David Parkinson

Dramatically, this may seem slight. But bounteous pleasures lie in the intimacy of the acting and in the exquisite cinematic and culinary craftmanship on display.

Drolly scripted, impeccably designed and photographed, and played to succinct perfection, this may only be a slender drama, but it's also a cherishable summation of what makes Aki Kaurismäki special.

Visually striking and explosively violent, this simmering parable makes exceptional use of its rustic locations — and the faces of a vibrant cast — to reinforce a sense of authenticity.

An affecting reflection on the loneliness we will all have to face at our end, held together by Vicky Krieps's poised display of unself-pitying despair and liberating acceptance.

Meticulously controlled, but simmering with a tension that is suffused with fury, this treatise on dignity and depravity, aspiration and apathy is the Dardennes at their most accusatory and damning.

Despite the almost caricatural Frenchness of the premise, this is a superbly acted and intricately directed drama that makes a virtue of its very human feelings and follies.

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.

Showing how paradise can be hell, this audiovisual treat is spiritedly played by its leads and bristles with a brooding menace that can't quite disguise the story's essentially melodramatic nature.

Filmed over 13 days in Tuscany and based on genuine Balkan Route testimony, this is an innovative, immersive insight into the migration crisis that also reveals much about human depravity.

Moving and atmospheric, this quest tale is among the best of its kind.

Full of fascinating behavioural insights and moments that are both hilarious and adorable, this studied treatise on the personality and emotionality of domestic animals should provide plentiful food for thought.

This study in chaos and calculation not only makes for harrowingly compelling viewing, but it also exposes the apathy of an international community that simply turned the other way.

Combining widescreen lyricism and neo-realist intimacy, this is a poignant reflection on the stark situation awaiting so many migrants who risk everything to reach a false paradise. The methodology occasionally feels calculating, but the intentions couldn't be more sincere, as the struggles are destined to continue once the cameras leave.

With each subplot reinforcing the simmering sense of unease, this compelling recreation of a pernicious period soberingly exposes the ease with which morality can become a casualty of human nature.

Instructive, insightful and inspiring, Maiden is a rousingly riveting record of a remarkable accomplishment that says as much about British bloody-mindedness as it does about feminist fortitude and underdog pluck.

Regardless of the skittish structure and illegible subtitles, this is a valuable reflection on an incalculably influential career, which serves as a timely reminder about the pitfalls of artistic tyranny.

Challenging the truism that you can never go home, this doesn't entirely integrate its political subtext. But the storylines are involving, the setting is picturesque and the performances are impeccable.

Baalsrud never claimed to be a hero and the emphasis of this gripping reconstruction rightly falls on the resourcefulness, courage and self-sacrifice of those who epitomised the spirit of resistance.

The spirits of the old masters pervade this disquieting but deeply moving drama. But Kore-eda stands alone as the chronicler of family life in a country facing an identity crisis.

Tempering its flights of fancy with moments of whimsical humour and kid’s-eye realism, this thoughtful treatise on growing pains reveals a realist side of Japanimation that’s all too rarely seen.

Echoes of Dog Day Afternoon and Locke reverberate around this claustrophobic thriller, which is tautly plotted, precisely paced and grippingly played by Jakob Cedergren and his unseen co-stars.

Abetted by Nicolaj Brüel's prowlingly ominous camerawork and Dimitri Capuani's soul-destroying interiors, Garrone proves once again that even the lowest-rung southern Italian gangster can't afford a shred of human decency.

Whether rediscovering La France périphérique or hurtling through the Louvre, Varda and JR make a surprisingly empathetic team and their collaboration is as provocative as it is poetic and poignant.

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.

Impeccably performed by its young leads and nurturing supporting cast, this deeply personal picture particularly impresses in the closing scenes, which are quietly devastating in their intimacy, insight and truth.

This director's cut might smack of self-indulgence, but it also says much about love and loss and the language of an artform that flirts with realism while remaining an illusion.

Thrillingly capturing both time and place and fizzing with non-judgemental empathy and cinematic flair, this is a magnificent debut that catapults Laetitia Dosch into the front rank of French actresses.

Detached, but never dispassionate, this may not be Andrew Haigh's best film. But its slow-burning authenticity suggests a versatility to go with his acuity for credible characters in recognisable situations.

Knowingly blending realist grit with generic guile, this unrelentingly tense account of a fragmented family living in constant fear thoroughly merited the Best Director prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Pondering everything from free expression and sexual harassment to bourgeois guilt and migrant rage, this superbly acted saga may not always hit the target. But it unerringly leaves its mark.

It feels more like a ciné dissertation designed to showcase Zvyagintsev’s appreciation of the medium than an original piece of cinema.

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.

A fascinating topic is attenuated by conservative storytelling and sketchy characterisation. Nevertheless, the sense of place is as assured as the vigilant performances, while the defusing sequences are genuinely suspenseful.

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

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

It's more than a little precious, but it's also sincere, touching and astute in its insights into social geography and human nature.

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

Unflinching in its depiction of rural reality, this may be a dour drama, but it has been made with sincerity and an exceptional sense of place.

This intelligently scripted and imposingly played costume noir revisits the conventions of Victorian melodrama to comment on modern attitudes to oppression, prejudice and morality.

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

With the camera placement being as meticulous as the use of Handel on the soundtrack, this impeccably played saga deservedly earned Mungiu a share of the Best Director prize at Cannes.

Atmospheric and engrossing, this meticulous recreation of time and place acquires an unsettling contemporary relevance through its analysis of the mindset of a mass murderer with a death wish.

Played with committed ferocity by the excellent Oh and Heche, this riotous state-of-the-nation satire may lack subtlety, but it has the courage of its socko convictions and certainly packs a punch.

The plot pieces might slot into place with a resounding clang, but what it lacks in finesse, this brutal actioner more than makes up for in bullish bravura and technical slickness.

Impeccably played by Rebecca Hall, this is a thoughtful reflection on life’s casual cruelties and how little attitudes towards women have changed since Watergate.

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.

Persuasively played by fine leads and a well-cast ensemble, this thoughtful treatise captures provincial life and the medical mindset with authenticity and tact.

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

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

Vibrantly recreating a seminal period in Jodorowsky's personal and artistic development, this bullishly played saga has enough quirky detail, audacious incident and visual panache to sweep the storyline through its less persuasive phases.

Filled with striking and scarringly disconcerting images of vandalised nature, satanic mills and redundant modernity, this is a mournful tribute to a maligned migrant workforce and a sobering reminder that nothing comes cheap.

A touch twee at times, but the use of classic and original animation is admirable, while Owen emerges as the king of sidekicks.

Impossible to appreciate in a single sitting, this masterly piece of polemical filmmaking is as intoxicating as it is intriguing.

Played with restraint and individuality by a fine ensemble, this is a moving but provocative study of belief, duty, compassion and acceptance.

A gripping if occasionally overwrought drama radiated by a standout turn from Seydoux.

Taut, tense and teasing, this fascinating exercise in screen storytelling keeps viewers guessing whether the prime suspect might just be a victim.

Ostensibly, a lovingly made study of homemade cooking and old-fashioned values, this beautifully played drama also contains a mordant denunciation of the lack of compassion that shapes Japanese attitudes to social stigma.

Unflinching in its eschewal of objectivity, this provides a unique perspective on a notorious case, while correcting some of the impressions about urban black youth the media cravenly peddled in its aftermath.

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

Hilarious in places, hideous in others, this struggles to make its philosophical case. But the performances are exceptional and the conceit could not be more daring or distinctive.

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.

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 1967 Ming Dynasty epic may lack plot complexity and period spectacle. But the stand-off in a remote inn is flecked with tension, wit and slick martial artistry.

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

An atmospheric rite of passage that suggests big things lie ahead for its writer-director and young cast.

This is a fascinating insight into the mind of the Nobel laureate and his city muse. Coolly intelligent and noirishly compelling.

Although packed with compelling archive footage, this never quite gets into Joplin's head, heart or soul.

Switching from dour humour to humanist drama without seeming contrived, this is a masterclass in combining character and landscape that is played with deceptive poignancy by the excellent leads.

The archive footage is compelling, but the soundtrack is a muddle of voice-over, music and effects.

Exquisitely designed, this cornucopia of melodramatic fragments and movie pastiches will enchant Guy Maddin fans.

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

A truly insightful art film that still manages to be easy-going and unpretentious.

Visually striking, intellectually challenging and emotionally harrowing.

This spends more time on the tensions between the dominant trio than their landmark campaigning.

Despite its sketchiness, this offers a vivid insight into the rejuvenation of a decaying city through fury, activism and music.

Outstanding account of a pivotal moment in small-screen history.

The science is haphazard, the techniques gimmicky, but the point is cogently made.

Superb star turn from Maria Alexandra Lungi but this doesn’t grip as it might.

While beautiful, early scenes of shocking violence give way to philosophising and gauche symbolism.

Exceptional, human filmmaking.

A gripping study of treachery, identity and survival.

Challengingly spellbinding.

More compelling when focusing on long-serving staff and their skills and opinions

A sensitive, sincere and humbling profile which is truly inspirational.

A final opportunity to see a master at work in this mischievously melancholic delight.

Quietly compelling, but lacks finesse in its characterisation and dogged denunciation of the Ethiopian justice system

Courageous and indelible account and an invaluable perspective of the protests.

Rinko Kikuchi's superb core performance and some striking photography stand out in the latest feature from the Zellner Brothers.

Charming performances from both leads and insightful vignettes makes up for occasional clumsy writing and plot developments.

Exasperatingly trite, but also rather sweet.

A daring, dark satire strewn with allusions to modern times.

An insightful examination of racism, homophobia and identity in Latin America.

A challenging and intelligent Swedish drama that still raises laughs.

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

Although lacking specific context and fussily presented, this is a harrowing account of the Arab Spring as witnessed by seven reluctant and committed activists in Libya, Syria and Bahrain. The footage of the violence inflicted upon civilians is truly terrifying.

A fun and insightful slice of Roman life. Next up, M25: The Movie?

A powerful and provoking take on a violent and volatile era.