THE FATHER
Florian Zeller originally wrote this as a stage play, which was adapted by Christopher Hampton, and was one of the most acclaimed productions in the West End and on Broadway of recent years. Kenneth Graham won every award going in the UK and Frank Langella won the Tony in New York. Now Zeller and Hampton transport their claustrophobic play about dementia to the big screen with much ease and imagination.
Anthony Hopkins is the perfect casting and under Zeller’s direction he delivers a spellbinding performance as the eponymous hero. He plays Anthony, a fiercely independent man who refuses any assistance from his daughter Anne (Olivia Colman). She needs to make some changes before she moves to Paris with her partner, but her father is adamant to remain all alone without any care in his apartment…
It is a deceptively simple premise about ageing and losing one’s mind, but the story is told with such sensitivity and depth that will move even the coldest of hearts. Hopkins is phenomenal giving his best performance since probably THE REMAINS OF THE DAY and is a worthy winner of his second Oscar, while Colman is simply magnetic as his long-suffering daughter.
The staging reminded me of Roman Polanski’s REPULSION, even though that was a totally different genre. A magnificent cinematic experience!
KALA AZAR
A Greek film, co-produced with The Netherlands, written and directed by visual artist Janis Rafa (Rafailidou), who makes a striking feature film debut. She sets the action of her intriguing film in a desolate landscape, where a young couple spend their time driving across the country collecting dead animals for cremation. They also visit people who lost their pets and perform death rituals to ease their pain…
A highly original and bizarre film, whose title refers to a mortal canine disease. Penelope Tsilika and Dimitris Lalos work brilliantly together as the symbiotic couple, whose work for the crematorium makes them question their own existence.
Rafa directs with assurance and shoots many scenes through obstacles, whether they are car windows, tree leaves or grass and her perfectly framed compositions are simply a work of art. (MUBI)
ME MYSELF AND DI
This nostalgic comedy tells the story of Janet (Katy Clayton), a 30-year-old virgin from Bolton, who cannot believe her luck when she wins a free trip to a North Wales holiday camp. The problem is that no one wants to go with her until her best friend Diana (Lucy Pinder) reluctantly agrees to accompany her….
The film works thanks to Clayton’s lovely and fresh performance which reminded me of Toni Colette in her breakthrough role in MURIEL’S WEDDING. The rest of the characters are verging on the stereotypical, similar to a CARRY ON film, but thankfully Clayton’s energy and love for “Bollywood” is infectious!
SHIVA BABY
An assured debut from writer/director Emma Seligman, who tells the story of free-spirited college student Danielle (Rachel Sennott). She reluctantly agrees to attend a shiva to please her parents, but during this Jewish day of mourning Danielle has a few embarrassing encounters especially when her supposedly single lover arrives with his wife and new-born baby…
It feels authentic and real and is probably drawn from Seligman’s own experiences. Her enjoyable comedy benefits tremendously from Sennott’s engaging performance! (MUBI)
RUNNING AGAINST THE WIND
An ambitious project from director Jen Phillip Wehl, who sets his action in Ethiopia and follows the story of two twelve-year-old boys who grow up together in a remote rural village. They are inseparable and support each other throughout their childhood but when they become adults Solomon (Mikivas Wolde) goes to the capital Addis Ababa with dreams of becoming a photographer, while Abdi (Ashenafi Nigusu) remains at home and begins to train as a long-distance runner…
A powerful film, perhaps a touch too long, which examines the unbreakable bond of friendship despite the circumstances. It is good to see a film boasting strong production values filmed entirely in Ethiopia! (Eureka Entertainment)
ELLIE & ABBIE (AND ELLIE’S DEAD AUNT)
An eccentric comedy from Australia by Monica Zanetti, who writes and directs this likeable coming of age story. Ellie (Sophie Hawkshaw) falls for her classmate Abbie (Zoe Terakes) and after she comes out to her mum (Marta Dusseldorp) things take an unexpected turn; her dead aunt Tara (Julia Billington), a lesbian activist, comes out of thin air and insists of being Ellie’s fairy godmother…
The main premise may be familiar, like the recent THE PROM for example, but Zanetti creates endearing characters worth rooting for.
THE HANDS OF ORLAC
Celebrated German Expressionist director Robert Wiene had a huge international success with his silent classic THE CABINET OF DR CALIGARI, which was made in 1920 and turned the magnificent actor Conrad Veidt into a global star. Their winning collaboration continues with this compelling medical horror thriller based on Maurice Barnard’s ground-breaking novel, which tells the story of Paul Orlac, a concert pianist, who loses his hands following a catastrophic train crash but is given a new pair that once belonged to an executed murderer….
Veidt is an expert in conveying paranoia and this tailor-made tale is superbly directed aided by amazing designs. (Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment)
THE AMUSEMENT PARK: A strange project for George A. Romero, who was commissioned by the Lutheran Society to highlight the pains and humiliations of the elderly in America of the early seventies. An old man finds himself in an amusement park and feels totally isolated amongst a crowd of totally indifferent people…
Like an episode of “The Twilight Zone” perhaps – a real collector’s item! (SHUDDER)
