Reviews

Director Iciar Bollain has the rare ability of creating deeply affecting and emotional films without ever even remotely slipping into melodrama or sentimentality. Perhaps this is to some extent due to her unshakeable sense of social justice, which has also always been a fundamental element in other films by her that I've watched.

This film starts as a simple enough story of a young idealistic Catalan teacher in Kathmandu in the 90s, attempting to set up a school for poor and disadvantaged children. Without ever losing sight of the central narrative, the film becomes increasingly complex, exploring related storylines, when her friendships deepen and she forms relationships, coming up against the traditional values and restrictions of a society very different from her own. It could hardly be better balanced and keeps gaining in intensity.

Veronica Echegui in the central role truly shines, variously and totally convincingly expressing commitment, love, frustration, anger, joy and grief. Around her are numerous, extremely well acted and rounded characters, quite a few of whom I suppose not to be professional actors. Every scene just breathes authenticity. The urban as well as remote mountain locations are extremely well chosen and and sensitively balanced, showing some of the extreme poverty, as well as astounding beauty of Nepal.

Iciar Bollain has directed two other of my favourite films, 'Even the Rain' and 'The Olive Tree'. I also recommend them both highly.

Just why, o why, do powerful films like this not reach a wider audience here.

This film is so very much better than its rating here suggests. It is quite minimalist - at its centre is one human being stuck on an empty road junction in the middle of the Namibian desert, waiting for a lift - for many days! The film shows movingly and convincingly what happens to him as time passes. But don't be mislead here - it is not a grim film, quite the opposite; I found it deeply life affirming. Tom Sturridge as the central character is phenomenally good in this and held me spellbound. The cinematography is fabulous and shifts from spectacular landscapes to intimate detail seamlessly and effectively. The soundtrack is odd, often massively orchestral, but felt surprisingly fitting. The centre of the film is bookended by a beginning and an end in 'civilisation' with some very very memorable characters. And the very last scene is simply superb. It is mostly a slow, lingering film, but if that doesn't put you off, it is highly rewarding on many levels.

This one really got under my skin! A strange and powerful film, in parts emotionally quite dark and hard to watch, but well, well worth it. What a story. And outstanding cinematography and beautiful Iighting. And the central performance by Mark Rylance is just spectacular.

I completely fail to see why this film has such low reviews, unless many reviewers were put of by the fact that this is simply not mainstream fare. Or perhaps they wanted to see more of Johnny Depp.

In my opinion, it is an almost perfect movie, that took me quite by surprise and is deeply humane and challenging.

Give it a go!

I wish I could give this movie a higher rating - lavish production design make it look utterly gorgeous; it is an important layered story beautifully told and features an outstanding ensemble cast delivering a superb script. Unfortunately, it is almost ruined by a sickeningly cloying soundtrack, telling us at every moment how to feel and occasionally so loud that some dialogue is almost buried under it. Other viewers might not be so sensitive to overbearing, sentimental string arrangements, but, for me, it spoiled an otherwise excellent movie. Still well worth watching, though.

This is the first Bond movie in a LONG time that really had me engaged. The last one I enjoyed was Daniel Craig's first appearance in 'Casino Royale'; it was so enjoyable because with Craig a very different, a new, a much 'darker' Bond appeared. The films that came after, were mostly forgettable; I really struggle to keep the storylines apart, they all seem to be pretty much the same, boring rehash of tried and tested tales. 'No Time To Die' shifts gear again and some really novel ideas are being presented. From the countless negative reviews here on IMDB, I can only assume that many viewers didn't want that, but hoped to be fed the same tired old mush again. What a pity. This is not a masterpiece and certainly not directed by Tarkovsky, but within the limits of over-the-top, escapist action entertainment, blended with a good helping of romance and sentiment, this one really hit all the right marks for me. Not to mention the great resolution of how to deal with the problem of Craig leaving the franchise. And it's got to be said that the all but too short appearance of Ana de Armas as Paloma is a brilliantly measured and very funny supporting role that I hope will be revisited in future instalments.

What an astounding film! A grim and difficult subject - the disappearance of a child - told with such simplicity and extraordinary warmth and care. Every image of this movie breathes authenticity and avoids all the pitfalls of sensationalising and dramatising the story. No Hollywood here, no sentimentality, just deeply felt compassion and flawless attention to life on the streets of India.. Rarely have I felt a movie to be so real and humane. A great achievement and a film that will stay with me for a very long time.

This film deserves a much, much wider audience.

Ahh, now, here is an exceptionally bad film, I mean REALLY BAD. One of those so bad they're almost good again. Grim, tough men (and a plucky woman) and dastardly villains just doing ridiculous things in very big trucks against impossible odds in an icy landscape. Oh, and a rat (saving a life). Dreadful acting & preposterous story line (even by 'action movie' standards). I had thought that Liam Neeson had reached the low point of his rather checkered career with the 'Taken' franchise some years ago, but I was wrong. Is there an Oscar category for 'most inept movie'? The perfect film to be consumed with popcorn when you really don't want to have to think or feel.

(Warning: You might temporarily feel lobotomised).

This wonderful, slow and gentle film offers much more than mere words can say - it breathes and comes to life in the spaces between. Nothing happens and yet I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. An atmospheric, deeply felt reflection on memory, identity, ageing and loss - and a beautifully understated glimpse into what the future may hold.

Throughout the film a sense of longing and the difficulty of letting go. But perhaps also a film about healing.

Great performances all round (especially Lois Smith), seemingly simple and effortless but richly rewarding visuals and a perfect soundtrack.

Definitely not for the impatient or those seeking excitement. I came away from it breathing slower and deeper. A real gem.

A deceptively simple film that deeply probes into the meaning of 'home' and 'exile' - both literally as well as emotionally. A wonderful exploration of 'belonging' and 'longing'. I have rarely seen a movie where joy and sadness sit so finely balanced together. Set in a stunningly beautiful location, its real beauty lies in the depiction of the genuine warmth, kindness, mutual respect and general goodness of the villagers bringing about the gentle transformation of the teacher. Long may these communities continue, they may just have the answers to the questions that so many of us don't even know how to ask anymore. The role of Pem Zam, the young class captain, is inspired casting - the girl just shines! A film to truly warm you where it matters. (Thank you to the WOW Festival 2021 for screening this)

Unless you are completely hooked on Hollywood blockbusters, do yourself a favour and watch this movie. With a fraction of a fraction of the budget of a Hollywood movie, this gem managed to totally captivate me throughout. It introduced me to a part of our planet I know almost nothing about. It is elegiac, but also hopeful. It increasingly made me feel deep empathy for its central character, without him ever saying much. It features outstanding cinematography (the collection of candlelight scenes during the power-cut radiate enormous warmth and humanity) and a most surprising soundtrack. And the last five minutes are some of the best I ever watched in a movie. What more could one want ! (Thank you to the WOW Festival 2021 for screening this)

Breathtaking, beautifully filmed docu-drama, almost ruined by a ridiculous, totally inappropriate soundtrack. Still, I highly recommend it, it's a great story and just wonderful to look at, but do turn the volume down (as it is in Kazakh, most of us will be reading the subtitles in any case)

This movie sets a new record in brainless entertainment, it really does. It is just so utterly and exaggeratedly implausible that it doesn't justify any detailed review. It would have been entertaining to watch if it had managed to make a little fun of itself and inject an element of humour, but unfortunately it takes itself extremely seriously and is just one of many in the endless series of ultra-patriotic American movies. In line with its own ridiculous storyline, I wonder if it was actually written and directed by a computer.... But it is full of fast-paced action and an awful lot of material destruction (not to mention the high number of casualties) and if that's all you're looking for, then this might just be the movie for you.

This movie is extraordinarily inflated and emotionally manipulative. Even by the standards of the romantic-adventure-action genre it just doesn't work, trying far too hard to also bring in social and political messages, but being quite devoid of any integrity. Syrupy even where it should be grim. Cardboard characters. And even the set-pieces and awesome landscapes are just too over the top. It left me feeling somewhat nauseous, like having eaten a whole box of chocolates in one go - just too much sugar. I sat through it, but only just.

Near the end of the film, this line: "We are surrounded by ghosts. Now we must learn to live with them." It all but sums up what moved me deeply in this extraordinary account of love, war, loss and regeneration. This almost flawless film strikes straight to the heart and, for once, I found its intense emotionality not cloying or manipulative, but appropriate. Outstanding acting and sublime cinematography throughout. To point out its few little flaws would be ungracious and quite irrelevant. Given its subject matter, one would have to be made of stone not to weep through some of it; at times it felt almost unbearable to watch, but watch it, I feel, one must.

This is an extraordinarily bad film by any standard. I DO like the occasional over-the-top comic book fantasy, but this is just a mindless hodgepodge of hot air. Relentless and indulgent CGI, dreadful acting, the most laughable dialogue coupled with an inflated soundtrack and a hopelessly idiotic and disjointed storyline DO NOT make a watchable movie. Vacuous, noisy and utterly pointless. Save your popcorn for something else. Truly Much Ado About Nothing, Mr. Branagh - but certainly not by Shakespeare.

Be careful - this film might just break your heart ! It took me a while to warm to this, totally unspectacular and unpolished as it first appears. It just observes a family's interactions as the mother is slowly dying from cancer, with the focus on the young gay son who has come back home to help look after her. At times it feels hardly like a 'movie', there is such a sense of simple observation. There were moments where it almost seemed to be a documentary and I felt like I was eavesdropping on a real family's real pain and grief. Increasingly I became aware of the film being rich with ever-so-subtle elements, easily missed, gradually deepening an atmosphere of great authenticity. It is a sad film, but also (astonishingly) with a wonderful sense of wry humour and real warmth. A million miles away from Hollywood, this gem could be easily overlooked. Don't !

This is the kind of film for which cinema was invented ! Probably made on a tiny budget, it looks utterly beautiful, tells a simple story in a poetic way and moves deeply. It oozes atmosphere and doesn't take a single wrong step. I can't recommend it highly enough!

There was a time when Pedro Almodovar made films worth watching - this isn't one of them ! It doesn't work on any level - not as a drama, not as a comedy and not even as the farce as which it had been clearly intended. It is just a very sorry mishmash of meaningless scenes inflated with an inordinate amount of, quite idiotic, talk about sex.

Can I say anything good abut this film at all? Well, visually, as with all Almodovar films, it looks excellent, a great sense of colour in the way of cheap fairground sweets, and gorgeously stylised sets. And yes, the musical "I'm so excited" performance by the flight attendants is good fun (if not entirely original). But that is simply not enough to make a film worth watching. I came away feeling extremely disappointed, really just like I used to feel as a child after the ingestion of tempting-looking candyfloss on the fairground - a brief sugar hit, but one that leaves you feeling hollow and hungry. What a waste !

Do not waste a minute of your time on this. It is a truly awful film by any standard. It tries so hard to be funny, different, clever and over-the-top, but it just fails and fails and fails.... Please change your drugs, Mr. Russell. It does not even deserve the time it took to write this short review. Enough!

And now IMDb tell me that a review must contain at least 10 lines. That's a bit like the film itself, then - nothing there, really, just a lot of noise and spectacle stretched out for no good reason at all. And, no doubt, a lot of people got paid a lot of money for it - a shame.

Dear Woody Allen

Do you remember "Bananas"in 1971? I reckon that was perhaps your last film to offer at least some entertainment and a few laughs.

Your offering here is beyond embarrassing. Just why, why, why did you feel a need to make this film? It is not funny, it does not entertain, there are no insights, it has no depth, it shows us nothing we have not seen many times before, it mostly doesn't even look good, despite being set in great Barcelona. It is not a comedy, it is not a drama, but it surely is the most lazy piece of film-making I had the misfortune to watch in a long time. And the voice-over is so incessant that one is almost surprised that you have managed to fit in the occasional actual dialogue and movie 'scene'. If you really need this much voice-over to tell your story (well, what banal story there is), perhaps you would be better served trying a radio-play next time - or perhaps only one angle directly on you just reading the script straight to camera. Having said that, there is the odd moment in the arguments between semi-exes Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem when the air just crackles - I suspect this has little to do with your direction or script, but is an indication of what fantastic actor and actress they can be. It puzzles me that you still manage to attract such gifted people to your puny projects. As it is, this film is utterly hollow and simply cringe-worthy.

Please do us all a favour and retire from film-making soon, surely you don't need the money anymore and I certainly can't see that you feel driven as an 'artist'. Listen to your therapist, go on a cruise, take a girl somewhere, drink a long, long cocktail, but spare us your puerile, pubescent and badly made fantasies. Yes, I know, there is always an off-switch; I shall use it from now on when it comes to your movies.

Been looking forward to this film for some time, having previously much enjoyed some other Lasse Hallstrom movies (especially 'My Life as a Dog', 'The Shipping News','The Ciderhouse Rules', even 'Casanova'). I certainly didn't expect anything profound, challenging or deeply engaging, but I was hoping for a good comedy, perhaps sharp and warm at the same time. But this was just an utter disappointment - or perhaps I am just getting fed-up with movie-making 'by numbers'. This film is not offensive, but it really doesn't do anything other than 'kill time'. The story is utterly predictable, the acting is wooden and emotionally totally unconvincing, the soundtrack is tired, the cinematography uninspired. It seems like everyone involved in this bit of feel-good fluff was just plain bored - so, by and large, the result, unfortunately, is just plain boring, too. One cannot help but wonder why they even bothered making this film, I could venture a guess, but, then, I don't want to be cynical... There is one exception: Kristin Scott-Thomas injects a much needed note of over the top humour and is always worth watching - thank you so much for that.