A zombie allegory for the release of political and paramilitary prisoners and their reintegration back into their community after the end of The Troubles. To hammer it home, the zombie virus is called the Maze virus (Maze Prison, Maze virus, gedit?) It’s one of those films where I actually would have preferred to read as…
An Australian film about a black guy who shoots a white guy in self-defence. And if a story starts like that, you know how it’s gonna end. Visually, this film conveys the awe of the Australian landscape, following Sam as he goes on the run. Despite the fact he could kill his pursuers numerous times,…
A film about a girl that gets sent to live with her relatives in rural Iceland. And that’s about it.
A film about homelessness and parenthood. A woman tries to provide what life she can for her son while they flit between motel and squat, selling fighting cocks with her violent boyfriend. What I liked about this was its portrayal of neglect and abuse as not necessarily the product of people but of the practicalities…
A love story set among the Parisian branch of Act Up, the AIDS activism group. It has a very naturalistic style to it. It is the first time I’ve seen a political activism meeting look like a real political activism meeting, boring and with agendas and petty bickering and menial practicalities and clash of personalities.…
A British Mean Girls with no jokes. Played straight down the line, this is a tale of female loneliness. With echoes of the start of Carrie, this is a film about the outsider, what it’s like to be permanently locked out of the society the rest of us seem to share in with ease. It’s…
A film which starts out a Kafkaesque drama about an early coloniser of South America trying to get sent back home to Spain, and then descends into the Heart of Darkness, searching for a mythical Kurtz figure called Vicuna Porto. The sound and visuals in this film are great, really giving off a sweat and…
A documentary about the refugee crisis and its media coverage. Really difficult in places, had me in tears, watching people desperately trying to throw their children across police lines, lifting them up and on to trains, trying in any way to save them. This is juxtaposed with the omnipresent media contingent, who maintain an invisibility…
A movie about a Chilean woman whose partner dies suddenly and who is forbidden from his funeral because his first family are a bunch of transphobic cunts. This movie is visually beautiful and the music is great. One thing I liked is that Marina is full of a quiet inner strength. She is neither a…
A beautiful, vibrant, colourful documentary on the armed conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I didn’t realise this, but a lot of these rebellions are just a grift for soldiers to raise their wages. If you’re sick of shit at your work, you go, “I want a raise or I’m leaving”. In the army,…