LFF: Talk it through

The 66th London Film Festival is powering along into its first weekend, and I'm trying to watch it from outside. But of course being in the business I have been sucked into various events and screenings. The best part of this is getting the chance to hang out with filmmakers and actors at various receptions, which ironically is something I've rarely done when I've been press accredited because I was too busy waiting in lines for screenings. This week I've had terrific chats with the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Florence Pugh and Letitia Wright, to name three amazing actresses. Here are some more hightlights...

Aisha
dir-scr Frank Berry; with Letitia Wright, Josh O'Connor 22/Ire ****
An almost overwhelming sense of realism floods through this moving drama, which follows a Nigerian refugee facing a series of obstacles as she seeks safety and stability in Ireland. It's clear that writer-director Frank Berry has exhaustively researched these characters and situations, so scenes are able to play out without the need for dialog, pushing the narrative forward through the power of the emotions that churn under the surface. It's an unusually delicate, understated film, and it packs a big punch.

My Father's Dragon
dir Nora Twomey; voices Jacob Tremblay, Gaten Matarazzo 22/Ire ***.
With the same colourfully hand-made quality as her previous animated films, like Wolfwalkers and The Secret of Kells, Nora Twomey's latest fantastical odyssey feels like it came from the mind of a particularly imaginative child. So young viewers are especially likely to enjoy its mix of goofy slapstick and gently thrilling action. There is also quite a bit of wildly outrageous anime-style nuttiness and dazzling visual panache running through this energetic romp.

Klokkenluider
dir-scr Neil Maskell; with Amit Shah, Sura Dohnke 22/UK 1h24 ***.
Using the Dutch word for whistleblower as its title, this blackly comical British thriller delights in putting its characters into awkwardly intense situations. Actor-turned-filmmaker Neil Maskell finds an array of sharp-edged detail in this collision between an offbeat group of people who are facing a situation that might be quite dangerous. Or maybe not. It's a very well-assembled little film, and its only weakness lies in how it remains so deliberately elusive.

Peter Von Kant
dir-scr Francois Ozon; with Denis Menochet, Isabelle Adjani 22/Fr ****
French filmmaker Francois Ozon returns to German maestro Rainer Werner Fassbinder, this time riffing on his 1972 drama The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. Genders and much more are flipped around here, turning the film into a loose biopic about Fassbinder himself. With an eye-catching sense of style, the film is also entertaining for its visual panache, pitch-black wit and a provocatively lacerating look at the movie industry. Plus a collection of unforgettable characters.

Lynch/Oz 
dir-scr Alexandre O Philippe; with Karyn Kusama, John Waters 22/US ****
Taking a journey through American cinematic history, this entertaining documentary explores the resilience and timelessness of The Wizard of Oz, and how its story and iconography have had such a massive impact since its release in 1939. Cleverly weaving in hundreds of clips, filmmaker Alexandre O Philippe finds fascinating parallels everywhere, and especially in the films of David Lynch.

Fragments of Paradise
dir KD Davison; with Martin Scorsese, John Waters 22/US ****
Poet and avant-garde Lithuanian filmmaker Jonas Mekas recorded everyday life with his cameras for 70 years, from his arrival in New York in 1949 with his brother Adolfas until his death in 2019. Sifting through this footage, director KD Davison mixes clips with interviews and archival audio to create a striking account of the immigrant experience. And the film also a remarkably intimate look at Mekas himself and an undervalued aspect of the cinematic landscape.

And two films I'd seen earlier...

Living
dir Oliver Hermanus; with Bill Nighy, Alex Sharp 22/UK ****.
With a smart, delicate script by Kazuo Ishiguro and incisive direction by Oliver Hermanus, this remake of Kurosawa's 1952 classic Ikiru is skilfully shot in period style. Sensitive filmmaking and a punchy story tackle themes that feel powerfully relevant 70 years later, and everything is delivered in a subtle, understated way that's carefully tied in with the story's characters and setting. It also offers Bill Nighy a wonderful lead role... FULL REVIEW >

Blue Jean
dir-scr Georgia Oakley; with Rosy McEwen, Kerrie Hayes 22/UK ****
Set in a northern English seaside town during the tumultuous Thatcher years, this drama has an earthy realism that finds timely themes almost 35 years ago. While the personal story is compelling and full of involving detail, it's not always easy to watch a film in which everyone is so miserable. Thankfully, writer-director Georgia Oakley finds moments of humour and joy along the way, and the cast is excellent... FULL REVIEW >

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