FILM OF THE WEEK

IF ONLY I COULD HIBERNATE

This highly original, multi award winning film was premiered at last October’s London Film Festival and marks the impressive feature film debut of writer/director Zoljargal Purevdash. She became the first Mongolian director when she was selected in the Un Certain Regard section at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Her sharp, well observed screenplay follows the story of Ulzii (Battsooj Uurtsaikh), an intelligent teenager from a poor neighbourhood in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He is determined to get a scholarship by winning a physics competition, but his plans are put on hold when his illiterate mother finds employment far from home. Ulzii is left at home and is expected to look after his younger siblings all alone during the harsh winter…
It is a lovely, tender film about a young boy’s determination to succeed despite his humble origins and against the odds. Purevdash’s assured, sensitive direction elicits natural performances from her non-professional cast especially from Uurtsaikh, as her smart but vulnerable protagonist.
It is unlike anything you’ve seen before and its charm is simply irresistible – in similar fashion to last year’s Oscar nominated LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM, which was made in Bhutan. It is a joyful film from a promising young director and is very much worth seeking out.

SWEDE CAROLINE

This silly British Mockumentary by Finn Bruce and Brook Driver enters the dangerous, back biting world of competitive giant vegetable growing. Caroline (Jo Hartley) is determined to win this year contest until she finds out that her marrow plants are stolen…
It is a fun premise not dissimilar to the Nick Park’s deliciously funny clay animated feature THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT. Some of the gags are hit and miss but the enjoyable performances – not only from Hartley as the eponymous heroine but also from Fay Ripley and Aisling Bea – make up for it.

BEYOND THE RAGING SEA

Omar Nour and Omar Samra, two Egyptian extreme athletes share their thrilling survival story with acclaimed documentarist Marco Orsini. The two athletes are lured by the Talisker Atlantic Challenge and after two years of intense training they embark on the World’s Toughest Row-3,000 miles across the Atlantic…
It is a miracle that these two incredibly brave men have survived and are now able to tell their story in every single detail. They are good storytellers but most importantly they want to make people aware of the immense dangers that refugees are confronted while crossing the Mediterranean Sea in small boats. These unfortunate displaced people have no alternative in making these life threatening decisions, unlike these two athletes, who choose to cross the Atlantic on their own free will.

ROAD HOUSE

The original 1989 movie, which was nominated for five Razzie Awards, was a showcase for Patrick Swayze’s talents following his extreme popularity from DIRTY DANCING. But the original producer Joel Silver, despite his Razzie nomination, refuses to accept defeat and remakes this old horse and now under Doug Liman’s slick direction, Jake Gyllenhaal becomes Dalton, the fearless bouncer hired to clean up the Florida Keys roadhouse.
Gyllenhaal is a strong presence and is suitably moody as the former UFC (Ultimate Fighter Champion), while the unstoppable flashy action sequences are way over the top in a typically Joel Silver fashion. But at least Liman’s controlled direction and well-choreographed set pieces make this quite watchable. (Prime Video)

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE

The original GHOSTBUSTERS was one of the most successful blockbusters from the eighties, which also sprung a sequel and a remake with an all-female cast. So far so good, but the producers’ decision to reboot the franchise with GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE a couple of years ago was utterly catastrophic.
The prologue of this lame sequel takes place in July 1904 when New York City Fire Department firefighters find people frozen to death. Fast forward to the present day and the Spengler family joins forces with past veteran ghostbusters in order to save the world for yet one more time…
The over tired franchise looks pointless and redundant by now!

PETER DOHERTY: STRANGER IN MY OWN SKIN

Katia de Vidas’ fascinating documentary paints an intimate portrait on the turbulent life and career of Peter Doherty, the talented punk singer-songwriter, who most famously fronted the Libertines. Vidas, who followed Doherty over a period of ten years, is a first-hand witness to this multitalented man’s highs as well as very lows, especially during those dark years of addiction, where his life appeared to be on the precipice to the abyss.
It is an honest film in which Doherty speaks openly about his inner demons at the time when it seemed almost impossible to come back into the light. But he is also a true survivor and has the ability of reinventing himself in the most unexpected circumstances.

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