reminiscence of Dante’s Divine Comedy as The Man in the Hattraverses the B-roads of France, beginning in the inferno before ultimately finding a peaceful sense of paradise, accompanied by those he encountered along the way. Though not quite as similar as the … Continue reading The Man in the Hat – Review
https://youtu.be/hN6gA9obKxw Written & Directed by Midi Z Taiwan / 2014 / 95 mins ★★ Burmese director Midi Z latest film is a socially conscious remark on the two options facing the poor – both of which risk your life. One is to risk breaking your body with labour, amidst endless hours working for a pittance. The other … Continue reading Ice Poison – Taiwanese Film Festival
https://youtu.be/nHFIOnOpehw Written by Thomas Friedrich & Michael Venus Directed by Michael Venus Germany/ 2019/ 102 mins ★★★★ The answers in Sleep seemingly lie in a peculiar hotel, cast deep into the woodlands of a remote village. The residents have checked-out, and the staff are as unhinged as the dreams which haunt Mona’s (Gro Swantje Kohlhof) nights, following her … Continue reading Sleep – Fantasia Film Festival
https://youtu.be/GilgGEZZ3tU Written by Yuan-Fu Chang Directed by Chi Hsin Taiwan / 1965 / 117 mins ★★★ Recently, the Ministry for Culture in Taiwan chose to preserve to The Bride Who Returned from Hell for its historical significance to the nation. Based on the 35mm cut, complete with grainy film cells and light strains, this revitalised look at … Continue reading The Bride Who Returned from Hell – Taiwan Film Festival
https://youtu.be/IJ-oAmIUmUs Written by Yi-Yun Lin Directed by Lin Tuan-Chiu Taiwan / 1965 / 109 mins ★★★★ Tenn Kong-Hui has no shortage of enemies, though that’s expected for a crooked blackmailer. Abusing his talents in reconnaissance, he takes a twisted delight in busting up the soirees, marriages and lives of the social elite – for a … Continue reading Six Suspects – Taiwan Film Festival
https://youtu.be/f8gPFZduFOQ Directed by Hyuk Ki Jung South Korea/ 2019/ 114 mins ★★★★ Aphrase we’ve all heard and potentially used ourselves, Punch Drunk is the more common term for the medical condition Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a neurodegenerative disease which causes irreparable damage, often as the result of repeated head trauma: a grave concern for boxers. Allowing … Continue reading My Punch-Drunk Boxer – Fantasia Film Festival
https://youtu.be/si5C-3F9Pw4 Written & Directed by Ninian Doff UK / 2019 / 87 mins ★★★ Not much happens in the Highlands, right? An endless majesty of woodland, glens and hills, the Scottish Highlands are home to scatterings of locals, farmers, wildlife, and a few unfortunate kids who have been roped into The Duke of Edinburgh Award. … Continue reading Get Duked! – Amazon Prime
https://youtu.be/5lTCt0hGda4 Written & Directed by Rinio Dragasaki ★★★ For Anna, there is one constant in her life – the titular Cosmic Candy, a popping candy confectionery which offers a calming relief. Her neighbours are boorish and her colleagues mindless, but the crux of her issues finds Anna stuck in an endless, dreamy loop where she holds … Continue reading Cosmic Candy – Fantasia Festival 2020
