LFF: Ground yourself

As the 66th London Film Festival comes into its final days, I know that not being press accredited has meant that I have missed quite a few of the big titles, but I've also been able to discover lots of smaller unexpected gems along the way. And I'll see the bigger films anyway when they are released (or in awards season screenings). I've also been just as busy each day, but without those nasty 8am starts. And I haven't been in a single queue. I've also, for the first time in 28 years, been invited to the closing night party, although the invite came from Netflix not the LFF. I'll have one last post on Monday with a few more films, the award winners and my best of the fest. In the meantime, here are more highlights...

You Won't Be Alone
dir-scr Goran Stolevski; with Anamaria Marinca, Alice Englert 22/Ser ****
Delighting in a particularly yucky grisliness, this dramatic horror film has a timeless quality to it, feeling almost like a tone poem as it explores elemental feelings in an almost primordial setting. Writer-director Goran Stolevski has a wonderfully original approach to building tension in mostly wordless scenes, playing with light and sound while dipping into some genuinely nasty imagery. And a deeper exploration of gender makes the film haunting.

Decision to Leave
dir Park Chan-wook; with Tang Wei, Park Hae-il 22/Kor ****.
Whizzy visual touches make this far more intriguing than the usual police procedural thriller. But then, master filmmaker Park Chan-wook doesn't make simplistic movies, and this churning mystery is packed with jagged humour, eerie violence and an understated but powerfully heated noir-style romance. It's a dazzling film that tightens its grip with an intricately constructed drama that's both witty and emotionally powerful.

Inland
dir-scr Fridtjof Ryder; with Rory Alexander, Mark Rylance 22/UK ***
Infused with moody atmospherics, this dark and insinuating British fairy tale has a densely wooded setting and characters who are driven by past events they may not understand. Using inventive, sometimes experimental filmmaking, writer-director Fridtjof Ryder keeps the tone otherworldly from the start, evoking primal emotionality and ancient pagan rituals. But the storytelling is so loose that details of the plot feel just out of reach.

The Blue Caftan [Le Bleu du Caftan]
dir-scr Maryam Touzani; with Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri 22/Mor ****
Opening on luxuriant folds of blue silk, this Moroccan drama maintains a fluid tone that pulls the audience deep inside. Writer-director Maryam Touzani beautifully depicts details that are disappearing in the modern world, where people are too impatient to wait for hand-crafted tailoring. And the narrative is unusually involving, weaving in personal themes that have a strong emotional impact.

Crows Are White
dir Ahsen Nadeem; with Ahsen Nadeem, Kamahori, Ryushin 22/US ****
Beautifully photographed in otherworldly locations that have been rarely seen by outsiders, this documentary has a compelling narrative structure as it explores the nature of faith and traditions in the present day, specifically looking at Buddhism and Islam. Set out as a personal journey, this complex odyssey centres on filmmaker Ahsen Nadeem as he explores extreme lengths people go to in search of enlightenment. The offbeat result is witty, personal, revealing and strongly resonant. 

Plus one of the best films I saw in Venice...

The Banshees of Inisherin
dir-scr Martin McDonagh; with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson 22/Ire ****.
Focussing on seemingly inconsequential events, this witty Irish drama becomes a startlingly vivid look at human interaction. Writer-director Martin McDonagh has an uncanny ability to sharply capture connections in small communities while echoing larger themes. So this often absurdly funny film brings continually surprising textures and impacts, with a literal civil war taking place in the distance. And the contained story at the centre is almost criminally satisfying... FULL REVIEW >

All London Film Festival reviews, once they're uploaded, will be linked to SHADOWS' LFF PAGE >

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C R I T I C A L   W E E K

There were a few non festival movies this week, including Jamie Lee Curtis' final (supposedly) movie in the 40-year franchise, Halloween Ends, which is enjoyably grisly but not very scary; the silly and surprisingly sophisticated comedy adventure Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, with a singing-dancing Javier Bardem; the creepy and clever Irish horror-drama Nocebo; and the unexpectedly involving zombie pastiche The Loneliest Boy in the World.

Coming this next week are Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam, Billy Eichner in Bros and several more LFF movies, including Harry Styles in My Policeman and Daniel Craig in the closing movie Glass Onion, plus films for both the Iris Prize Festival and the London East Asia Film Festival, followed closely by Raindance. Yes, it's a festival traffic jam this month.