Critical Week: Let them eat cake

It was a party at the gala UK premiere of the romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue, an Amazon Prime movie at BFI Imax, the biggest screen in Europe. Representing the film was director Matthew Lopez, who made a statement in solidarity of striking actors and his fellow writers. So lead actors Nicholas Galitzine and Taylor Zakhar Perez (above) couldn't attend, although Perez offered a video introduction (preceded with a note that it was recorded pre-strike). The audience was a rather lively mix of critics and influencers bathed in red light while we waited for the movie to start. And it's a lot of fun: charming and goofy and just a bit pointed too.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Talk to Me • Baato
Bobi Wine: The People's President
Boys on Film 23: Dangerous to Know
ALL REVIEWS >

Last Friday, I bought a ticket to see Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer in 70mm (Universal had refused to allow me into the 70mm Imax press screenings). It's a glorious epic, as expertly assembled as expected, staggeringly visual and beautifully performed by a powerhouse ensemble. Even if it's a bit overlong, it's essential viewing. 

Other films this week included the moving and inventive French drama Smalltown Boys, the exhilarating if slightly awkward Malaysian action thriller Walid, the beautifully animated adventure Mavka: The Forest Song from Ukraine, the gorgeously shot Nepal migration doc Baato, and Boys on Film 23: Dangerous to Know, another excellent collection of provocative short films from the fine folk at Peccadillo.

This coming week I'll be watching Jason Statham in Meg 2: The Trench, Orlando Bloom in Gran Turismo, the animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mania, the thriller Till Death Do Us Part, the black comedy The Trouble With Jessica, the action comedy Polite Society and the doc Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed.

Critical Week: Stay cool

This is an almost comically hyped-up cinematic week, as #Barbenheimer heralds the release of two of the year's most anticipated releases, Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. Annoyingly, Universal refused to let me attend any Oppenheimer press screenings, but I'll still see it. Of course, Warners launched Barbie in a big splash of pink, and it's a hugely enjoyable film, far smarter than expected, with a strong point underpinning its candy-coloured hilarity. Teyonah Parris, Jamie Foxx and John Boyega (above) star in the funky comedy-thriller They Cloned Tyrone, which oozes style as it tells a bonkers story that also has a much more serious edge to it. More gleefully ridiculous, Joy Ride is an entertaining and perhaps too-riotous romp following Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu into various crazy situations in East Asia.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Oppenheimer • Barbie
ALL REVIEWS >

Much more subtle films included Julia Louis-Dreyfus reteaming with writer-director Nicole Holofcener for the comedy You Hurt My Feelings, which astutely observes relationship issues from a knowing perspective. The stunningly well written, directed and acted drama Mutt follows a young trans man as he reconnects with three people from his past. The literally breathtaking thriller The Dive remains contained around two sisters who have a terrifying underwater crisis. There were also two docs: the sassy and profoundly moving Kokomo City, about Black trans sex workers caught between their various communities, and Bobi Wine: The People's President, a riveting portrait of a populist politician standing up against corrupt rule in Uganda. I also caught two superbly masculine shows at the end of Sadler's Wells Flamenco Festival.

Tomorrow I'll buy a ticket to see Oppenheimer in 70mm but not Imax, as those are all sold out. In addition, I'll be watching the romantic comedy Red, White & Royal Blue, plus the French drama Smalltown Boys, the Malaysian thriller Walid, the animated adventure Mavka: The Forest Song, the Tibetan doc Baato, and the 23rd Boys on Film shorts collection Dangerous to Know.

Dance: A masculine double-bill

Gala Flamenca

direction Manuel Liñán
dancers Manuel Liñán, Alfonso Losa, El Yiyo, Carrete de Málaga
singers Sandra Carrasco, Antonio Campos, David Carpio 
guitars Francisco Vinuesa, Javier Ibañez
percussion Kike Terrón
Sadler's Wells, London • 14-15.Jul.23

Capping off this year's Flamenco Festival at Sadler's Wells is an energetic performance cleverly devised by Manuel Liñán to subvert gender roles with all male dancers. Bursting with intent, this is a heady combination of rapid-fire footwork, vivid arm shaping, lavish guitar riffs, pulsing percussion, soaring vocals, and dextrous shawl and ruffle-ography. The skill and power on display are simply breathtaking, and the thrumming shoes accompany the live music to thrillingly rattle our bones.

In addition to performing in group numbers that have an improvisational zing to them, each of the dancers and musicians gets their moment in the spotlight, with extended, increasingly jaw-dropping performances that are cheered along by the others on stage as well as an audience that can't help but shout, "Olé!" every now and then. Each piece builds to its own series of triumphant climaxes and encores.

This is a show that spans the history of flamenco with its careful mix of musicians, singers and dancers. The simmering vocals of Carrasco sound both ancient and modern at the same time. And dancers range from staggeringly precise youngster El Yiyo (aka Miguel Fernández Rivas) to the 83-year-old Carrete de Málaga, a shameless showman who is known as "the gypsy Fred Astaire". In the centrepiece role, Liñán performs in various styles, capping the event with an extended showstopping number in traditional but all-black female flamenco dress.

It's a mesmerising evening essentially laid out as a variety event that highlights a range of first-rate skills while also playing with the masculinity that's inherent in flamenco, something that is of course referenced right there in the show's title. This by no means belittles the colourful talent of female dancers, but instead celebrates the skills that often lurk in the monochrome shadows.

Tocar a un Hombre
by Julio Ruiz
chroeographed and performed by Julio Ruiz, Javier De La Asunción
Lilian Bayliss Studio, Sadler's Wells, London • 14.Jul.23

A staggeringly inventive experimental piece, Julio Ruiz's Tocar a un Hombre (To Touch a Man) spirals around issues of masculinity with a flamenco sensibility. And it offers ideas that extend further into society. This is an insinuating, often very sexy performance that feels like the tracing of a relationship between two men through a full range of physical and emotional interaction.

Ruiz and his partner De La Asunción are on the stage as the audience enters. They're just standing there, watching passively, doing little warm-up movements. Then as the lighting shift, they notice each other and begin a series of greetings: nodding, waving, shaking hands, hugging, kissing. These are thoroughly masculine, as awkwardness mingles with both intimacy and rivalry. Then De La Asunción removes all of his clothing and Ruiz plays him like a beloved percussion instrument before carefully dressing him back up.

From here they begin to move, both in sync and against each other, taking turns leading or being limp, sometimes passively put into poses. Ruiz dons the dance shoes sitting in one corner and performs a series of thunderous flamenco steps. De La Asunción picks up a trombone in another corner and plays a lilting tune. He also at one point sings I've Got You Under My Skin. And in the most powerful moment, he simply repeats, "Nadie te va a querer como yo" (no one will ever love you like I do), over and over again while Ruiz performs around him.

Soft Spanish dialog is translated in amplified voiceover, which is rather jarring. And there's some piped-in music that recreates the feel of a lively outdoor festival. Dance styles range from pure flamenco to street performance, TikTok moves and a disco nightclub. Energy levels ebb and flow, burst and subside. Through all of this, both men allow their distinct personalities to emerge in ways that are lusty, tender and thoroughly involving. So the piece becomes deeply moving and powerfully provocative.

For information, visit SADLER'S WELLS >

photos by Paco Lobato, marcosGpunto,
Beatrix Mexi Molnar, Juan Carlos Toledo
(NB. Tocar a un Hombre images are marketing/rehearsals)

14.Jul.23

Critical Week: Keep an eye out

Battling an eight-hour jetlag from Seoul, I dove straight back into action with screenings and deadlines here in London. It'll take awhile before I feel normal, but I'm getting there. And it's nice to have some intriguing films to fill the space between blockbusters. For example, Shortcomings is a terrific comedy with a superb Asian-American perspective, starring Justin H Lin and Sherry Cola as friends grappling with their own flaws as they seek romance. And then there's Tom Cruise's seventh franchise entry Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, a thunderously entertaining action thriller that holds the attention for nearly three hours with epic stuntwork and a knotted if absurd plot. From Germany, the drama Afire astutely explores the artistic sensibility in an offbeat tale set in a holiday home next to a forest on fire. And from Belgium, Easy Tiger is an almost silent drama about a man trying to work out his own nature.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
The Damned Don't Cry
Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning
Afire • Amanda
Name Me Lawand • Easy Tiger
ALL REVIEWS >

I saw five films on four flights halfway around the world: Return to Seoul is a gorgeous drama about a Korean-American girl trying to come to grips with her ethnic identity; Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson team up for the corny but enjoyable action comedy The Man From Toronto; Adam Driver finds himself in Earth's distant past in the derivative but enjoyable dinosaur thriller 65; a Spanish water polo team battles trite internal rivalries as they head to a rousing gold-medal Olympic match in The Final Game; plus a revisit to a favourite musical Hairspray. Back in London, I also attended the lively press night for Sh!t-Faced Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing.

Coming up this next week are Margot Robbie in Greta Gerwig's Barbie, Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus in You Hurt My Feelings, Greta Lee in Joy Ride, the thriller The Dive and the docs Kokomo City and Bobi Wine: The People's President. I'll also attend a couple of events at Sadler's Wells Flamenco Festival (reviews here soon).

Stage: As merry as the day is long

SH!T-FACED SHAKESPEARE
Much Ado About Nothing
by William Shakespeare
adaptation Lewis Ironside
director Stacey Norris
with Beth-Louise Priestley, Flora Sowerby, Holly Durkin, Stacey Norris, John Mitton, Matthew Seager, Chris Lane
Leicester Square Theatre, London • 5.Jul-9.Sep.23

The Sh!t-faced Shakespeare gang returns to London, taking on Shakespeare's beloved romantic-comedy Much Ado About Nothing. Their unique selling point is that one cast member has consumed quite a lot of alcohol before the curtain rises, which so fellow actors are required to improvise their way through scenes that have been thrown into chaos.

Priestley is the host for the evening, rushing around with an airhorn trying to keep things from going too far off the rails. To some success. She also gives a few audience members noise makers, which they can sound to give the inebriated actor another drink. For this performance, Sowerby is the wobbly one, and she's playing the lead role of Beatrice, whose antagonism for the charming Benedick (Mitton) sets off various rivalries, mistaken identities and love at first sight for Beatrice's aunt Leonata (Norris) and cousin Hero (Durkin), plus Benedick's pals, the lovelorn Claudio (Seager) and snaky Don John (Lane).

Of course, having a drunken Beatrice creates all manner of mayhem on-stage, sparking both inside jokes between the actors and running gags about sexually transmitted diseases, all while everyone tries to keep the story moving forward. The show's co-creator Lewis Ironside has trimmed Shakespeare's text down considerably, and the actors know it so well that they're able to keep the plot moving even when it begins to feel amusingly unrecoverable.

With the electricity of live performance, this generally out of control approach is hilarious to watch, as the performers tease each other and the audience, trying to both sabotage and rescue the production at the same time. Their quick wit is riotously funny, and the generally silly atmosphere is infectious. This isn't the deepest of Shakespeare's comedies, so turning it into such a ridiculously absurd farce isn't much of a problem. Indeed, it's pure escapist joy.

And because the cast members swap roles from night to night, including the one who's drunk, this is the kind of show that would be a lot of fun to revisit over and over again. 

For information, visit SH!TFACED SHOWS >

photos by AB Photography • 12.Jul.23

Bifan: Face your fears

The final few days here at Bifan: Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival have been a mix of films, parties, ceremonies and some free time to see the sights around Seoul. All of this has been documented in my instagram feed while this blog has focussed on the movies. As a genre festival the movies here have a refreshing unpredictability, more interested in thrilling the audience than impressing us. And it was great to meet so many of the filmmakers from around the world. We will certainly meet up again along the way. Here are comments on the closing film Sana, as well as some others I caught over the festival's final days, plus a list of award winners. As president of the Bucheon Choice jury, I presented the final award of the ceremony, the Best of Bucheon our jury's unanimous favourite...

Sana
dir Takashi Shimizu; with Hana Amano, Akari Hayami 23/Japan ***.
J-horror and J-pop collide in this riotous Japanese freak-out, which uses generous doses of dry comedy to hold the interest as the plot deliberately resists making much logical sense. It's astutely directed by horror maestro Takashi Shimizu to play on primal fears while also putting the members of a boy band through their paces, stalked by a malevolent ghost that uses music as a hook. So even if it's neither very scary nor original, there's plenty of fun along the way.

Privacy
dir-scr Sudeep Kanwal; with Rajshri Deshpande, Nishank Verma 23/India ***.
Subverting the underlying themes of most procedural police thrillers, this Indian film has some sharp things to say about female roles in society. With unusual complexity, writer-director Sudeep Kanwal and lead actress Rajshri Deshpande create a central character who defies the cliches. This remarkably conflicted woman knows all too well what she's up against and how to get what she needs. Her moral compass might be slippery, but there's a reason for that. And taking this journey with her is compelling.

The Eighth Sense
dir-scr Inu Baek, Werner du Plessis; with Im Ji-sub, Oh Jun-taek 23/Korea ***.
Reflecting a society that is still rather terrified of an open discussion of sexuality, this gentle Korean drama follows two young men who struggle to admit to each other, their friends and themselves that they belong together. And this crippling fear is matched by the somewhat timid filmmaking style. This will make the movie feel rather belaboured for inclusive audience members, especially as the story descends into chasms of angst, but the film's heart is clearly in the right place.

HappyMerryEnding
dir Min Chae-yeon; with Lee Dong-won, Byeon Seong-tae 23/Korea ***
Adapted from the Korean TV series, this comes from the BL (Boys' Love) genre of male-male romantic fiction that is directly targeted at teenaged girls. While it feels oddly childlike for Western audiences, it's also relentlessly adorable, packed with cute actors playing tormented young men struggling against inevitable romance. It's also unwaveringly gay, with a refreshingly matter-of-fact approach to the characters' queer sexuality mixed in with some deeper social themes relating to pop culture. 

2 7 T H   B I F A N   A W A R D S

Bucheon Choice: Best of Bucheon
Sorcery by Christopher Murray

Bucheon Choice: Best Director

Superposition by Karoline Lyngbye

Bucheon Choice: Jury's Choice

The Artifice Girl by Franklin Ritch

Bucheon Choice: Audience Award

The Artifice Girl by Franklin Ritch 

Best Korean Fantastic Film 

Iron Mask by Kim Sung Hwan

Korean Fantastic Best Director

Risk Society by Kim Byung Jun

Korean Fantastic Actors

Jung E-seo in Her Hobby

Jang Seongbeom in Abroad

Korean Fantastic Audience Award

Abroad by Giovanni Fumu 

Korean Fantastic: Special Mention

Unknown Narrative: Skyrocket Junipers Under the Crescent by Yang Gun-young

Netpac Award

Hungry Ghost Diner by Cho We Jun

Nonghyup Distribution Award 

Her Hobby by Ha Myung-mi

Watcha's Pick for Korean Fantastic 

Iron Mask by Kim Sung Hwan

Méliès International Festivals Federation Award: Best Asian Film

Best Regards to All by Yuta Shimotsu

Odd Family Awards

Battery Mommy by Jeon Seungbae

Burger Song Challenge by Kim Min-ha

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Bifan: Smile for the camera

With jury duty completed, I've had some time to explore beyond Bucheon, starting with taking a journey into central Seoul (about an hour by metro) on a very, very rainy Tuesday. Still, it was fun to walk around an area that's very different from Bucheon - both older and newer, with cool shops and restaurants packed in tiny, winding streets. Then the juries were taken on a day out for an archery experience that was a lot of fun - learning the history and tradition, training and then competing - followed by an amazing festival dinner. I also took the morning to head back over into Seoul and walk around the main palace, this time in blazing sunshine. And of course, I'm watching films as well. Here are two more I saw earlier, plus two more Japanese titles...

Smoking Causes Coughing [Fumer Fait Tousser]
dir-scr Quentin Dupieux; with Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Lacoste 22/France ***.
Leave it to demented genius Quentin Dupieux to offer a course correction for the superhero genre, producing this wry comedy in the style of a cheesy 1970s TV series, starting with some riotously exaggerated violence. Consistently amusing scenes are underlined with silly details, clunky tech and a surprisingly heartfelt emotion. In the end, it feels a bit slight and corny, but its considerable charm is difficult to shake... FULL REVIEW >

Evil Dead Rise
dir-scr Lee Cronin; with Alyssa Sutherland, Lily Sullivan 23/US ***
As the horror franchise returns, writer-director Lee Cronin sidesteps plot and characters to focus on creating the grisliest movie imaginable. It's an approach that keeps the audience squirming at each mind-bogglingly awful thing that happens to a bunch of relatively normal people minding their own business. Genre fans will enjoy the yuckiness, but the connection to the other movies is tenuous, and there's not much else to it... FULL REVIEW >

Life of Mariko in Kabukicho

dir Shinzo Katayama, Eiji Uchida; with Sairi Ito, Yutaka Takenouchi 22/Japan ****

Freewheeling energy propels this lively Japanese movie through a series of outrageous scenarios, as a large ensemble of characters weave in and out of each others' lives. Action, comedy, romance, drama and sci-fi are stirred into the mix, creating a riotously entertaining vibe from start to finish, even when things turn violent or dark. Set out as a series of episodes in the life of a sparky young woman and the people in her Tokyo neighbourhood, the film endearingly gets under the skin.

Egoist 
dir Daishi Matsunaga; with Ryohei Suzuki, Hio Miyazawa 22/Japan ***.

An understated, slice-of-life approach both adds to the emotional depth of this Japanese drama and leaves it feeling somewhat familiar. Director-cowriter Daishi Matsunaga tells the story with sensitivity, taking on big events and some surprising events without even a hint of melodramatics. What remains is an engaging exploration of unexpected relationships, most notably how love can be expressed through selflessness. And the story reveals this in some very moving ways.

Bifan: On trial

There's something odd about being on a film festival jury, especially when you are handing out cash prizes (the winner here gets 20 million Korean won!). Who are we to make this kind of judgement? Well, this particular jury is made up of iconic Japanese filmmaker Kazuya Konaka (Ultraman), top Korean actress Kim Sunyoung (Dream Palace), rising-star Korean filmmaker Lee Wonsuk (Killing Romance), Canadian writer/producer Kier-La Janisse and me, chair of the London Film Critics' Circle. We are giving out three awards at Friday's ceremony, considering the 10 international films in the Bucheon Choice section. Meanwhile, I've been able to get out and explore a bit - more about that on Instagram. And here are some more films, starting with one I saw last year...

The Sparring Partner
dir Ho Cheuk-Tin; with Alan Yeung, Mak Pui-Tung 22/China ***.
A sensational real-life 2013 double murder case is brought to the screen with edgy style. Using spiralling flashbacks, director Ho Cheuk-Tin assembles the story in small pieces, with a bracing focus on the characters. This gets into the minds of the killers before the crime and then follows them through the trial. Along the way, sparky relatives, lawyers and jury members also engage as they take their own journeys. The level of detail is riveting, even if the film feels both rushed and overlong... FULL REVIEW >

The Artifice Girl
dir-scr Franklin Ritch; with Tatum Matthews, Sinda Nichols 23/US ***.
Grappling with enormous ideas, this drama explores the nature of humanity through a story about a digitally created young girl who takes on a life of her own. The film is sharply written and directed by actor Franklin Ritch, even if it essentially consists of three very talky conversations. This leaves the film feeling a bit static, and also limits the development of the characters. But as a piece of pointed theatre, it's riveting.

You'll Never Find Me
dir Josiah Allen, Indianna Bell; with Brendan Rock, Jordan Cowan 23/Australia **
Focussed and claustrophobic, this Australian horror has plenty of atmosphere and nastiness, although it's never remotely scary. Filmmakers Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell create creepy imagery and highly charged situations, but their approach is so indulgent that it feels both achingly slow and painfully arch. It also carries a darkly disturbing message about the, ahem, joys of silencing your conscience.

Whale Bones
dir-scr Takamasa Oe; with Motoki Ochiai, Ano 23/Japan ****
Insinuating and involving, this dark Japanese drama takes the audience on a journey through augmented reality with a young man who begins to lose track of himself and the situation he's stumbled into. Writer-director Takamasa Oe dives down this rabbit hole with a moody, introspective sensibility that's haunting. So even if the film is elusive and slow, it's a reminder that even virtual experiences have real impact.

~~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~~~
C R I T I C A L   W E E K

Before leaving London, I wrote all the reviews for films released while I'm away, and they're all posted on the site already. I've cut back a bit on the number of releases I'm covering, but I managed to see the big ticket movies Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Pixar's Elemental. Alas, I've missed a few things too, such as Insidious: The Red Door and the Wham documentary. And I've also missed the London press screening of Mission: Impossible 7, although that one opens the day I get back. 

Bifan: Fun in the sun

After rain and clouds on the first two days, which I'm told is normal for Seoul this time of year, Saturday was clear blue sky, which made it even hotter (but thankfully a but less humid). I'm enjoying the brief windows between films, usually around two hours, to explore the streets of Bucheon and try out the local food, which is delicious. These days are perfect for big bowls of cold noodles. Meanwhile, Bifan continues to offer up films from around the world - our international jury has been travelling quite a bit. Three more competition films are below, after another film I'd seen earlier...

Infinity Pool
dir-scr Brandon Cronenberg; with Alexander Skarsgard, Mia Goth 23/Canada ***
Gleefully gruesome, this bonkers horror thriller touches on serious ideas that give it a wonderful sense of something much bigger. Although writer-director Brandon Cronenberg is more focussed on visually arresting imagery than mining the material for something unnervingly resonant. That said, there's a terrific sense of menace, and it's all so personal and internalised that it can't help but work its way under the skin. As it were... FULL REVIEW >

The Seeding
dir-scr Barney Clay; with Scott Haze, Kate Lyn Sheil 23/US ***.
Skilfully creating an atmosphere of claustrophobic dread, writer-director Barney Clay echoes a range of wilderness horror classics to create a modern-day folk tale. Nothing is terribly original here, but the movie has a confident sheen, building sympathetic characters against the odds as it cautions against venturing into isolated, and insulated, parts of the American West.

Bad Education
dir Kai Ko; with Kent Tsai, Berant Zhu 22/Taiwan ****
An electrically charged sense of pitch-black humour runs through this genre mashup from Taiwan, which throws three teens into a series of unspeakable situations. While sending their characters on an odyssey that mixes high school comedy with Tarantino-style violence, director Kai Ko and writer Giddens Ko continually examine what it means to be a good or bad person. Full of prickly dialog and unexpected nastiness, the film's wry sense of humour makes it worth a look.

Superposition
dir Karoline Lyngbye; with Marie Bach Hansen, Mikkel Boe Folsgaard 23/Denmark ***.
Strikingly well shot and edited, this Danish thriller has a premise that's intriguing and entertaining, tapping into some pungent themes relating to identity and gender politics. So it's a bit frustrating that the writing and direction leave absolutely nothing to chance, carefully identifying every plot nuance and therefore eliminating most of the possible surprises. This tidy approach also leaves the deeper ideas feeling oddly undercooked.

Bifan: Be afraid

My first impression of Korea was in driving rain and low clouds during the drive from the airport to Bucheon, which is about halfway between Incheon Airport and Seoul. The rain continued all day and into the night, but couldn't dampen the spirits at the opening ceremony for the 27th Bifan: Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival. As a member of the international competition jury, I walked the long red carpet with my fellow jurors, Korean actress Kim Sunyoung, Japanese filmmaker Kazuya Konaka, Korean filmmaker Lee Wonsuk and Canadian writer-producer Kier-La Janice. The ceremony was also attended by Ari Aster, whose Beau Is Afraid is the opening film, and Korean star Choi Min Sik, who is honoured with a special section within the festival. Other impressions over the first two days centre mainly around the excellent array of food options and the heavy humidity that makes breathing a bit of a chore outdoors. I'd already seen the opening film, so I went to the epic party instead, and then the first four films we have watched couldn't be more eclectic...

Beau Is Afraid
dir-scr Ari Aster; with Joaquin Phoenix, Patti LuPone 23/US ***.
Another indulgent auteur project, this epic odyssey feels both deeply personal and in desperate need of an independent editor. Genius filmmaker Ari Aster definitely knows how to push the audience's buttons, and his rambling, over-the-top movie is packed with moments that are hilarious, terrifying, riotously outrageous and darkly emotive. It's also infused with almost Lynchian surrealism, defiantly refusing to bring its fiercely clever segments into a coherent whole ... FULL REVIEW >

Sorcery [Brujería]
dir Christopher Murray; with Valentina Véliz Caileo, Daniel Antivilo 23/Chile ****
With its gloomy skies and hazy cinematography, this Chilean drama has a powerful intensity that runs through a darkly mystical clash between cultures and religions. Based on a true story, it's grippingly directed by Christopher Murray and played in an often unnervingly understated style. So it goes far beneath the skin to provoke us with insistent ideas about colonialism and nature.

Tiger Stripes
dir-scr Amanda Nell Eu; with Zafreen Zairizal, Deena Ezral 23/Malaysia ****
There's an engaging animalistic tilt to this adolescent body horror from Malaysia, as a young girl taps into her feral nature. Writer-director Amanda Nell Eu maintains a blackly comical undercurrent even as things get very freaky indeed, exploring big themes through lenses of culture, gender and religion. And Zafreen Zairizal shines in a complex and physically demanding central role.

Restore Point [Bod Obnovy]
dir Robert Hloz; with Andrea Mohylova, Matej Hadek 23/Czechia 1h51 ***
Slick and packed with audience-pleasing gimmicks, this Czech thriller has an intriguing sci-fi premise that raises all kinds of big moral questions. So even if the script feels somewhat undercooked, it's still a fun ride as a police procedural potboiler. Director Robert Holz creates a bold vibe with prowling cinematography, high-tech gadgetry and a twisty narrative. The key is to ignore the plot holes and just enjoy it.

Disorder
dir-scr Batdelger Byambasuren; with Nomin-Erdene Ariunbyamba, Bat-Erin Munkhbat 23/Mongolia ***
An amusingly bonkers tone sets this Mongolian mental hospital horror apart, lacing its sinister premise with elements of a slapstick heist as well as pointed social commentary. And while the narrative is rather jarringly awkward, writer-director Batdelger Byambasuren keeps things interesting with whizzy visual elements and solid themes that add weight to the melodramatics.

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