Thursday 11 August 2022

Critical Week: Life is like a golgappa

London's heatwave continues, following the driest July in 111 years with an uptick in temperatures that has everyone heading for anywhere that's air conditioned, like a movie theatre. This week I particularly enjoyed India's lovely Forrest Gump remake Laal Singh Chaddha, which adapts the story to make it culturally resonant in unexpected ways while emphasising the epic romance at the centre of the plot. David Cronenberg's latest body horror drama Crimes of the Future has had a mixed reaction since its Cannes debut, but I loved its moody tone, insidious plot and deeper themes. Great cast too, led by Viggo Mortensen, Lea Seydoux and Kristen Stewart.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Fall • Laal Singh Chaddha
Nope • Girl Picture
ALL REVIEWS >
And then there was the bracingly original coming-of-age comedy Funny Pages, by filmmaker Owen Kline, starring Daniel Zolghadri as a teen cartoonish. It's in-your-face funny, and emotional too. The thriller No Way Out has some nicely harrowing and sexy touches, but is ultimately too grim. There were two very different animated movies: From Japan, Fortune Favours Lady Nikuko is a dramatic anime with a remarkably strong point of view about its quirky characters. And from Estonia, The Old Man: The Movie sends its characters on a wildly surreal and utterly bonkers adventure. Finally, the finely assembled documentary Bloom Up takes a remarkably straight-faced look at an Italian couple that runs parties for swinging couples.


Films to watch this coming week include Harris Dickinson in this year's Palm d'Or winner Triangle of Sadness, Colin Farrell in After Yang, the splintered-reality comedy Look Both Ways, the horror movie Glorious, the thriller The Runner.


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