Screen International

Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating Title/Year Author
The Dig (2021) Fionnuala Halligan Delivers strong performances - from Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan in particular - and top-level craft, but with an undercurrent of real emotion which sensitively conveys the fragility of lives and time. EDIT
Posted Jan 14, 2021
69: The Saga of Danny Hernandez (2020) Tim Grierson Gandhi speaks to collaborators, lovers and journalists, who help flesh out Hernandez's life, although the musician's unwillingness to participate leaves this an intriguing snapshot rather than a definitive portrait. EDIT
Posted Jan 12, 2021
The Marksman (2021) Tim Grierson Although Neeson has a nice rapport with young costar, there's no escaping the formulaic storyline featuring uncomplicated good guys and abundantly villainous bad guys. EDIT
Posted Jan 12, 2021
Blithe Spirit (2020) Wendy Ide [An] energetic but scattershot version of a property which might have been best left to rest in peace. EDIT
Posted Jan 11, 2021
The Surrogate (2020) Wendy Ide A superb central performance from Batchelor guides the audience through a film which navigates an ethical and emotional minefield, and concludes that there are no easy answers. EDIT
Posted Jan 8, 2021
Dinner in America (2020) Allan Hunter An offbeat romance served with rumbustious energy and a punk spirit. EDIT
Posted Jan 8, 2021
My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To (2020) Neil Young Colombian-American writer-director Jonathan Cuartas crafts an grimly effective little calling-card with My Heart Can't Beat Unless You Tell It To... EDIT
Posted Jan 6, 2021
The White Tiger (2021) Fionnuala Halligan Ramin Bahrani's film might appear daunting, and certainly not all its hypotheses are proven. But transforming it all into a work of cathartic entertainment is a significant achievement for the American director. EDIT
Posted Jan 5, 2021
Belushi (2020) Tim Grierson Highlighted by never-before-heard audio interviews that were part of a 2005 oral history, this polished, affecting overview is far from exhaustive but skilfully sums up Belushi's life and death. EDIT
Posted Dec 30, 2020
Lift Like a Girl (2020) Wendy Ide Although cluttered in its approach, the film is deceptively deep: covering sporting ambitions; gender roles and the motivating power of a certain kind of personality. EDIT
Posted Dec 21, 2020
Greenland (2020) Tim Grierson Delivering the apocalypse on a budget, the disaster film Greenland dramatises the end of the world with no-nonsense efficiency. EDIT
Posted Dec 19, 2020
Babenco: Tell Me When I Die (2019) Neil Young Artifice, reality and dreams blur and overlap, without quite managing to find satisfactory focus or narrative momentum. EDIT
Posted Dec 16, 2020
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) Fionnuala Halligan Early hopes of Back To The Future, an 80s film whose sequels bucked the trend, give way to a dawning sense of Wonder Woman's whip endlessly spinning out but never connecting. EDIT
Posted Dec 15, 2020
News of the World (2020) Fionnuala Halligan Hanks's stabilising believability can anchor any film, but this is a peach of a role for the actor, paired here with the German child star of The System Crasher, Helena Zengel. EDIT
Posted Dec 11, 2020
Wild Mountain Thyme (2020) Allan Hunter The much-derided accents are the least of the issues with Wild Mountain Thyme as whimsy and cliche overwhelm the more intriguing melancholy elements. EDIT
Posted Dec 9, 2020
Funny Boy (2020) Jonathan Romney It is undeniably executed with unsentimental intelligence, integrity and some bracing mischievousness. EDIT
Posted Dec 8, 2020
Under the Open Sky (2020) Wendy Ide A big, abrasive turn from Koji Yakusho is likely to be the film's key selling point. EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2020
Back to the Wharf (2020) Wendy Ide It's a solid picture which should be of interest to festival programmers looking to showcase rising talent from China, but the film's uneasy tone of morose melodrama might hamper its trajectory. EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2020
Meander (2020) Wendy Ide This high-concept sci-fi horror makes up in claustrophobic tension what it lacks in logic. EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2020
Black Light (2020) Wendy Ide A terrific performance from Yeom Hye-ran elevates the picture above the swamp of melodrama which threatens to sink it. EDIT
Posted Dec 6, 2020
Here We Are (2020) Wendy Ide A terrific performance from Yeom Hye-ran elevates the picture above the swamp of melodrama which threatens to sink it. EDIT
Posted Dec 4, 2020
Tonkatsu DJ Age-Taro (2020) Wendy Ide This amiably silly colour-popping manga adaptation is elevated by likable performances and an infectious soundtrack. EDIT
Posted Dec 4, 2020
Narciso Em Férias (2020) Allan Hunter Those in the know will relish the chance to hear the inside story, making this ideal for arts documentary channels. EDIT
Posted Dec 3, 2020
Preparations to be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (2020) Allan Hunter Lili Horvat's striking second feature is a multi-layered rumination on love, fate and the way individuals construct their own sense of reality. EDIT
Posted Dec 2, 2020
The Prom (2020) Fionnuala Halligan A confetti canon of campy cheer, Ryan Murphy's adaptation of Broadway musical The Prom is a paean to love, tolerance and the pursuit of primary colours. EDIT
Posted Dec 1, 2020
一秒钟 (2020) John Berra An emotionally satisfying celebration of how cinema is experienced both individually and collectively. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2020
Stars Await Us (2019) Wendy Ide This languid second feature from Zhang Dalei is an enigmatic mood piece which balances a tone of contemplative melancholy against firecracker bursts of violence. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2020
Strah (2020) Wendy Ide There is a genuine warmth in the connection between Svetla and Bamba. Scenes in which they talk, at cross purposes and about completely different things, somehow result in a shared and satisfying understanding. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2020
迷航 (2019) Sarah Ward Observational yet authoritative in its approach, Li's film first paints an inspiring picture, then a dispiriting one. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2020
The Dawn (2020) Wendy Ide This sometimes confounding but always fascinating drama builds considerable tension through judicious use of sound, interspersed with occasional bursts of banging techno. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2020
Baby (2020) Wendy Ide Delves into its cruelly capricious fantasy world through creative sound design, expressive performances from an all-female cast, and extensive use of fake cobwebs. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2020
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane MacGowan (2020) Jonathan Romney Crock of Gold is a riotous piece of storytelling... EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2020
Superintelligence (2020) Stephen Whitty It's a strange and not very appealing mashup of two mismatched genres - as if the mad scientist of The Fly mixed the molecules of Colossus: The Forbin Project and Sleepless In Seattle and then simply walked away. EDIT
Posted Nov 26, 2020
The Last Ones (2020) Wendy Ide Vividly conveys a sense of place and of a faltering way of life. EDIT
Posted Nov 25, 2020
() Nikki Baughan A nuanced central performance from Gregoire Colin and sensitive, accessible direction from Martirosyan should see it connect with discerning audiences... EDIT
Posted Nov 25, 2020
Radiograph of a Family (2020) Jonathan Romney Inventive and revealing... EDIT
Posted Nov 24, 2020
Câmp de Maci (2020) Wendy Ide After a hesitant start, this adept first feature quickly gathers momentum, delivering a knotty portrait of a man who, like the culture in which he lives, is still wrestling with the very idea of homosexuality. EDIT
Posted Nov 24, 2020
La Vida Dormida (2020) Allan Hunter A thoughtful, intensely personal documentary. EDIT
Posted Nov 23, 2020
() Wendy Ide It could all feel a bit like an issue checklist, but the picture's loose-limbed swagger and readiness to take risks keeps the energy level high. EDIT
Posted Nov 23, 2020
Black Beauty (2020) Fionnuala Halligan Taken on its own, precision-targeted, terms, this Disney + release hits the marks for old-fashioned family entertainment... EDIT
Posted Nov 23, 2020
Inside the Red Brick Wall (2020) Jonathan Romney Setting a new standard for immediacy and intensity in current affairs reportage, Inside the Red Brick Wall is a vividly powerful account of the November 2019 siege of Hong Kong's Polytechnic University... EDIT
Posted Nov 23, 2020
She Had a Dream (2020) Allan Hunter Binous' determination to be an agent of change lends the film an engaging, upbeat energy that enhances its appeal... EDIT
Posted Nov 23, 2020
The Penultimate (2020) Wendy Ide A striking first feature steeped in allegory, dust and despair, The Penultimate brings a blend of absurdity and theatricality to a stylised tale of humanity unravelling. EDIT
Posted Nov 23, 2020
Pilsata pi upis (2020) Wendy Ide Like its mild-mannered but principled protagonist, the film asserts its independence through artistic choices. EDIT
Posted Nov 20, 2020
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) Fionnuala Halligan Ma Rainey feels fresh as a film. It may be a parable, but that's for the viewer to come to understand: the gift of those monologues isn't to hector but to highlight. EDIT
Posted Nov 20, 2020
White Noise (2020) Wendy Ide It's not a pleasant watch - at times it feels as though Lombroso's fly on the wall approach is gradually peeling off the bandages on a gangrenous wound. But it's important and timely. EDIT
Posted Nov 20, 2020
Apenas El Sol (2020) Allan Hunter Offers a moving requiem for uprooted communities with no possibility of reclaiming the life they once cherished. EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
Modell Olimpia (2020) Wendy Ide Thematically it may be tough, but it is impressive as a showcase for Hambalek's assurance as a filmmaker, and should find further interest on the festival circuit. EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
Landfall (2020) Allan Hunter Cecilia Aldarondo's intelligent, insightful documentary captures how a natural disaster served to expose the man-made troubles that have blighted the island down the centuries. EDIT
Posted Nov 19, 2020
The Last Hillbilly (2020) Jonathan Romney The viewer ultimately feels not quite immersed in the world depicted here: it's a good place to visit, but the trip could have taken us a little deeper. EDIT
Posted Nov 18, 2020