Critical Week: We don't need another hero

October is a fairly insane month for a film critic in London, with several overlapping festivals at any given time, plus the onslaught of awards season screenings. The London Film Festival ended on Sunday night, and on Wednesday I was on-stage at the opening ceremony of the London East Asia Film Festival, where I'm heading up the jury. This means I have 16 East Asian movies to watch over the next 10 days, plus the usual releases. 

This past week's big movies included the darker-than-usual superhero adventure Black Adam, starring an unusually violent Dwayne Johnson. It's skilfully made, but everything else about the film feels familiar. Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne have meaty roles in The Good Nurse, a wrenching true story that's riveting and very disturbing. And Billy Eichner stars with Luke Macfarlane in Bros, a gay romcom that's a bit smug but also very funny and refreshingly honest about issues of insecurity and self-loathing. 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Decision to Leave • Piggy
The Banshees of Inisherin
ALL REVIEWS >

Kicking off LEAFF was the brisk, adrenaline-pumping Korean thriller Hunt, starring Squid Game's Lee Jung-Jae, who also makes an impressive directing debut (I helped present him an honorary award at the opening ceremony). And then there was Voodoo Macbeth, a fascinating drama about Orson Welles' groundbreaking 1936 all-Black stage production of Shakespeare's Scottish play. Made by a crowd at USC Film School, it's an entertaining romp packed with pointed sideroads. Finally, Eternal Spring documents Chinese activists who audaciously hijacked state TV using eye-catching animation and powerful first-hand interviews.

Coming this next week are the horror hit Barbarians, the British drama Enys Men, animated adventure The Amazing Maurice and quite a few films from East Asia.

LFF: Smile for the camera

Well, this is the point, about halfway in, when attending the BFI London Film Festival begins to feel exhausting. That backlog of reviews is growing, new films keep opening outside the festival, and real life responsibilities start slipping. And there's another movie to watch! At least normally I'm running around town chasing screenings and interviews - this year I'm just sheltering at home from the rain. But when the movies are as good as these, you don't mind much...

One Night in Miami...

dir Regina King; with Kingsley Ben-Adir, Eli Goree 20/US ****.

Based on the stage play that fictionalises a real friendshiop between four Civil Rights icons at the peak of their powers, this film is beautifully expanded by playwright Kemp Powers. It's also skilfully directed by Regina King, who has a terrific eye for finding issue-based resonance within the characters. She never pushes things too forcefully, drawing out moving observations about the transformative power of politics, music and art... FULL REVIEW >

Cicada

dir Matthew Fifer, Kieran Mulcare; with Matthew Fifer, Sheldon D Brown 20/US ****

Based on real events, this gentle drama is beautifully observed by actor-filmmaker Matt Fifer. Shot in a loose documentary style with dialog that feels improvised, the film's natural rhythms are powerfully engaging. Set in the balmy New York summer of 2013, the story has an intimate tone that's both confessional and nostalgic. It's a sensitive story about two men in their mid-20s coming to terms with their sexuality as well as past traumas.

Never Gonna Snow Again

dir Malgorzata Szumowska; with Alec Utgoff, Maja Ostaszewska 20/Pol ****.

Polish filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska takes another deep dive into her nation's psyche. Like a meditative balm, the film cuts through the noise of modern life to give its characters peace at the hands of a gifted stranger. A parable about yearning to return to simpler times, the film is expertly written, directed and played by a gifted ensemble. And it cuts through the surface with wit, emotion and brutal honesty... FULL REVIEW >

If It Were Love

dir Patric Chiha; with Gisele Vienne, Philip Berlin 20/Fr ****

Much more than a concert film, this kinetic documentary captures Gisele Vienne's dance piece Crowd as it tours around France celebrating youthful energy and the body, connection and abandon. In addition to the elaborate interaction on-stage, filmmaker Patric Chiha is also exploring how these performers relate behind the scenes, skilfully finding the points where their characters blur with who they really are.

NB. My anchor page for the LFF is HERE and full reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries. Well, it'll happen eventually.