Critical Week: Somebody's watching

It's been a quiet week as far as press screenings go, but I've been keeping busy with various events, as well as the usual collection of movies to watch using online screening links. BFI Flare held an event to launch the programme for its 36th festival, and it was great to have an in-person event again - although without the usual festival afterparty. The festival runs 16-27 March as a mix of cinema and virtual screenings and events, and I'm looking forward to it as usual. Flare is easily London's most festive film festival.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Strawberry Mansion
Kimi • Uncharted
The Real Charlie Chaplin
ALL REVIEWS >

As for the movies, I watched Steven Soderbergh's superbly involving Hitchcockian thriller Kimi, which stars Zoe Kravitz (above) as a tech worker caught in a properly suspenseful mystery. Naomi Watts is terrific in The Desperate Hour, essentially a one-woman show about a mother panicking to get back to her children. It's emotive but a bit contrived.  From Australia, Streamline is an intriguing but far too gloomy drama about a swimmer (Levi Miller) who goes off the rails. From Greece, Echoes of the Past is a familiar WWII drama elevated by the great Max von Sydow, in his final film role. The surreal adventure Strawberry Mansion is a wonderfully inventive journey into dreamscapes starring Kenrucker Audley, who also cowrote and codirected. And from France, A Night in the Fields is an involving short feature about two teens working out their friendship and more.

I also revisited the sensitive, improv-style 2020 New York drama Cicada before hosting a Valentine's Day Q&A with writer-director-star Matthew Fifer, producer Jeremy Truong, producer Ramfis Myrthil and editor Kyle Sims. The film's UK release was delayed by the pandemic, and it was great to finally get to meet them, welcome them to London and chat to a very receptive audience.

In this coming week, films to see include Channing Tatum in Dog and the Palestinian thriller Huda's Salon. I'm also heading off on a break for a couple of weeks, so blog entries may be a bit sporadic. But I'm hoping to catch up with the Foo Fighters in Studio 666 and, yes, Robert Pattinson in The Batman along the way.

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.