Phuong Le
Tomatometer-approved critic
Phuong Le is a Vietnamese film critic. Her writing can be found in Sight & Sound, The Guardian, and other publications. She’s also a frequent contributor to the Free Thinking programme on BBC Radio 3.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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Attachment (2022) |
A fun Valentine’s Day watch for those who like their queer romance with a sprinkle of spooky chill. - Guardian
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| Posted Mar 27, 2023
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Gandhi Godse - Ek Yudh (2023) |
In imagining a world where Gandhi and his killer learned to get along, Rajkumar Santoshi simplifies differences that remain perilous for India. - Guardian
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| Posted Jan 27, 2023
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Rebel (2022) |
Didacticism aside, the deft juxtaposition of the different forms of violence – Kamal’s physical deterioration on the frontline and Nassim’s psychological changes – hits home hard. - Guardian
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| Posted Jan 10, 2023
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Beyond the White (2021) |
While the meditative style might come off as a little emotionally withdrawn, its thoughtfulness also helps us immerse more fully and bodily into a land that seems to hail from a bygone era. - Guardian
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| Posted Oct 25, 2022
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Post Mortem (2020) |
For those who enjoy period details as well as practical horror effects, there is much to be mined here, such as the meticulously recreated village and the impressively gnarly makeup applied on the victims of the malevolent spirits. - Guardian
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| Posted Oct 24, 2022
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Piggy (2022) |
Galán is... a delight to watch, a rare instance where an actor accurately conjures up the fidgety confusion of a young girl. - Guardian
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| Posted Oct 19, 2022
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The Exit of the Trains (2020) |
At nearly three hours long, this challenging film demands patience, attention, and even courage from its viewers. - Guardian
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| Posted Oct 18, 2022
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Ancient Soul (2021) |
Beguiling – and occasionally muddled... - Guardian
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| Posted Oct 11, 2022
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Take Back the Night (2021) |
Perhaps, rather than relying on genre conventions and slight metaphors, Take Back the Night could have delivered its social message more effectively as a straightforward character study. - Guardian
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| Posted Oct 03, 2022
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My Sunny Maad (2021) |
Boasts striking visuals, but lacks the kind of emotional authenticity that would elevate it beyond a sob story. - Guardian
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| Posted Sep 26, 2022
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Shapeless (2021) |
[An] accomplished, visually impressive debut. - Guardian
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| Posted Sep 14, 2022
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Children of the Mist (2021) |
[A] shattering documentary... - Guardian
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| Posted Sep 12, 2022
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Saloum (2021) |
Saloum does not stop at simply reinterpreting the tropes of the western but wholly retools its influences with local flavours. - Guardian
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| Posted Sep 06, 2022
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Tomorrow Morning (2022) |
Under such shaky direction, even a charming cameo from Joan Collins can’t breathe life into this tepid affair. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 31, 2022
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Dry Ground Burning (2022) |
Packs a pulpy punch, yet is also rooted in an urgent political reality. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 29, 2022
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Black Mambas (2022) |
Karbe’s documentary could have easily fallen into the trap of empty valorisation; in contrast, the film digs deep into the complex racial and class dynamics that are at play. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 22, 2022
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Prayer for a Lost Mitten (2020) |
A melancholic jazz score weaves in and out of this enchanting film, which luxuriates in the profundity of unexpected encounters between strangers and the delicate cycle of things lost and regained. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 22, 2022
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War and Peace (2020) |
In focusing on how audiovisual materials are scrutinised elsewhere, War and Peace neglects to interrogate its own relationship to the images of war. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 16, 2022
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Mama's Affair (2022) |
Teresa Mo’s measured performance, in spite of the cliche-ridden dialogue, is the real highlight of a film that is otherwise an empty star vehicle best enjoyed by fans. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 16, 2022
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Anaïs in Love (2021) |
Fizzy and bubbly, the film feels like a cool glass of lemonade on a hot day, leaving us with a pleasant reminder of the thrills that summer can bring. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 16, 2022
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Living Water (2020) |
While the ongoing, systemic depletion of natural resources is adequately explained, for those unfamiliar with the region, it may be a challenge to glean the full historical context. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 10, 2022
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Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021) |
[An] intimately scaled coming-of-age story that acutely understands the embarrassment that teenagers have towards their parents once puberty hits. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 09, 2022
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Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash (2021) |
An earnest and potent critique on the trappings of masculinity. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 03, 2022
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Suzanne Daveau (2019) |
In the end, this documentary is lifted by Daveau’s personality; the way her voice sparkles with the same enthusiasm when she talks of her husband or her research shows that the pursuit of knowledge is not only cerebral but also emotional. - Guardian
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| Posted Aug 02, 2022
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The Deer King (2021) |
One can only hope that, in future, the directors will have a better script that may befit their talents as animators. - Guardian
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| Posted Jul 25, 2022
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All Light, Everywhere (2021) |
While the effort put into research for this documentary is commendable, ultimately the aestheticisation of the information dampens its impact. - Guardian
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| Posted Jul 18, 2022
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Donna (2022) |
Trans activist and artist Donna Personna possesses considerable personal magnetism, and Jay Bedwani’s documentary makes a beautiful love letter to this grandee of San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community. - Guardian
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| Posted Jul 13, 2022
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It Takes a Family (2019) |
Resisting the linearity of memory and history, It Takes a Family acknowledges the impossibility of tying up loose ends. - Guardian
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| Posted Jul 06, 2022
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Pompo the Cinephile (2021) |
The tone turns cloyingly saccharine, pushing hollow maxims such as how damaged people make better artists, or that a film should be no longer than 90 minutes. - Guardian
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| Posted Jun 28, 2022
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Theo and the Metamorphosis (2022) |
All in all, the only metamorphosis worth mentioning here is the film’s own transition into the kind of tiresomeness that gives arthouse cinema a bad name. - Guardian
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| Posted Jun 22, 2022
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Inland (2019) |
Extracts the otherworldly out of the everyday. - Guardian
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| Posted Jun 13, 2022
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Under the Underground (2019) |
In an era when art and music are increasingly corporatised, the DIY ethos of Janka Industries feels like a relic from a bygone time. - Guardian
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| Posted Jun 06, 2022
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A Sexplanation (2021) |
Liu is an enjoyably charismatic guide, as his doubts and questions about the birds and the bees mirror many of our own. - Guardian
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| Posted May 31, 2022
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Anek (2022) |
The film might be didactic in tone, but it is the kind of didacticism that injects political integrity into a cinematic landscape sorely lacking a backbone. - Guardian
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| Posted May 25, 2022
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Luzzu (2021) |
An emotionally wrenching work... - Guardian
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| Posted May 23, 2022
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The Sadness (2021) |
The assured command of style situates Jabbaz as an impressive new voice in horror cinema. - Guardian
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| Posted May 17, 2022
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Hell Hath No Fury (2021) |
Bergman’s fierce, commanding presence proves to be the emotional anchor that elevates the grindhouse flavour to a bleak parable on the destructive power of greed. - Guardian
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| Posted May 10, 2022
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Faye (2022) |
With Zanotti’s comedic chops, Faye might have actually worked better as a satire on the cult of wellness; as a horror film, it is woefully ineffective. - Guardian
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| Posted May 03, 2022
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Arica (2022) |
Gripping and exhaustive, Lars Edman and William Johansson’s documentary sheds light on the struggle for environmental justice in a globalised world. - Guardian
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| Posted May 02, 2022
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No News (2022) |
Recurring throughout Lennart Hüper’s sombre documentary are images of the vast, deep ocean, whose rippling surface hums with an ominous melancholy. - Guardian
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| Posted Apr 20, 2022
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Saint-Narcisse (2021) |
Saint-Narcisse is a welcome blast of subversive naughtiness, proving that a film can tackle social taboos while refusing to brand itself with facile markers of respectability. - Guardian
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| Posted Apr 19, 2022
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Queen Lear (2019) |
Though modest in terms of visuals and scope, Queen Lear is an endearing ode to the collective power of art and a subtle call for gender equality in Turkey. - Guardian
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| Posted Apr 12, 2022
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See You Then (2021) |
Despite its flaws, See You Then is an interesting opportunity to see trans talents in front of and behind the camera. - Guardian
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| Posted Apr 04, 2022
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Homebound (2021) |
Running a little bit over an hour, it feels like an underdeveloped short that has overstayed its welcome. - Guardian
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| Posted Mar 28, 2022
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A Night of Knowing Nothing (2021) |
Love for the moving image – and love for artistic creativity – marches hand in hand with the fight for political freedom. - Guardian
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| Posted Mar 28, 2022
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The Hermit of Treig (2022) |
When a film-maker is clearly captivated by their subject, the film can compel viewers to fall in love as well. - Guardian
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| Posted Mar 21, 2022
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Jalsa (2022) |
A baffling drama that says very little about either inequality or morality. - Guardian
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| Posted Mar 18, 2022
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Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie (2021) |
Bolstered by an electrifying score, this cathartic ode to the triumph of love is a treat for ardent fans and newcomers alike. - Guardian
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| Posted Mar 15, 2022
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Margrete: Queen of the North (2021) |
While the plot is at times overstuffed with palace intrigues, this piercing character study carries a contemporary poignancy, as it encapsulates the difficult choices a female leader has to make in a world bounded by patriarchal control. - Guardian
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| Posted Mar 07, 2022
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Last Journey of Paul W.R. (2020) |
The inattention to detail is what makes this feel like a triumph of style over content, and not in a good way. - Guardian
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| Posted Feb 28, 2022
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