After the huge commercial and artistic success of ‘ The Bridge on the River Kwai ‘, director David Lean began his extraordinary journey towards making another epic feature film. This time the Brit moved from the Indochina jungle to the Saudi Arabian desert and the Second World War turned into the First World War….
Imagine Review
“A blind person should always walk using a white stick”. This phrase appears several times in the latest film by Andrzej Jakimowski (Tricks) ’Imagine’. Ian (Edward Hogg: Anonymous), a blind English teacher, comes to Lisbon. He wishes to teach visually impaired children and young people. At the clinic, which is located in the building of…
56th BFI London Film Festival: Horses Of God ( Les Chevaux de Dieu) Review
Nabil Ayouch’s ‘Les Chevaux De Dieu’ (Horses of God) was described by The Hollywood Reporter as an ‘intimate portrait of boys growing up in a toxic environment’. Written by Jamal Belmahi, Horses of God is based on a book about the five simultaneous explosions in Casablanca in 2003, and “uses current events — the…
56th BFI London Film Festival: The Hunt Review
Thomas Vinterberg’s (Festen) latest film The Hunt, starring Mads Mikkelsen (Casino Royale, A Royal Affair), is set in a small community during the period of three months. In this town we see the full extent one lie has in destroying an innocent man’s life. Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen), a nursery teacher who is just getting back…
56th BFI London Film Festival: Zaytoun Review
After directing Lemon Tree and The Syrian Bride, Eran Riklis decided on making another film, setting its action in the Middle East again. Zaytoun is a story of an unlikely road trip and, against all odds, friendship between an Israeli pilot and a Palestinian boy. 1982 Lebanon, as the tension between Israel and Lebanon grows (6 June 1982 Israeli Defense Forces invaded, already…
Untouchable Review
Untouchable, the new French comedy to hit our screens, is a beautiful homage to French cinema. Directed and written by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, the film, which is based on a true story, tells the tale of the unlikely friendship between tetraplegic aristocrat Phillipe and Driss, a young man from the ghetto, who becomes…
56th BFI London Film Festival: West of Memphis Review
West of Memphis is a new documentary from American filmmaker Amy J. Berg and produced by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Damien Echols. The film focuses on three men – Damien Echols (sentenced to death), Jessie Misskelley, Jr. (sentenced to life imprisonment plus two 20- year sentences), and Jason Baldwin (sentenced to life imprisonment) who were wrongly…
56th BFI London Film Festival: In Conversation with Jeremy Teicher
Jeremy Teicher is a young director whose short film This Is Us was nominated for a 2011 Student Academy Award. He graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 2010 where he studied Film, English and Theater. He recently completed his first feature film called Tall as the Baobab Tree, which will have its European Premiere at the…
56th BFI London Film Festival: Tall as the Baobab Tree Review
After seeing some films that focus on Africa and its affairs – War/Dance, Return to Africa’s Witch Children and The Great African Scandal, I was longing to watch a film that wasn’t a documentary and one that would address a different issue than child soldiers or corruption. I was very excited when I got a…
The Bourne Legacy Review
The Bourne Legacy has not got much in common with Jason Bourne’s adventures. Tony Gilroy introduces a new character to us: Aaron Cross. Gilroy, who wrote the script to Bourne Trilogy, decided to take on the challenge of directing the film himself. Another super agent, Cross (great Jeremy Renner: The Avengers, The Hurt Locker)…
Collaborators Review
Collaborators, written by John Hodge (Screenwriter of Trainspotting and The Beach), is an interesting look into Stalin’s Russia through the eyes of Mikhail Bulgakov, one of Russia’s most controversial authors. Bulgakov is portrayed by Alex Jennings (The Queen) whilst Simon Russell Beale (The Deep Blue Sea) tackles the role of Stalin. The production centre’s around a…
Avengers Assemble Review
Avengers Assemble, based on Marvel comic book, is the latest Joss Whedon’s film. And what a spectacular production it is! Safety on Earth is threatened by a vicious Norse God Loki (Tom Hiddleston : The Deep Blue Sea, Henry V, Wallander) who steals the Tesseract, an energy source of unknown potential, and uses it…
Mad Dogs Season Two Review
Mad Dogs, created and written by Cris Cole , tells the story of four friends (Woody, Baxter, Rick and Quinn) and the trouble they face when a visit to an old friend forces them into a world of corruption, drugs and murder. The first season introduced the viewer to the main characters played by Max Beesley (Woody),…
Chasing Cotards review
‘Chasing Cotards’ is a visually stunning work of art. The short film, directed by Edward L. Dark, lasts only 13 minutes and has no dialogue to speak of. And yet it is a powerful piece telling the story of a man, Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Sea Wall), who struggles with the recent death of his…
