Diop’s exceptional observational documentary about a French GP whose clinic is dedicated to serving refugees has tremendous emotional power, alongside its sobering insights on the vulnerability of the human condition.
Tom Cruise, the consummate entertainer, once again shows us why he’s Hollywood’s last action hero in this penultimate M:I outing that is somewhat bogged down by plotting that is way too reliant on its airy-fairy MacGuffin.
A milestone in European art cinema, and an intentionally futile exercise in finding meaning in our seemingly meaningless existence.
Lou Ye’s compelling if controversial tale of politics and sex is built upon the exceptional performance by Hao Lei, who plays a disoriented university student torn between lust and love as the political consciousness of Chinese youths takes root.
Disturbing if politically urgent, Franco takes class warfare to its violent extreme in this Mexican treatise on the consequences of an imagined collapse of civilised society, where the rich and powerful face the wrath of the working-class, and military autocracy becomes the answer to anarchy.
A terrific and beautifully-shot melodrama full of warmth and pathos as Kore-eda invites and immerses us into the lovely world of three adult sisters and their much younger half-sister who has come to join them.
A girl with a sought-after magic crystal falls from the sky in this underrated early gem from Miyazaki, packed with action, comedy and fantasy in what could be his purest, most exhilarating adventure.
Black sardonic humour abounds in this tale about the farce of capital punishment when a man is forced to marry an executioner’s daughter and has to become one himself in order to keep the apartment allotted by the state.
As per tradition, I will give out imaginary awards to the films that I love most or hold in high regard from the preceding year.
Continue reading →
This is Kore-eda operating at his peak as he delivers one of 2023’s finest films with this intricately-structured and revelatory drama about the blind spots in our understanding of human behaviour and empathy.
Eternality Tan 