Matthias & Maxime review - psychology and romance make for cinematic gold

★★★★ MATTHIAS & MAXIME Psychology and romance make for cinematic gold

Quebec boy-wonder Xavier Dolan comes of age

The emotional rawness of Xavier Dolan’s films reflects a rare humanity and empathy. For someone still only 31, the French-Canadian writer and director displays an uncanny sense of the passionate turmoil that animates his characters. The subtle shifts in moods he achieves may often be sustained through an unusual talent for picking the right music or song, but the tone is never set in a way that manipulates the audience.

Yes, God, Yes review - coming of age, emphasis on coming

★★★ YES, GOD, YES American indie celebrates a Catholic girl's sexual enlightenment

American indie movie celebrating a Catholic girl's sexual enlightenment

It’s somewhat dispiriting to watch a coming-of-age rom-com that rarely rises above clichés and limps along as slowly as Yes, God, Yes. It's set in the early 2000s, and 16-year old Alice (Natalie Dyer) is struggling with sexual desire, idling on saucy chat rooms on her parents’ basement computer and guiltily enjoying how good her phone feels when set to vibrate in her lap. 

Krabi, 2562 review - a trance-like visitation

★★★★ KRABI, 2562 Documentary and fiction combine in an unusual guided tour

Documentary and fiction combine in an unusual guided tour

Have you ever visited a destination you saw on film, only to realise it’s not quite how you imagined? Filled with tourists, the scars of mass visitation, and caught between its own culture and staying commercially attractive. The Thai city of Krabi is one such location, made famous by such films as The Beach and The Man with a Golden Gun. New release Krabi, 2562, from festival favourite directors Anocha Suwichakornpong and Ben Rivers, tackles these issues.

Blu-ray: The Apu Trilogy

★★★★★ BLU-RAY: THE APU TRILOGY An enduring Bengali epic

An enduring Bengali epic from India's greatest filmmaker

Over the years, the legend of The Apu Trilogy has been much-repeated. Now widely considered India’s greatest filmmaker, Satyajit Ray was little more than a small-time commercial artist when, failing to find a sponsor for his script, he assembled what few funds he could in order to begin filming.

The County review - Icelandic drama from the director of 'Rams'

THE COUNTY Grímur Hákonarson’s latest feature cuts to the quick of local politics

Grímur Hákonarson’s latest feature cuts to the quick of local politics

Like Rams before it, the ice-glazed hillsides and stark ochre grasslands of northern Iceland are the backdrop for Grímur Hákonarson’s third feature The County, a rural drama that explores the murkier side of local politics.

The Atom: A Love Affair review - hot fusion and cold hearts

★★★ THE ATOM: A LOVE AFFAIR How the west fell out of love with nuclear power

New documentary explores how the west fell out of love with nuclear power

It’s fair to say that humanity’s relationship with nuclear energy over the last 50 years has had more highs and lows than a Spanish soap opera. From the Manhattan Project to Hinkley Point, it’s been a controversial technology that has promised both humanity’s salvation and damnation.