Blu-ray: La Dolce Vita

★★★★★ BLU-RAY: LA DOLCE VITA Fellini's prescient vision of a paparazzi world

Fellini's prescient vision of a paparazzi-dominated world

One of those films weighed down by a considerable reputation, La Dolce Vita (1960) is rarely taken as seriously as it should be. From the very first sequence in which a figure of Christ sails across Rome’s skies, suspended from a helicopter, a sensational image that summed up the spiritual bankruptcy of the time, until the last when an innocent and beautiful girl smiles quizically in close-up, this is a deeply moral film.

Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins review - a fitting tribute to a political hellraiser

Fast-paced and funny documentary about a legendary American newspaper columnist

It’s a brave film distributor who releases a documentary about an American journalist in the UK at the best of times, let alone in the middle of a pandemic, so first salute goes to Eve Gabereau at Modern Films for giving Raise Hell a proper launch.

Naomi Klein: On Fire: The Burning Case for a Green New Deal review - an unapologetic manifesto

★★★★ NAOMI KLEIN - ON FIRE: THE BURNING CASE FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL An unapologetic manifesto

Klein’s radical remedy for reversing climate destruction

On Fire brings together a decade’s worth of dispatches from the frontline of the climate disaster – spanning the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill (“a violent wound in the living organism that is Earth itself”), devastating tropical cyclones in Puerto Rico and choking wildfires in British Columbia.

Gabriel Pogrund & Patrick Maguire: Left Out review - story of Corbynism from 'Glastonbury to catastrophe'

Far from a definitive text on the Corbyn experiment, but a decent first draft

Readers of Left Out may be surprised to find out how much of party politics is conducted over WhatsApp. The Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn had an encrypted chat for every occasion – whether it was to smear a colleague, to slime the “scumbag” press, or (as was the case with two rogue party staffers) to plot the demise of the “Project” from the inside.

Selva Almada: Dead Girls review – the stark proximity of women to violence

★★★★ SELVA ALMADA: DEAD GIRLS The stark proximity of women to violence

Almada's hybrid writing bears searing witness to the horrors of femicide

Selva Almada’s newly translated work has a stark title in both English and the original Spanish: Dead Girls, or Chicas Muertas. That apparent bluntness belies the hybrid sensitivity that makes up the pages. Its subject matter is the murders of three young women during the 1980s, spread across different provinces of Argentina, a country where murders of and violence against women are unbearably commonplace.

Mr Jones review - a timely testament to journalism

★★★★ MR. JONES A timely testament to journalism

James Norton stars as the journalist who exposed Stalin's Ukrainian famine

While the horrors of Hitler’s rule are well documented, Joseph Stalin’s crimes are less renowned, so much so that in a recent poll in Russia he was voted their greatest ever leader. This chilling fact made acclaimed director Agnieszka Holland feel compelled to remedy such a legacy. She’s long turned her light onto Europe’s darkest hours, including Academy Award-nominated Holocaust dramas Europa, Europa and In Darkness, and now comes Mr Jones.

Filmmaker Agnieszka Holland: 'Without journalism, democracy will not survive'

FILMMAKER AGNIESZKA HOLLAND 'Without journalism, democracy will not survive'

'Mr Jones' director discusses why she's fascinated by Europe's darkest hours

Agnieszka Holland is one of Europe's leading filmmakers. Growing up in Poland under Soviet rule, her films have often tackled the continent's complex history, including the Academy Award-nominated Europa, Europa, In Darkness and Angry Harvest. In America, she's become a trusted hand for prestige television, with credits on The Wire, House of Cards and The Killing. Her latest film, Mr.

Jodi Kantor & Megan Twohey: She Said review – better than the movies

★★★★ JODI KANTOR & MEGAN TWOHEY: SHE SAID Gripping account of their investigation into Harvey Weinstein

Reporters’ gripping account of the investigation into Harvey Weinstein and its explosive aftermath

October 5th in the United States is a day for righteous rage. In 2016 it marked the release of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape in which Donald Trump made his now-infamous “grab them by the pussy” comment. In 2017, it was the date the New York Times published their first story on Hollywood king-pin producer Harvey Weinstein. In 2018 it was the date on which the Senate saw fit to advance Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World ed. Zahra Hankir review – journalism from the front lines

★★★★ OUR WOMEN ON THE GROUND Essays by courageous, principled and outspoken female Arab journalists

Essays by courageous, principled and outspoken female Arab journalists

Many of the women in this pioneering collection of essays have faced unimaginable hardship in their pursuit of truth – persecution by extremist groups as well as the loss of family members and friends. The tone of this collection is, however, best captured by Amira Al Sharif’s photograph of laundry hanging out to dry across a grocer's family home which has been damaged in a coalition bombing in Yemen.