Safety Not Guaranteed ★★★★☆

Colin Trevorrow's Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) is the type of sweet, low-budget indie comedy with an intelligent heart that’s slowly become synonymous with the Sundance Film Festival. Starring Aubrey Plaza, Jake M. Johnson and mumblecore director Mark Duplass, Safety Not Guaranteed is a pitch perfect slice of contemporary American cinema with an intriguing sci-fi twist.

When Jeff (Johnson) a Seattle magazine reporter suggests a pitch about a peculiar classified ad in a local paper he's whisked off to investigate. The advert simply reads; "Wanted: Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You'll get paid after we get back. Must bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before." Desperate to find out more about this eye catching advert Jeff heads to the small coastal town it originated from accompanied by two interns; the plucky, yet dry humoured Darius (Plaza) and the bookish Arnau (Karan Soni).

The three attempt to get an interview with the writer of the advert (Duplass), however, his incredibly secretive demeanour results in them having to do some deeply penetrating investigative journalism to get their story. Unwilling to get his hands dirty and preoccupied with reacquainting himself with a schoolboy fling, Jeff uses Darius as bait in order to get closer to this eccentric inventor.


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Damsels in Distress ★★★★☆

US indie darling Greta Gerwig stars alongside Adam Brody and Analeigh Tipton in Whit Stillman's first film in 13 years, Damsels in Distress (2011) - an alternative take on the American frat movie that falls somewhere between a parody of middle-class contemporary social life and a high-browClueless (1995).

Violet (Gerwig) is an incredibly pedantic, presumptuous and borderline obsessive compulsive student at Seven Oaks College who strives to be remembered for creating something significant like a new dance craze - which she believes unlike education or medicine, is a far more meaningful and life affirming pursuit. She leads a trio of girls working in the university's suicide prevention centre who through a combination of tap dance and doughnuts are attempting to shake-up the college campus' male-dominated environment of 'operator playboy types' and rescue their fellow students from depression and their own self-imposed low standards.


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Liberal Arts ★★★★☆

Liberal Arts (2012) is the sophomore directorial effort by Josh Radnor (most commonly known to UK audiences for his role in TV's How I Met Your Mother), a witty and incredibly sweet independent comedy that stars Radnor himself amongst a stellar cast which includes Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins and Zac Efron.

Jesse (Radnor) is a thirty-something "over articulate man boy who never grew up", who's found himself tied down to an uninspiring job in university admissions after majoring in English whilst minoring in History - a combination which he himself confesses has made him entirely unemployable. Shortly after his girlfriend dumps him, Jesse receives a call from an old college professor (Jenkins) who invites him back to his former university in order to give a speech. Jesse spends his time back at school reminiscing of a time when he was free to enjoy literature and converse with like-minded individuals. However, it's the introduction of Zibby (Olsen), a wide-eyed and innocent 19-year-old whose infectious optimism has yet to be deflated by the 'real world' which really makes an impression in Jesse's life.


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Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy ★★★★☆

During the 1980s - and as one of Spain's most influential directors - Carlos Saura moved away from his Franco-era political films such as Ana y Los Lobos (1973) and the sensational Cria Cuervos (Raise Ravens, 1976) to focus on his lifelong passion for flamenco. Saura created a sumptuous trilogy examining this quintessentially Spanish element of Hispanic culture, using flamenco's rigidly choreographed dance routines and vibrant music to depict the powerfully emotive themes of romance and unrequited love. The first film in the Flamenco Trilogy is Blood Wedding (1981), a rural Andalusian tragedy starring Antonio Gades, Cristina Hoyos and Antonio Jimenez which depicts a dance company performing a dress rehearsal of Federico García Lorca's play of the same name. An intense and passionate tale of arranged marriage and secret romance, Blood Wedding is a 'behind-the-scenes' expose of musical productions which not only captures the brooding emotions behind its subject matter but also allows a fascinating insight into the mechanics behind such stage performances. Read More...

Breathing ★★★★☆

Austrian actor Karl Markovics (best known to UK audiences for his starring role in 2007 Academy Award winner The Counterfeiters) has stepped behind the camera to make his debut feature film Breathing (Atmen, 2011), and in the process has created one of this year's most heartfelt and moving films.

Roman Kogler (Thomas Schubert) is a nineteen year old boy who's spent the last five years in a juvenile detention centre. He'll soon be up for parole but will only attain his freedom if he can prove himself in the outside world by successfully holding down a job - a task that's impeded by Roman's powerful sense of guilt which, coupled with the devastating effects evoked by his mother's abandonment, leaves him struggling to reintegrate into society. However, a job opportunity working in a morgue slowly begins to help Roman find his way back towards the real world - that is until he's confronted with the body of a woman who bares the same surname as him, leading this wayward adolescent on an emotional journey to find his mother whilst simultaneously allowing him to truly understand his guilt.

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Beauty (Skoonheid) ★★★★☆

Winner of the Queer Palm at last year's Cannes Film Festival, South African director Oliver Hermanus' sophomore feature Beauty (Skoonheid, 2011) is a devastatingly powerful story of obsession and sexual denial, which in itself acts as a powerful allegory for his country's continued transition from a nation of archaic beliefs and traditions to a more open and accepting culture.

François (Deon Lotz) is a devoted husband and father living the suburban dream thanks to his successful Timber company. However, despite this seemingly serene existence he struggles with an internal battle against his repressed homosexual desires. So far, François has managed to keep his sexuality hidden through the support of a weekly group consisting of other married men in similar situations. Despite engaging in all-male orgies together, they detest the thought of any 'faggots' joining their exclusive 'married men only' group. However, Francois' restrain is put to the test when he meets Christian (Charlie Keegan), the handsome son of a long-lost friend. Christian is too much for Francois to ignore - leading to him becoming dangerously obsessed with this engaging young man, and in turn threatening to tear apart the delicate family dynamic he's carefully fabricated.

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The Portuguese Nun ★★★★☆

Leonor Baldaque stars in Eugene Green's The Portuguese Nun (2009), an unconventional adaptation of the 17th century text Letters of a Portuguese Nun - a collection of love notes which begin passionately before slowly filtering through varying conflicts of faith, feelings of despair and eventually tragedy.

French actress Julie (Baldaque) arrives in Lisbon to film a costume drama based on the aforementioned novel. She plays the titular nun, with her only other co-star playing the French naval officer who whisks her off her feet. She's already recorded the dialogue back home in Paris and all that remains is to shoot the visuals which will accompany her monologue, giving her plenty of down time to become acquainted with the city - leading to a series of bizarre, yet eye-opening encounters with various similarly lost souls.

Using the same epistolary format of its source material, The Portuguese Nun successfully feels like a collection of various episodes gentle sewn together to create one whole. It's remarkable to observe the film's protagonist slowly evolve into the character she's there to become, and thanks to this fractured approach Green is allowed to explore the novel's numerous themes without ever escaping the film's frame narrative of an isolated actress on a journey of self discovery

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Las Acacias ★★★★☆

Winner of the Sutherland award at this year’s London Film Festival as well as the prestigious Camera D’or at Cannes, Pablo Giorgelli’s slow burning road movie, Las Acacias is an inventive, yet low key affair which whilst lacking in engaging dialogue is bustling with intriguing character development.

Truck driver Ruben’s (German de Silva) life is an isolated one, working long solitary shifts transporting timber from Paraguay to Argentina. He has agreed to carry a passenger across the border with him, a middle aged woman by the name of Jainta (Hebe Duarte) who’s searching for work in Buenos Aries. However, when she arrives to meet him at the rendezvous she’s accompanied by her five month old baby – something Ruben wasn’t expecting. Despite his reluctance to transport this screaming infant he agrees to take them both anyway – maybe out of a sense of decency or just to ensure he doesn’t spend another long haul trip alone.

Both characters begin as incredibly secretive individuals, sharing little in the way of conversation within the claustrophobic confines of Ruben’s truck’s cabin. However, despite the sparse dialogue, as the scenery passes them by and the miles on the clock increase they slowly start to open up to one another. This slow peeling away of these densely layered individuals builds a palpable degree of intrigue that’s seems foreign compared to the film languid pace and calculated approach.

Surprisingly its not the relationship between Ruben and Jainta that drives the film forward but rather the Baby (Anahi) who is the primary narrative device here. Her adorable youthful charms – especially how she begins to mimic Ruben’s expressions and actions – are what break this solemn lorry driver’s rigid fixation with the job at hand and slowly distracts from the mundane rituals of his life – a striking metaphor for how consumed our society is by working and how little time we take to enjoy the world around us.

Certainly not to everyone’s tastes, the tension which builds between the film’s two central characters fails to ignite in away that will reward those who can’t see past the tedium of being a backseat passenger to this monotonous journey through South America, however Las Acacias is a pensive character study which demands your patience if it’s to be truly enjoyed. Whilst the audience is given little in the way of details, it’s clear that these two lost souls share a connection and whilst there’s no Hollywood test of their budding relationship through some hyperbolic sentimental lesson at the end of their journey, what your left with is a deeply personal and effecting tale that resonates which much more gravitas.

Las Acacias is a leisurely paced, yet densely layered character piece that belies its simplistic facade – a beautifully constructed and naturally evolving tale that has a heart of gold behind its gritty exterior.

Tiny Furniture ★★★★☆

Written, directed and starring Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture (2010) is a delightfully twee, existential comedy which takes a wildly imaginative approach to romance, family and the confusion which surrounds graduating. Also starring Dunham's own mother and sister, and shot within their family home, Tiny Furniture is a prime example of micro budget filmmaking at its very best.

Aura (Lena Dunham) is a 22-year-old young woman suffering from post graduate delirium, who’s begrudgingly forced into returning home from university to live with her artist mother (Laurie Simmons) and overachieving sister (Grace Dunham). Recently heartbroken after her long term boyfriend (described by Aura's condescending sister as little more than "a speck of granola" in the breakfast of life) has returned to Ohio to 'find himself’, Aura begins the long and tricky process of deciding which path her life should take, attempting to find something which defines her, whilst simultaneously dealing with the same domestic conflicts which were apparent before she left.

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Pink Ribbons, Inc ★★★★☆

Part of this year’s 16th incarnation of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Léa Pool’s impassioned documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc looks to expose the corporate interests behind the iconic pink ribbon of Cancer Awareness month. Often seen as a symbol of solidarity which helps fight this devastating disease, Pool raises a compelling counter argument that the companies behind these charities may have interests which are actually detrimental to the medical research required to cure breast cancer – a disease which claims the lives of almost 40,000 North American each year.

Pool’s eye-opening documentary focuses on the numerous companies who exploit the cause of breast cancer awareness to advertise their products – from handguns and gasoline to the types of cosmetics filled with carcinogens which are believed to cause cancer, you’d be amazed at the type of products which are designed to cash in on this lucrative marketing model. Over the years, this reliance on the funding from multinational business has begun to dilute the previous militant approach to research and now depict breast cancer as a far more marketable commodity – focusing on awareness rather than prevention and the devastating effects of the disease.

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The Yellow Sea ★★★★☆

Director Na Hong-jin's 2009 debut The Chaser, along with the works of Joon-ho Bong, Park Chan-wook and Kim Ji-woon helped thrust the South Korean movie industry into the consciousness of Western audiences. However, a recent spate of mediocre and uninspired genre films has started to flood the market, threatening to stunt this Eastern revolution. Thankfully Hong-jin's The Yellow Sea (2010) is an original and intense revenge thriller that looks set to breathe new life into a stagnant industry.

Kim Gu-nam (Ha Jung-woo) is a taxi driver struggling to make a living in the Yanbian - a Korean populated region which borders Russia, China and North Korea. Those who live in the area are known as 'Joseonjoks' - a derogatory term given by those in South Korean as many of these Yanbian natives end up fleeing the region to find work in the south. Gu-nam's wife is one of these illegal immigrants; however he’s failed to hear from her since her departure - lumbered with the 60000 Yuan debt acquired for her visa and seemingly unable to pay it back to the vicious loan sharks who follow his every move.

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Wild Bill ★★★★☆

On the surface, Dexter Fletcher's directorial debut Wild Bill (2011) appears to be little more than yet another gritty independent British feature, seemingly conforming to the archetypal formula of such films to create yet another bleak piece of social commentary. However, thanks to a deeply heartfelt script and a cast which boasts a wealth of British acting talent (including Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter, Andy Serkis and Jaime Winstone), Wild Bill successfully adds a fresh perspective to this overused and heavily saturated genre.

Out on parole after eight years of imprisonment, Bill (Creed-Miles) returns home to find the two sons he left behind fending for themselves after their mother carelessly abandoned them. Dean (Poulter) the eldest of the boys has found himself a construction job on the London Olympic site (despite only being 15) and has so far been the sole provider for himself and his younger brother Jimmy (Sammy Williams). Bill is reluctant to play father, with Dean equally uninterested in welcoming back his transient dad, however his release from prison has alerted social services and suddenly the threat of a life in care becomes very real to Dean and his younger brother - leading the boys into blackmailing Bill to stay and for all intensive purposes present himself as the caring father he should be.

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The Student Comedies (BFI Ozu Collection) ★★★★☆

The Student Comedies consist of four incredibly rare films by the acclaimed Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu. This lovingly restored collection is part of the BFI's ongoing venture to release all 32 of the surviving films he made for the Shochiku Studio. This 2-disc box set finally brings Ozu's student-themed silent comedies to DVD for the first time - including a newly commissioned score by composer Ed Hughes.

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Just the Wind ★★★★☆

Benedek Fliegauf's hard-hitting Hungarian drama Just the Wind (Csak a szél, 2011) is a chilling story of a Romany community living amongst an atmosphere of fear and paranoia, that will certainly find itself fighting amongst the best of the Berlinale for its prestigious Golden Bear award.
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Francine ★★★★☆

Starring Academy Award-winning actress Melissa Leo, Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky's Francine (2012) is a surprisingly provocative piece of stripped-down social realism that's subtle approach belies its powerful core themes.

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Rent-a-Cat ★★★★☆

Tonally a million miles away from the dark subject matter of most of this year's Berlinale lineup, Naoko Ogigami's Rent-a-Cat (Rentaneko, 2011) is a delightfully twee story of self discovery which successfully blends elements of Amélie (2001) with the sweet sentiment of Studio Ghibli.

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Position Among the Stars ★★★★☆

Over a decade in the making, Position Among the Stars (2010) is the final instalment of Dutch director Leonard Retel Helmrich's trilogy of documentaries following the lives of the Sjamsuddin family. Acting as a portal into the lives of just one of many improvised families currently living amongst the fragile shanty towns of Jakarta, Helmrich's intensely beautiful study of this domestic microcosm of Indonesian life is as socially important as it is enjoyable.
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Keyhole ★★★★☆

Whilst Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist (2011) is sweeping up awards across the globe for its masterful use of cinematic nostalgia, it seems odd that the German expressionist-inspired works of Guy Maddin remains resigned to the appreciation of arthouse cinephiles. However, his most recent production Keyhole (2011) doesn't look like changing that dynamic, pushing his abstract approach passed the realms of worldwide accessibility.


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Midnight in Paris ★★★★☆

Woody Allen’s recent output can best be described as inconsistent. Only fleetingly finding the unique comedic essence which made his previous work so gratifying, Midnight in Paris see’s Allen take a much safer approach, imbuing his narrative with a fantasy element which allows him to take advantage of cinema’s recent fascination with the past, whilst simultaneously being able to subtly injecting his own identifiable sense of humour.

Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams play Gil and Inez, an engaged couple who couldn’t be any more different. They’re in Paris to enjoy a holiday of sightseeing and shopping before their impending wedding – but the underlying romance of the city soon begins to magnify their dramatically different life perspectives.

Gil is a self confessed ‘Hollywood Hack’ who dreams of breaking away from writing formulaic blockbuster screenplays and finish his novel, Inez, on the other hand is a materialistic women, brought up by status obsessed parents and unable to understand Gil’s new found obsession with the idealistic Parisian lifestyle he’s rapidly become besotted with.
The cracks of their relationship begin to rapidly reveal themselves when Gil – on a midnight stroll through Paris whilst Inez goes dancing with her unbearably pretentious friend Paul (Michael Sheen) – discovers a old 1920′s car which seamlessly transports him back in time and into a series of choice encounters with some of histories most renowned literary and artistic legends – including Scot Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Picasso.

It’s these deliciously nostalgic vignettes of 20′s Paris which transform Midnight in Paris from a wry anti-romantic comedy into a shamelessly enjoyable experience. Whilst it may all be undeniably outlandish, self-absorbed and clearly milking its romanticised vision of the past, Midnight in Paris never feels overly contrived – with Allen’s well harnessed ‘tongue-in-cheek’ approach successfully pulling us in to Gil’s magical excursions.

Whilst Midnight in Paris is by far Allen’s best work of the last ten years it still suffers from the usual problems which generally accompany this much loved director. Despite some eye catching performances by Marion Coltiard and McAdams, Allen’s women are all very thinly drawn, appearing as either obstacles or muses and little else. However, in his decision to cast Owen Wilson as his main protagonist he has successfully found someone to take over his usual preference to star in front of, as well as behind the camera. Wilson’s idiosyncratic demeanour is wonderfully reminiscent of seventies
Woody Allen making him the perfect actor to replicate this director’s distinctive style.

Midnight in Paris is a wonderful piece of escapist drama, that through it’s deluded protagonist leads us on a fascinating journey of self discovery – and whilst we the audience may choice to position ourselves as far away as possible from Allen’s incredibly self-obsessed characters, it becomes difficult not to become completely fascinated with their whimsical encounters and activities

Melancholia ★★★★☆

Lars von Trier's most accomplished movie since 2003's Dogville was sadly overshadowed by the controversy this constantly provocative director evoked at last year's Cannes Film Festival, with the praise it deserved sadly diluted by his remarkably thoughtless remarks. This is a huge shame, as not only does Melancholia (2011) boast an award-winning star turn by Kirsten Dunst (in a career best performance), but was also one of last year's most aesthetically pleasing films.

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