VIVARIUM
As cinemas are now closed across the country due to the current climate, distributors are now releasing their films via Digital Download. Lorcan Finnegan’s intriguing, weird and highly original film follows the story of Gemma (Imogen Poots) and Tom (Jesse Eisenberg), a young couple in search of a new home. They stumble into Martin (Jonathan Aris), an eccentric estate agent who drives them into a suburban neighbourhood named Yonder, where every house is identical with strange shaped clouds in the sky. Martin suddenly disappears while Gemma and Tom find themselves trapped in a labyrinthine maze with no escape. And to make things worse one day they discover a baby on the pavement…
It is a gripping film, superbly acted and directed. Garrot Shanley’s screenplay demands attention from its opening sequences and doesn’t let go until the nightmarish climax. Poots and Eisenberg work well together and share a winning chemistry as the loving couple whose increasing paranoia pushes them over the edge.
Director Lorcan Finnegan has created a unique, creepy world perfectly complimented by Philip Murphy’s memorable and distinct designs. I can’t wait to see what Finnegan does next – a new talent to be treasured! (Vertigo Releasing and Wildcard Distribution)
THE PERFECT CANDIDATE
Haifaa Al Mansour, the director of this highly impressive WADJIDA, delivers another sensitive and beautifully observed drama, which highlights the absurdity of life in Saudi Arabia especially in regard to the treatment of women. Maryam (Mila Alzahrani) is a hardworking doctor working in a small town clinic with hopes of becoming a mayor, especially after she is stopped from travelling to Dubai for a better life…
Mansour’s assured film benefits tremendously from Alzahrani’s striking presence and elegant performance. Maryam is a wonderful character – an intelligent woman facing opposition and rejection on daily basis from colleagues and patients alike. But her determination to win the local elections against the odds is truly remarkable and inspiring. (Curzon Home Cinema, BFI Player, Modern Films)
SYSTEM CRASHER
Helena Zengel delivers a wild, uncompromising performance as the young protagonist in Nora Fingscheidt’s impressive, powerful drama set in modern day Germany.
9–year-old Benni is expelled from school and from every child protection facility she is sent to. Benni is desperate to re-connect with her mother but she wants nothing to do with her daughter, which makes Benni even more aggressive. Her dangerous behaviour resembles a caged wild animal ready to kill and her attitude is feared by anyone, who attempts to get anywhere near her…
Zengel is phenomenal as the untamed child under Fingsxheidt’s assured, controlled direction. (VOD with Curzon Home Cinema)
THE REST OF US
It is good to see Heather Graham in a rare leading role in this likable drama directed by Aisling Chin-Yee, who makes an assured feature film debut. The fragile relationship between Canni (Graham) and her moody teenage daughter Aster (Sophie Nelisse) is made worse following the sudden death of Canni’s estranged husband. At the funeral Canni and Aster get to know the deceased man’s second wife Rachel (Jodi Balfour) and young daughter Tallulah (Abigail Pniowsky), who are now facing a huge financial crisis. Without a second thought Canni invites them to move into her large house despite Aster’s protests…
It is careful study of women’s solidarity during difficult times eloquently written and gracefully performed. (iTunes, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sky Store, Virgin Media)
END OF THE CENTURY
A highly original, tender love story from Lucio Castro, who makes a remarkable directorial feature film debut. He sets the action of his film in Barcelona and follows the story of Ocho (Juan Barberini), an Argentine poet on holiday, whose casual encounter with Javi (Ramon Pujol) leads to a passionate relationship that spans through the years…
It is cleverly constructed playing with time, unpredictable and highly engaging with committed performances from its two protagonists both at ease with masses of dialogue shot in long takes and in explicit sex scenes. (VOD and DVD from Peccadillo Pictures)
KILLS ON WHEELS
An enjoyable dark comedy from Hungary about a gang of wheelchair bound assassins led by Rupasov, a mysterious, ruthless man just released from prison. He soon takes under his wing inseparable friends Zoli and Barba, who despite their disability they agree to assist Rupasov’s murder assignments in exchange for money…
It is action packed, occasionally very violent and with a clever twist towards the end. It is also very dark and funny unlike anything you’ve ever seen. (DVD and Blu-ray from Eureka)
WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?
Liz Garbus’s terrific documentary on the life and work of the legendary Nina Simone is a must for any music lover. Even though Nina was classically trained from early childhood she was turned down by music schools but she soon defied expectations and became one of the most exciting and innovative talents to hit the stage. During the sixties she contributed immensely to the Civil Rights movement with her songs and free expression of speech. However, her personal life was not as successful – her daughter Lisa Simone Kelly, who also acts as one of the producers, talks about her own childhood with a violent father towards her mother. But Nina had also her own personal demons to exorcise leaving behind America for a life in Liberia before she moved to Europe.
A compelling film of a phenomenal talent definitely worth catching! (Netflix)
George Savvides
