Strickland explores sound in film in tantalising new ways in this modern cult psychological horror about a British sound engineer hired to work on Italian giallo, who discovers something sinister behind-the-scenes.
Four narrative threads combine, however intricately or tenuously, to create a tapestry of natural and human geography, as Inarritu explores the theme of incommunicability and personal responsibility with the kind of storytelling bravura he has been known for.
The sea, by turns calm and angry, mirrors the hearts of the young protagonists, who must accept life’s vulnerabilities in Kawase’s poetic piece, shot largely on the southern Japanese island of Amami Oshima.
Miyazaki’s somewhat convoluted anti-war and pro-elderly piece doesn’t quite reach the heights of some of his greatest works, but as a fantasy about love, magic and curses, it can be spellbinding at times.
A Korean adopted by a French couple when she was a baby returns to Korea for the first time as a French woman in Davy Chou’s intimate if chastening third feature, backed by an excellent performance from Park Ji-min in her acting debut.
One of Ripstein’s more transgressive works, this seductive tale of a priest who, out of spite, begins a sexual affair with his maid in his parish, asks us to reconsider the meaning of immorality.
Difficult to enjoy and too reliant on its theatrical artifice for three overlong hours, this esoteric and inscrutable drama tackles China’s 20th-century history through the memories of a dead theatre troupe member ready to enter the afterlife.
Soderbergh’s latest is immensely well-shot and takes a methodical approach to storytelling, but still falls short of being a first-rate dramatic thriller.
A poor man experiences wealth for the first time as Ripstein’s hard-hitting if straightforward drama depicts the soul-crushing consequences of greed and self-aggrandization.
Shot in Congo with Jean-Pierre Leaud, Rocha’s avant-garde attack on Western imperialism on African soil may feel didactic at times, but it is fierce and uncompromising in its message of political self-determination.
