Critical Week: Into the wild, wild west

There were several starry films shown to critics in London this past week, as many of our colleagues were still in Cannes watching things we won't see here for a few months. The best one was Slow West, a beautifully shot, cleverly paced drama set in the Wild West and starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Michael Fassbender (above). Melissa McCarthy reunites with The Heat filmmaker Paul Feig for Spy, a raucous action comedy that's profane, violent and utterly hilarious. I see a franchise brewing. Dwayne Johnson tackles the biggest earthquake ever in the rather ridiculously over-the-top disaster movie San Andreas, which opens this week. Rosamund Pike is terrific in the rather underdeveloped post-attack drama Return to Sender. And Guy Pearce and Coby Smulders play duelling personal trainers in the witty but ultimately thin Results.

Off the beaten path, we had the beautifully shot Eden, which traces France's club music scene authentically but without much in the way of character or plot. Also from France, the even more loosely structured Love at First Fight (Les Combattants) at least traces a strongly involving personal journey in two young people who join the army to get away from their boring homes. From China, Black Coal, Thin Ice is a gorgeously artful police thriller that leaves its twisty, surprising mystery plot in the background where it belongs. Oriented is a groundbreaking documentary about three gay Palestinians in Tel Aviv that has a lot to say about Israel's political situation. And finally, The Human Centipede 3 (Final Segment) is the conclusion of Dutch filmmaker Tom Six's insane gross-out trilogy, this time set in an American prison. It's over-the-top, clumsy and frankly awful, but makes some strong points with its satirical-comedy tone.

I also caught up with Bessie, the biopic about the iconic blues pioneer Bessie Smith, played beautifully by Queen Latifah. It's a remarkably tough story, directed with flashes of real insight by filmmaker Dee Rees and featuring superb supporting turns by the unstoppable likes of Khandi Alexander, Mo'Nique, Michael Kenneth Williams and Mike Epps, all of whom make their characters startlingly complex. In the end, the structure is a bit tricky to make much sense of, but the characters are so strong that we don't mind much. And the music is simply divine.

This coming week, screenings include Insidious Chapter 3, Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal in Accidental Love, Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courteney in their Berlin-winning roles in Andrew Haigh's 45 Years, the horror thriller Cub, the aristocrat doc Lord Montagu, and the Open City Docs highlights Before the Last Curtain Falls and Daniel's World.

Flare 2: Sing like an angel

Mo'Nique makes her first return to the big screen alongside newcomer Julian Walker (above) in Blackbird, showing at the British Film Institute's Flare: London LGBT Film Festival. The festival was a flurry of parties and screenings over the weekend, with the highlight being the presence of movie icon Tab Hunter in attendance to talk about a documentary tracing his life and career (alas, I was unable to attend, but I'll catch up with it this week). More film highlights...

Blackbird 

dir Patrik-Ian Polk; with Julian Walker, Mo'Nique 14/US ***

Strong topical themes make this film worth seeing, even if the script drifts over-the-top in the final act, piling on just a few too many issues, emotions and coincidences. But the fresh cast is strong, and the film has a lovely musical sense about it. It also says some very important things about the clash between religion and sexuality.

Girlhood

dir Celine Sciamma; with Karidja Toure, Assa Sylla 14/Fr ****.

Building on the effectiveness of her gender-challenging Water Lillies and Tomboy, writer-director Sciamma creates a series of fascinating characters that continually jolt us out of our expectations. This film is stunningly well-made, peppered with unforgettable goosebump moments even as it refuses to answer all of the questions it raises.

Frangipani 

dir Chandrasekaram Visakesa; with Dasun Pathirana, Jehan Srikanth Appuhami 14/Sri ***.

From Sri Lanka, this film is made in a distinctly local style that will feel hesitant and awkward to a Western audience, but it offers sharp insight into a culture still struggling to deal with questions about sexuality and gender identity. It's also infused with warmth and a cheeky sense of humour. And the characters are so strong characters that they don't need to say too much.

Something Must Break 

dir Ester Martin Bergsmark; with Saga Becker, Iggy Malmborg 14/Swe ****

Beautifully shot and edited to get into the mind of its young central character, this Swedish drama explores how it feels to live outside the lines society has drawn for you. It sometimes an overpoweringly dark drama, with relentlessly bleak undercurrents, but there's a spark of hope that maybe people can find ways to love and accept each other.

Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity

dir Catherine Gund; with Elizabeth Streb, Laura Flanders 14/US ****

Intense and intriguing, this documentary traces an outrageously inventive, physical form of artistic experssion that combines dance, gymnastics and circus movement. From a desire to see a human being fly, Elizabeth Streb develops what she calls "extreme action". So even if the filmmaking is somewhat serious and straightforward, the performances are visceral and thrilling... FULL REVIEW >

Alive! [Vivant!]
dir-scr Vincent Boujon; with Vincent Leclercq, Matteo Montenegro 14/Fr **** 
This simple, straightforward documentary has an unusually loose narrative that's evocative and experiential rather than informative. Along the way, filmmaker Boujon inventively uses a relatively simple situation - a group of five HIV-positive men going skydiving - to explore some much bigger issues. It's involving and moving, and rather amazing.

The Golden Age of the American Male
dir Bob Mizer; with Joe Dallesandro, Blackie Preston 12/US ***
This is a very simple compilation of vintage gay-interest movies made by Mizer's AMG Studios using home-movie techniques to shoot scenes celebrating the male physique. These fit young men are wearing posing pouches or completely naked enacting contrived scenarios that are so hilariously absurd that even they can't stop laughing. If this collection contained some information about how or when they were made, it would be a much more valuable document. As is, it's an amusing, intriguing glimpse at a forgotten corner of movie history.