The first film to tackle the Chernobyl disaster, Mykhailo Belikov’s Decay is a fascinating historical document and a gripping work of poetic disaster cinema.
Decay. Peak Perestroika.
Redmond Bacon
Redmond is the editor-in-chief of Journey Into Cinema.
The Wry Pleasures of Everything Else Is Noise
Nicolás Pereda’s minimalist chamberpiece Everything Else is Noise is at once a slyly pleasurable arthouse experience and a finely-attuned family comedy-drama.
Home Can’t Find Where the Art Is
The well-meaning Yugo-Danish drama Home offers a nuanced portrait of migration and integration, but never really takes off dramatically.
Freeze Frames
A broken fridge-freezer becomes a metaphor for the breakdown of a family — and perhaps society itself — in uneven comedy Complaint No. 713317.
Why Do I See Hybrids In Everything?
Why Do I See You in Everything? surveys the notion of home amid living in exile, but feels unfocussed while tending towards the tedious.
White Lies. Painful Truths.
Bright Future entry White Lies is a remarkable non-fiction debut about the lingering effects of living in a cult upon an ordinary Italian family.
Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems. A Charming Cosy Mystery.
Conrad & Crab – Idiotic Gems by Claude Schmitz is a cosy French mystery movie that scratched an itch I didn’t even know I had. Sequels please!
Love is Art in Tell Me What You Feel
Despite, or perhaps because of, its cringe characters, Tell Me What You Feel is a heartfelt exploration of whether art and love can really understand trauma.
Butterfly Leaves No Effect
Sentimental Value star Renate Reinsve returns in a much more forgettable drama: the absolutely dire Gran Canaria set comedy-drama Butterfly.
Lesbians Forever!
Barbara Forever is a loving tribute to the life and work of Barbara Hammer that excellently shows how she paved the way for many queer filmmakers to come.