David Parkinson

Sokurov's use of space, religious symbolism and raw emotion compensate for any sense of exclusion.

Chekhov is notoriously difficult to film and this adaptation boldly taps into the play's mordant wit. But the fidgety and over-emphatic visuals detract from the themes and the stellar performances.

Laurent's brushstrokes always feel a little too broad to capture the finer details of the legendary New Wavers, but some fascinating archive footage saves his documentary from missing the mark altogether.

Dated even at the time of release this nevertheless has a comic performance from Walter Matthau worth catching.

With its bestial themes, conceptual humour and cartoonish thespians, this consciously arch farce will intrigue some and infuriate others.

Despite Hitchcock's own reservations this is definitely worth a look. Interesting to his aficionados and darkly funny and depressing in turns.

Despite the striking photography, this fascinating denunciation of 150 years of persecution and oppression lacks Guzmán's customary trenchancy and restraint.

A gruelling watch and a searing indictment of America's disregard for its indigenous peoples.

Rising to the challenge of doing something new(ish) with an overworked sub-genre, this may not be particularly scary or funny. But it belies its modest budget to splatter to knowing effect.

While strong on establishment prejudice, the coverage of clashing egos and agendas isn’t always incisive.

A lengthy, visually impressive period piece with little in the way of new material or fresh spins on history to distinguish it.

If not quite on the level of Garbus's terrific Bobby Fischer documentary, this still filled with fond recollections of Mazza's life and career. Fans will relish it.

Charming but uneven, director Améris's film doesn't know whether to make us laugh or cry, and ends up doing neither. Still, a smart script offers plenty to keep incurable romantics happy.

Dated and a little clunky but with a few moving performances from the leads.

A gently moving film that's always thought-provoking if at times a little slow going.

If Cassavetes' hipster cine-language has lost a little of its age and the innovative improv style won't be for everyone, the themes he tackles, riffed by a masterful group of actors, remain enthralling.

Bahman Ghobadi can’t be faulted for showcasing so many bands, and the mix is wonderfully eclectic, but the linking episodes aren’t always riveting.

Not Garbo's greatest but it has a curious charm.

Ünel and the debuting Kekilli are as impressive as Akin’s atmospheric snapshots of Hamburg and Istanbul.

A romantic-comedy that isn't funny or romantic.

Ruinously prioritising chic over content, this is intellectually and stylistically shallow when it should have been dynamic and compelling.

Interesting misfires from Wong Kar-wai and Steven Soderbergh barely manage to atone for the seedy muddle concocted by eightysomething Michelangelo Antonioni, who mocks his own reputation for existential ellipsis with his voyeuristic vignette.

Ruinously prioritising chic over content, this is intellectually and stylistically shallow when it should have been dynamic and compelling.

Assayas' attempt to present a multi-perspective Polaroid view of Adrien and his circle fall back on the tired technique of abruptly punctuating grainy, handheld sequence with jump cuts. A disappointingly sterotypical French film.

Notwithstanding the efforts of a game cast, this is a grotesque miscalculation that disrespects the memory of those who perished in one of the darkest episodes in recent history by turning it into a piece of white-knuckle entertainment.

Although replete with creepy shocks, this lacks the narrative finesse to match the committed performances and slick visuals.

A fascinating life is reduced to a series of skittishly edited and visually stylised vignettes that do scant justice to Marie Curie's scientific achievements and Karolina Gruszka's laudably intense performance.

Telling an unfamiliar tale in a highly predictable manner, this is a laudable, but lightweight tribute to golf's founding fathers.

Notwithstanding the efforts of a game cast, this is a grotesque miscalculation that disrespects the memory of those who perished in one of the darkest episodes in recent history by turning it into a piece of white-knuckle entertainment.

This leaden relocating of an iconic German saga to 16th-century France isn’t helped by the miscast Mads Mikkelsen’s morose display as Michael Kohlhaas.

Despite a wonderfully witty voiceover and the bullish playing of a willing ensemble, this bawdy romp consistently stumbles over its more contrived excesses.

Despite the nobility of its intentions and commitment of its cast, this would-be treatise on gig economical iniquity winds up patronising the very ‘invisible people' it's supposed to be championing.

If it weren’'t for Lost Horizon, this would have gone down in history as the Worst Musical of 1973.

A strange story that's no less disturbing for its unbalanced telling.

Funny in places but not Allen's best writing...and its difficult to get beyond the conceit.