Screen International

Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating Title/Year Author
The Glorias (2020) Tim Grierson Dramatizing Steinem's life during different periods, and with different actresses, Taymor has crafted an exceedingly thoughtful portrait of a leader and the women's movement she championed. EDIT
Posted Feb 14, 2020
() Ben Croll [Kiyoshi] Kurosawa's talents behind the camera are undeniable. EDIT
Posted Feb 13, 2020
Svanurinn (2017) Ben Croll Benefitting from US-trained, Iceland-based filmmaker Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir's controlled direction, the film delivers a dark coming-of-age tale through the young lead's uncertain perception, tinged with uneasy implications and poetic flights of fancy. EDIT
Posted Feb 13, 2020
The Violin Player (2016) Ben Croll At its best, the film poses a terrifying question - what happens when one's fixed self-identity crumbles? - even if the answers it comes up with are less than persuasive. EDIT
Posted Feb 13, 2020
Tout nous sépare (2017) Ben Croll This one-part guilty conscience thriller, one part culture-clash drama about a pair of socialites who get caught up with local lowlifes adds up to one wholly missed opportunity. EDIT
Posted Feb 11, 2020
Epicentro (2020) Allan Hunter There are moments of bell-like clarity along the way that build into a touching lament for a people constantly at the mercy of other nations' grand designs. EDIT
Posted Feb 10, 2020
() Wendy Ide This solid domestic drama might not approach its themes in a particularly adventurous way... but it does bring real emotional credibility to the story. EDIT
Posted Feb 3, 2020
Beasts Clawing at Straws (2020) Wendy Ide This almost Coen-sian tale of ordinary folks undone by greed is a lot smarter than than its occasionally crude execution would have you believe. EDIT
Posted Feb 3, 2020
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) Tim Grierson Eliza Hittman builds on the quiet observational strengths of her previous films, and while this simple story may not seem inherently momentous, it speaks volumes about the ways in which women are marginalized in American society. EDIT
Posted Feb 2, 2020
() Wendy Ide Weaving together the shifting perspectives of Muzi's phone footage and a more distant, observational lens, the feature debut from Zheng Lu Xinyuan is a beguiling, shape-shifting collage-style portrait of a young woman exploring her space in the world. EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2020
Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia (2020) Anthony Kaufman With the filmmakers presumably given free rein to tackle their speedboat stories in whatever ways they choose, the overall film doesn't cohere. EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2020
The Rhythm Section (2020) Fionnuala Halligan Like the book, Reed Morano's film is long on atmosphere and short on the kind of detail a spy thriller needs to be credible. EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2020
The Evening Hour (2020) Wendy Ide It's an atmospheric portrait which, while leaving several key story strands under-explored, does convey a vivid sense of the support system which powers and protects these lives lived on the periphery. EDIT
Posted Jan 29, 2020
() Anthony Kaufman A striking microcosm of American society and its politics, and how belief systems can be both so easily warped and corrupted, and yet also, in some rare instances, still remain surprisingly faithful and true. EDIT
Posted Jan 28, 2020
The Reason I Jump (2020) Fionnuala Halligan This small film is a masterclass in communication for anyone ready to listen. EDIT
Posted Jan 28, 2020
Charm City Kings (2020) Anthony Kaufman Using Baltimore's famous dirt-bike riding scene as an evocative backdrop, Charm City Kings is a by turns a poignant and clichéd coming-of-age tale about growing up poor and black in an American city. EDIT
Posted Jan 28, 2020
() Wendy Ide It's an intriguing film, which will wrong-foot anyone looking for a moral compass with which to navigate the story, although the knotty complexity of issues and themes unravels slightly with an unexpectedly lurid denouement. EDIT
Posted Jan 28, 2020
Nine Days (2020) Anthony Kaufman [An] original, thought-provoking and ambitious debut feature, which concerns no less profound questions as what makes a life worth living and who deserves to live a life. EDIT
Posted Jan 28, 2020
() Allan Hunter The combination of the intriguing and the unsettling makes for a film that worms its way under your skin. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
La leyenda negra (2020) Allan Hunter Patricia Vidal Delgado's sharply etched debut feature is a deft blend of the intimate and the political that recalls the fire-in-the-belly feistiness of early Spike Lee joints. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
() Wendy Ide Kala Azar is something rather special. It's foetid and atmospheric, a feral scavenger of a film which sniffs around its themes before sinking its teeth into the meat of a beasts' eye view of the breakdown of civilisation. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
() Wendy Ide It's an honest, if sometimes strident, three-way portrait which gains much from its deft juggling of character arcs. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
Impetigore (Perempuan Tanah Jahanam) (2020) Wendy Ide A heady combination of the supernatural, backwoods bloodlust and a malevolent crone makes for an entertaining, pulpy horror... EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
Amulet (2020) Fionnuala Halligan Amulet is deeply, deliberately mysterious, and all the more fun for it; the less viewers know going in, the more ferocious the ride. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
() Wendy Ide With its measured pace, finely wrought performances and sense of a vague, unspoken threat to the children, this is a solid follow-up to Kernell's eye-catching debut, Sami Blood. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
() Allan Hunter Bakhshi's screenplay keeps drip-feeding the kind of troubling details that make us question the actions of both women whilst wanting to know more about their lives. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
Minari (2020) Anthony Kaufman Named for a Korean herb that grows naturally in the wild, Minari is a loving, delicately crafted portrait of a Korean American family struggling to sustain itself. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
Downhill (2020) Fionnuala Halligan In the twisty, tricky, mogul-filled black run that is US remakes of foreign-language films, Downhill just about crawls its way to the bottom of the slope; the latter part on its knees. EDIT
Posted Jan 27, 2020
() Lee Marshall [A] solid, affecting drama... EDIT
Posted Jan 26, 2020
() Stephen Whitty Both carefully reported and deeply felt, it seems assured to win critical accolades, and simultaneously engage and outrage sympathetic audiences. EDIT
Posted Jan 26, 2020
The Truffle Hunters (2020) Lee Marshall A slow-burn watch, The Truffle Hunters is a film as distinctive and lingering as the scent of the rare tuber that inspires it. EDIT
Posted Jan 26, 2020
Surge (2020) Fionnuala Halligan It's a shame that the screenplay by Rupert Jones and Rita Kalnejais didn't dig further. As a showcase for Karia's talents as a visualist, though, it works. EDIT
Posted Jan 26, 2020
Relic (2020) Wendy Ide A murkily effective horror, Relic takes senile dementia as its central theme, reimagining it as a kind of creeping darkness which engulfs both sufferers and those who are left to look after them. EDIT
Posted Jan 26, 2020
Possessor (2020) Wendy Ide A film which achieves a great deal on the strength of its mind-melting visual impact and its elegantly cruel atmosphere. EDIT
Posted Jan 26, 2020
Promising Young Woman (2020) Anthony Kaufman It's a clever and unexpected turn in a film full of surprises. EDIT
Posted Jan 26, 2020
() Fionnuala Halligan Revelatory, moving, and honest, it is essentially the story of one brave woman's decision to publicly accuse the rap mogul Russell Simmons of harassment and rape. But it's also a painful, parsed education on the subject of black women and abuse. EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2020
The Mole Agent (2020) Allan Hunter It may take an elaborate route to reach its destination, but The Mole Agent ultimately captures a charming, poignant portrait of life in a Chilean care home. EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2020
Worth (2019) Anthony Kaufman Made with the respect and reverence that its subject deserves, Worth nevertheless remains a bit too stolid and too on-the-nose. EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2020
The Dissident (2020) Anthony Kaufman The Dissident holds few new revelations but presents its case with enough infuriating evidence and storytelling power to make it worthwhile. EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2020
Zola (2020) Anthony Kaufman While the film has flashes of originality and vision, it's ultimately unsatisfying-more style than substance. EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2020
Jumbo (2019) Fionnuala Halligan Ultimately very breezy, Jumbo makes a claim for people to enjoy love wherever they find it... EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2020
() Wendy Ide A powerful and perceptive study of lives invaded by tragedy. EDIT
Posted Jan 25, 2020
This Is Not a Burial, It's a Resurrection (2019) Allan Hunter This Is Not A Burial, It's A Resurrection offers a vivid, beautifully crafted reflection on identity, community and the tension between respecting age-old traditions and accepting the seemingly unstoppable march of progress. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020
() Fionnuala Halligan A stunning, taut performance from actor and co-writer Dunne cuts through a flurry of clumsy good intentions to convince. The film is at its most powerful when it rests on her traumatised face. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020
() Wendy Ide [A]lthough the lines between fantasy and actuality are blurred, the looming threat of violence, both within Roque and in the lawless jungle around him, is ever-present and all too real. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020
() Anthony Kaufman Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets feels like a relic of the New American Cinema, resembling a real-life Midnight Cowboy or an Altman-esque fable. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020
() Wendy Ide A muted, sometimes evasive, coming of age picture which negotiates the drama of its young protagonist's life with care and sympathy. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020
() Wendy Ide [An] impressive and quietly compelling debut feature from Fernanda Valadez. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020
Bad Hair (2020) Anthony Kaufman Though it's all a bit ridiculous-and Simien, in certain instances, acknowledges the humour in his horror-the film is anchored by Elle Lorraine's breakout performance. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020
The Painter and the Thief (2020) Stephen Whitty An intriguing tale of lost souls and found redemption... EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2020