Reviews in a nutshell
American artist-turned film-maker Julian Schnabel’s latest film, Miral, is on a far grander scale than the intimate The Diving Bell and the Butterfly about a stroke sufferer, dealing with the political hot bed of peace in the Middle East. Jewish American Schnabel takes the Palestinian stance on this, in an almost pious and worthy fashion …
This sombre, humane and provocative drama from Xavier Beauvois (Don’t Forget You’re Going To Die) is based on a true story from the 1990s. Eight French monks live in harmony in a Cistercian monastery in North Africa, providing medical, practical and spiritual help to the local community. But fundamentalist violence threatens not only the country …
It’s great to come away from a film and feel genuinely challenged by what you’ve seen. It’s even more rewarding when that film is a debut offering that isn’t just trying to jump on the pretentious, holier-than-thou indie bandwagon and actually has a point to make in a non-confrontational manner. Low-budget dark horse Easier With …
If you can ‘stylise’ a film about cancer, director Reinout Oerlemans’ Love Life would be it. Interestingly, this Dutch film was originally called Stricken (2009), which doesn’t particularly seem to fit the sexy, hedonistic stance that the film portrays, and certainly wouldn’t have the majority of punters rushing to the cinema to see it. It’s …
