My Wonderful Wanda is a family drama, taking place almost entirely in one house. The titular Wanda is the Polish carer for elderly German patriarch Josef, as he recovers from a stroke. With shades of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, a bond develops between the two in this intimate setting that has far reaching…
Spring Tide is a portrait of the quiet psychological war of one family. Three generations of women live in one flat. The grandmother is a relentless hammer on the mother, irritated by her mere presence, emotionally abusive and spiteful for any perceived slight. The mother has grown silent through years of experience, knowing that engaging…
In The Shadows is an old-school dystopia, like, 19th century dystopia. The central character is one of a community of miners, who live and work in the ravine of this quarry where the mine and its processing plant stands. Their entire life is focused on toil in this difficult and back-breaking work, for which they…
What an epic! A family drama, a coming-of-age, this film is just packed. It focuses on Dolly, a frustrated housewife, and her cousin Kaajal, who is more like a sister to her. But this film spills out in a hundred directions, taking in storylines with Dolly’s mother and kids, Kaajal’s friends and lovers. Yet it…
From the director of Wadjda comes a story about a doctor standing in local elections in order to improve health facilities. The problem? She’s a woman and this is Saudi Arabia. Another inspiring story about the power of insisting upon your own worth, that your voice deserves to be heard.
A surprisingly funny film about a Tibetan family dealing with the Chinese One Child policy. There is such warmth in this happy little family. They are sheep farmers, the grandfather, parents and kids all living under one roof. A lot of the humour comes from the fact this is obviously a very traditionally conservative culture,…
This cements for me the opinion that religion should not be forced on children. The main character is a disco-dancing champion and lead attraction in the ‘cool church’ run by her stepfather. They clearly know what they have in her as a sales tool – she’s young, she’s beautiful, she’s sexy, she’s fit, and yet…
Marona’s Fantastic Tale is a beautiful animated film about a wee dog telling the story of her life and all the owners she’s had. The message is be happy with all you have, instead of always wanting life to change. Love like a dog.
What is it about us that we need to make men into monsters? Moffie is about a guy joining and fighting in the Aparteid South Africa army. A less sympathetic subject you’d be pressed to find. It may make a difference that he’s a 16-year-old conscript who’s secretly gay. That’s what Moffie means, it’s the…
The premise of this film will be familiar to anyone who has given even a passing thought to ending their own life. Like, why isn’t there an app for this? Wouldn’t it be better if there was a service you could go to, say, “I wanna end my life”, and they handled the rest. It…