Features

Something is troubling David Fincher. Despite his multiple Oscar nominations, the consistent box office returns that keep the studios purring, and the cult fandom generated by his dark and twisty thrillers, something is gnawing at him. He hasn’t done his “Hollywood” picture. And really, how do you expect to be taken seriously as a white male American auteur without a handsome and lightly satirical peek behind the soundstage. Look around you. Scorsese has made Aviator, Tarantino has Once Upon (…)

A lone drifter suffering from partial memory loss accepts a job to look after a psychologically troubled woman in an abandoned house on an isolated island. I took a punt on this offering whilst browsing this year’s [Leeds International Film Festival->https://www.leedsfilm.com/whats-on/caveat output. As usual, the programming was first-class but I usually make it my priority to hone in on entries that come under "horror". It’s no mean feat for a film to surprise and scare me given how blasé (…)

Craig Roberts’ « Eternal Beauty » is a bold representation of mental illness that breaks with cinematic tradition, adding a rare level of nuance and compassion to an often misrepresented topic. Sally Hawkins stars as Jane, an isolated woman struggling with depression, schizophrenia and an at times toxic environment - 80s English suburbia. A chance encounter and whirlwind relationship with fellow patient Mike (David Thewlis) appears to grant her a new lifeline but instead serves only to (…)

Recently, I have become addicted to the Italian Netflix series Suburra: Blood on Rome. As a fan of Gomorrah, I met this series with trepidation, wondering if this Roman ’gangster show’ would be a shadow to its Neopolitan counterpart. How wrong I was! It is a compelling exploration of Roman society, and the real-life events of the Mafia Capitale investigation which culminated in 2014. On the surface, Suburra navigates the intertwining interests of the various factions competing for land (…)

Documentary Weekly As unfortunate and disruptive as the Covid-19 outbreak has been for the film industry, the resulting boom of online releases will be welcomed by cinephiles around the world. On March 20th, Alla Kovga’s highly anticipated « Cunningham » joined the growing list of films forced into an early online release. An ode to legendary dance choreographer Merce Cunningham, the film blends artistic performance with archival footage, interviews and excerpts from letters to provide (…)

During this hopefully short-lived period of confinement, we’ll bring you some new releases, old gems and freebies that are now available on streaming platforms or video on demand to help distract us all from our currently precarious financial and emotional conditions. We’ll post 2 or 3 titles at a time, starting with these recent releases: Bacurau - MUBI Bacurau is a small, isolated and impoverished village lodged somewhere in the backwaters of Brazil. The day after the death of the (…)

Soviet Hippies, directed by Terje Toomistu, ‘Lenin vs. Lennon’ – UK Premiere via Dash Arts

“The Ponds” meets the Londoners whose lives have been changed by outdoor swimming Visit Hampstead Heath in North London at the summer’s peak and you’ll see hundreds of sun-seeking locals swimming in the park’s ponds. Although that quintessential image will be familiar to many Londoners, few know that the ponds continue to draw regulars throughout the winter. “The Ponds” is a yearlong study of the motley crew that religiously swims in the Hampstead Heath ponds every day, come rain, shine (…)

Nightcleaners – An oddity of its time that captures the British working class struggle of the early 1970s « Nightcleaners » is an early 70s observational account of London’s female office cleaners embroiled in an arduous struggle for fair pay and fair treatment by their male and middle-class bosses. The film has an admirable grip on the public conscience, garnering sustained attention from activists and doc-lovers alike over the years and prompting a well-received screening at Bertha (…)

COMING OUT TOMORROW Excellent statement on the dynamic of precarious work and the women taking it on - SUPPORT THE GIRLS by Andrew Bujalski SUPPORT THE GIRLS follows Lisa (Regina Hall), the general manager at Double Whammies, a highway-side ‘sports bar with curves’, who has her normally unstoppable optimism and faith – in her girls, her customers, and herself – tested over the course of a long, strange day. Double Whammies, a low-budget Hooters, is a typical sports bar and “brestaurant” (…)