Joseph Walsh

⭑⭑⭑⭑✩ En las películas, el amor es a menudo solo pétalos de rosa, besos bajo la lluvia y grandes gestos clichés. Aquí no. En cambio, los codirectores Lisa Barros D'Sa y Glenn Leyburn nos brindan un drama tierno que cobra vida en sus momentos más tranquilos y poco demostrativos. Un poco más cercano a la vida real. Tom (Liam Neeson) y Joan (Lesley Manville) llevan una vida sencilla después de retirarse, tras la muerte de su único hijo. Sus vidas son intencionalmente poco dramáticas. Ver a Joan agregar salsa Worcester a su sopa, es tan emocionante como se lee. Luego nota un bulto en su seno izquierdo y todos sabemos lo que se avecina. Este primer guion del dramaturgo Owen McCafferty no está completamente libre de clichés —un discurso junto a la tumba de Tom suena un poco hueco—, pero es escrupuloso al mostrar que el amor no es todo sonetos y ramos de flores. A través de las meditadas interpretaciones de Manville y Neeson, vemos la forma en que el amor de Tom y Joan se expresa en pequeños gestos: se perdonan los irritantes hábitos del otro; Joan permite esa cerveza extra que Tom no debería tomar; Tom se burla de Joan mientras se afeita la cabeza después de la quimioterapia con un “nunca me gustó tu cabello". No espere fuegos artificiales dramáticos, muy poco sucede narrativamente, pero prepárate para que esta película silenciosa llegue de puntillas a su corazón. Te encontrarás colgando de la actuación típicamente sensible y en última instancia desgarradora de Manville, y aprecian

Dust off those dancing shoes and get ready for some of that ol’ time razzle-dazzle with the BFI’s new three-month season of movie musicals. From Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly’s timeless ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ to the bittersweet Technicolor triumph that is Jacques Demy’s ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’, there’s something in it for everyone. To mark the occasion, we asked the great and the good of London’s dance and musical theatre scene to pick their favourite movie musical.  For the full list of screenings and events happening as part of the BFI’s Musicals! The Greatest Show on Screen season, visit bfi.org.uk.  Recommended: the 100 best comedy films of all time.  Lead image credit: ‘Swing Time’: Courtesy of the Margaret Herrick Library; ‘Funny Girl’: United Archives GmbH / Alamy; ‘Singing in the Rain’: Courtsey BFI - Warner Bros.; ‘Dreamgirls’: David James; ‘Cabaret’: Disney/Touchstone

It’s safe to say that Italy has more interesting prime ministers than us. Not every politician catches the eye of a filmmaker as gifted as Paolo Sorrentino, but sleazy political magnate Silvio Berlusconi has done just that in his new biopic ‘Loro’. The result is a combustible mix of sex, drugs and scheming, with Sorrentino regular Toni Servillo as the perma-grinning bunga bunga devotee. Some people feel ‘Loro’ is vulgar in its depiction of Berlusconi. How do you respond? ‘The film is my reality, not the reality of Berlusconi’s world. Being vulgar can be about dishonesty or cruelty but to me, it can also be beautiful, especially when there are hidden feelings behind it. I wanted to show the emotions behind the desperation of being young; the inadequacy of being beautiful. As long as feelings are also being represented, there is no vulgarity.’ Is it true that you met Berlusconi? ‘Yes, a couple of times. There isn’t a lot to say from what I saw; he isn’t any different in person to how he comes across on TV. He has a great skill of eliciting sympathy from people; this is something even his opponents recognise. He can sell everything and anything.’ Toni Servillo as Silvio Berlusconi in ‘Loro’ Was there anything about his life that you wanted to show but couldn’t? ‘No, because I wasn’t starting from a position of criticism or flattery, so there wasn’t anything I felt I couldn’t show. I didn’t want to be scandalous or uncover hidden truths. For me, it was about capturing a time in

You need to know about Alice Rohrwacher. Up there with her fellow Italian filmmakers, Matteo Garrone and Paolo Sorrentino, she draws on a wild, untamed imagination that has little time for storytelling conventions. Her latest film is a time-twisting fable about a pure soul, Lazzaro (Adriano Tardiolo), who is trapped by a wicked tobacco baroness. To say more would spoil it, but needless to say, this is ambitious filmmaking that won’t disappoint. Is it true ‘Happy as Lazzaro’ was inspired by a newspaper article?‘It was a tiny story in a local newspaper, but these sorts of stories are reasonably commonplace. It was almost like a comic story, where a marchesa had forgotten to mention to her serfs that the rules had changed 20 years ago [and that she was supposed to be paying them]. They were working so hard, they didn’t even notice.’ The film shifts from traditional drama to almost a fairytale. How did you find that balance? ‘It’s a relationship, an erotic relationship, between reality and imagination. It’s about how reality can seduce imagination and how imagination can seduce reality.’ Adriano Tardiolo in ‘Happy as Lazzaro’ How did you discover the actor who plays Lazzaro? ‘I found Adriano in college studying to be a quantity surveyor. Now he’s considering becoming an economist. He had this gentle quality about him, and absolutely no interest in making a movie. He said he would do one month of rehearsals with us and would see whether or not it worked for him. We would have bee

Luego de ganar el Óscar a Mejor actor de reparto por Luz de luna (2016), Mahershala Ali está nominado de nueva cuenta —en la misma categoría— por Green Book: Una amistad sin fronteras. En este nuevo filme interpreta a un famoso pianista, Don Shirley, quien entabla una amistad con su chofer Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen), durante un tour por el sur de Estados Unidos en 1960. Siempre erudito, encantador y apasionado por su trabajo, Ali está ansioso por hablar sobre su papel y la importancia de retratar la diversidad de la experiencia afroamericana. ¿Cómo llegaste a este papel?Después de los Óscar, trataba de hacer un poco de introspección y buscaba un guión con el que me conectara, aunque no sabía qué significaba eso. Aprecié cuán íntima era esta historia, cuán claros eran los personajes y cómo saltaban de la página. ¿Cómo fue la dinámica en el set con Viggo?Me pongo muy nervioso y eso puede ser un reto para las personas. Al estar cerca de Viggo, que como yo es muy particular, me sentía normal, porque él tiene una increíble pasión. Eso me dio la libertad de ser así, e incluso llevarlo a mi próximo trabajo. Él interpreta a tu chofer. ¿Cómo fue actuar teniéndolo de espaldas todo el tiempo? Durante la primera semana de filmación no nos miramos, porque hicimos las escenas en el auto. Era una forma extraña de actuar, pero funcionó porque poníamos énfasis en escuchar. Cuando nos miramos el uno al otro, ya teníamos una semana sintonizados con las voces y l

Green Book conta a história verídica do virtuoso pianista negro Don Shirley e do segurança italo-americano Tony Vallelonga, que o conduz numa tour pelo Sul dos Estados Unidos, na década de 60. A viagem corre segundo o “Green Book”, um guia de orientação que os negros usavam para se deslocarem pelo país sem correr riscos. Mas nem assim corre bem. Com este papel, o vencedor do Óscar de 2017 já conquistou o Globo de Ouro para Melhor Actor Secundário em 2018 e está nomeado na mesma categoria para os Óscares. Um prémio injusto, pois a categoria certa seria a de Melhor Actor. Como é que entrou neste projecto? Foi ainda na fase de escrita do argumento. Logo a seguir aos Óscares, eu estava à procura de alguma coisa, a tentar fazer alguma introspecção, queria um guião com que realmente me ligasse. E gostei muito do quão íntima esta história era, da forma como as personagens saltavam da página. O Viggo [Mortensen] e eu conhecemo-nos na época dos prémios [Óscares], ele tinha sido nomeado pelo Capitão Fantástico e eu pelo Moonlight. Estávamos num evento, em que ficámos num canto a conversar longamente, a captar a vibração um do outro, e no final ambos dissemos que seria óptimo trabalharmos juntos. Por coincidência, o Peter Farrely enviou-me este guião e ofereceu-me o papel. Uma das particularidades do filme é essa de ter metade dos irmãos Farrelly, conhecidos pelas suas comédias [Doidos à Solta, Doidos por Mary] a pegar num drama socialmente complexo. Isso atraiu-o? Foi precisamente

For an Oscar winner with nearly 20 years of screen acting behind him, Mahershala Ali is still strangely under the radar. You probably know him from a fistful of brilliant supporting performances. He was slick DC operator Remy Danton in House of Cards, charismatic crime don Cottonmouth in Netflix’s Luke Cage and, of course, paternal drug dealer Juan in Moonlight, a performance for which he won that Academy Award. But the killer big-screen role has proved elusive. At least, it had. Enter Peter Farrelly, co-director of Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary and, somewhat surprisingly, the filmmaker behind Green Book. He’s provided Ali with that chance to shine, opposite Viggo Mortensen, in his chunkiest part to date. It’s a racial drama that tackles very serious themes, but it offered Ali some big laughs to leaven things. "You have to follow the fun," he says. "If something isn’t fun, you move on to the next thing." This mantra – advice given to him by Get Out director Jordan Peele – is a clue that Ali’s rep for serious-mindedness is more than a little exaggerated. So how is the actor handling the sudden upturn in his career? "I have the opportunity to be more deliberate in my choices," he says, "and to be conscious about the larger social impact of the films I’m in." Like Moonlight before it, Green Book feels like a canny choice. It’s a showcase for his significant acting chops and it offers engaging, important subject matter. As he puts it: "Each role is a tile in th

For an Oscar winner with nearly 20 years of screen acting behind him, Mahershala Ali is still strangely under the radar. You probably know him from a fistful of brilliant supporting performances. He was slick DC operator Remy Danton in House of Cards, charismatic crime don Cottonmouth in Netflix’s Luke Cage and, of course, paternal drug dealer Juan in Moonlight, a performance for which he won that Academy Award. But the killer big-screen role has proved elusive. At least, it had. Enter Peter Farrelly, co-director of Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary and, somewhat surprisingly, the filmmaker behind Green Book. He’s provided Ali with that chance to shine, opposite Viggo Mortensen, in his chunkiest part to date. It’s a racial drama that tackles very serious themes, but it offered Ali some big laughs to leaven things. "You have to follow the fun," he says. "If something isn’t fun, you move on to the next thing." This mantra – advice given to him by Get Out director Jordan Peele – is a clue that Ali’s rep for serious-mindedness is more than a little exaggerated. So how is the actor handling the sudden upturn in his career? "I have the opportunity to be more deliberate in my choices," he says, "and to be conscious about the larger social impact of the films I’m in." Like Moonlight before it, Green Book feels like a canny choice. It’s a showcase for his significant acting chops and it offers engaging, important subject matter. As he puts it: "Each role is a tile in th

For an Oscar winner with nearly 20 years of screen acting behind him, Mahershala Ali is still strangely under the radar. You probably know him from a fistful of brilliant supporting performances. He was slick DC operator Remy Danton in ‘House of Cards’, charismatic crime don Cottonmouth in Netflix’s ‘Luke Cage’ and, of course, paternal drug dealer Juan in ‘Moonlight’, a performance for which he won that Academy Award. But the killer big-screen role has proved elusive. At least, it had. Enter Peter Farrelly, co-director of ‘Dumb and Dumber’ and ‘There’s Something About Mary’ and, somewhat surprisingly, the filmmaker behind ‘Green Book’. He’s provided Ali with that chance to shine, opposite Viggo Mortensen, in his chunkiest part to date. It’s a racial drama that tackles very serious themes, but it offered Ali some big laughs to leaven things. ‘You have to follow the fun,’ he says. ‘If something isn’t fun, you move on to the next thing.’ This mantra – advice given to him by ‘Get Out’ director Jordan Peele – is a clue that Ali’s rep for serious-mindedness is more than a little exaggerated. Opposite Viggo Mortensen in ‘Green Book’ So how is the actor handling the sudden upturn in his career? ‘I have the opportunity to be more deliberate in my choices,’ he says, ‘and to be conscious about the larger social impact of the films I’m in.’ Like ‘Moonlight’ before it, ‘Green Book’ feels like a canny choice. It’s a showcase for his significant acting chops and it offers engaging, importan

Journeyman director Joe Carnahan (The A-Team, Smokin’ Aces) has made a career of harking back to the muscle and mayhem of old-school action flicks. His latest, the jailhouse-set Copshop, is no different. It’s a male-heavy movie, fetishising firearms and other things that go bang and boom. A bit Assault on Precinct 13-lite, in other words. In a slight departure from the formula, a woman takes charge this time around: Alexis Louder (Watchmen) steals the show from more established male co-stars like Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo as rookie cop Valerie, she’s the one straight arrow in a precinct full of pencil-pushers and corrupt officers. She’s a welcome break from the machismo unfolding around her.  Valerie soon has her hands full when she faces off against two crazed hitmen, played by a luxuriantly bearded Butler and Toby Huss, who are angling to kill a Nevada fixer (Grillo). Carnahan knows his way around an action sequence and delivers moments of bruising brutality with impact. But the hard-boiled patter and attempts to generate pace are clunkier that a .45 Magnum thumping to the floor. If you’re looking for a grittily violent placeholder before, say, the next John Wick flick, look elsewhere.  In UK cinemas Sep 10.

Disney’s live action adaptation of its 1940 classic might be on the horizon, but first comes Matteo Garrone’s (‘Gomorrah’) more faithful take, based on Florentine author Carlo Collodi’s nineteenth-century tale. Very un-Disney-like in its mischievous sense of the macabre, the Italian’s adaptation is a visually arresting, old-fashioned creature feature, full of mad monsters that bring to mind the horrors of Walter Murch’s ‘Return to Oz’.Garrone, of course, has previous in bringing ickily tactile fables to the big screen. His ‘Tale of Tales’ (2015) was a bawdy anthology fantasy, starring Salma Hayek and Toby Jones. This time around he keeps things thoroughly Italian, with Roberto Benigni playing poverty-stricken wood carver, Geppetto. (Of course, Benigni also directed and starred in his own ill-fated adaptation of ‘Pinocchio’.) The familiar story of a plucky puppet who becomes a ‘real boy’ isn’t really the focus here. Instead, newcomer Federico Ielapi stars as the wooden marionette who must tame his unruly id and listen to the advice of his elders. The world that Garrone and make-up maestro Mark Coulier craft is populated with wild zoomorphic creatures that are both malevolent and benign. There’s a homely snail who acts as the maid to Pinocchio’s blue-haired fairy protector (Marine Vacth), and Maurizio Lombardi as a giant tuna who looks like something out of ‘The Mighty Boosh’. The result is a bizarre fairytale extravaganza, and Garonne should be credited for the thoughtful way

There’s a longstanding tradition in Hollywood that if you put an uber-macho beefcake in a situation where they have to care for a child, it’s a recipe for hilarity. A man? Looking after a child? What next! Admittedly it can work (‘Kindergarten Cop’) but more often than not, it doesn’t (‘Race to Witch Mountain’ and ‘The Tooth Fairy’). And that’s certainly the case with ‘Witch Mountain’ director Andy Fickman’s latest dead-eyed family film. In this slapdash, slapstick comedy, real life action man John Cena stars as a ‘Smoke Jumper’ – a firefighter who parachutes into to tackle wildfires in California. He’s a duty-bound tough-guy type, living in the shadow of his fire-chief father’s legend. He’s shacked up in the firehouse with three other devoted, and loveable meatheads (Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo, and Tyler Mane), and his pet mastiff, Masher – yes even the dog has to be hyper-masculine. While applying for a promotion, Cena and his hapless crew end up rescuing three siblings from a burning log cabin, and chaos ensues. It’s all nappy and fart jokes, accompanied by Cena inexplicably removing his t-shirt every five minutes to show off his rippling physique. The firehouse is trashed in a series of set pieces by the overly curious tykes, but, lo and behold, their antics teach these emotionally pent-up men that opening your heart is the path to true happiness. Judy Greer also makes an appearance as Dr Amy Hicks, Cena’s token love interest and budding herpetologist. She’s there

Hay una larga tradición en Hollywood que dice que poner a un supermacho en una situación en la que tenga que cuidar de un niño es una receta para la hilaridad. ¿Un hombre? ¿Que cuida de un niño? ¡Increíble! En esta comedia slapstick, John Cena interpreta a un bombero que salta en paracaídas para combatir incendios forestales en California. Ha quedado atrapado en el fuego con otros tres simpáticos idiotas (Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo y Tyler Mane) y su mastín, Masher. Y sí, incluso el perro es hipermasculino. Cena y compañía acaban rescatando a tres hermanos de una cabaña de troncos en llamas y entonces se produce el caos. Todo son bromas de pedos y pañales con Cena quitándose inexplicablemente la camiseta cada cinco minutos para mostrar las ondulaciones de su cuerpo. Parece una película para un canal para niños con más presupuesto de lo normal y es tan estúpida y llana que cuesta pensar que alguien la encuentre divertida, ni siquiera entretenida.

Hi ha una llarga tradició a Hollywood que diu que posar un súper mascle en una situació que hagi de tenir cura d’un nen és una recepta per a la hilaritat. Un home? Que té cura d’un nen? Què més haurem de veure! En aquesta comèdia slapstick, l’home d’acció en la vida real John Cena interpreta un bomber que salta en paracaigudes per combatre incendis forestals a Califòrnia. Ha quedat atrapat al foc amb uns altres tres simpàtics idiotes (Keegan-Michael Key, John Leguizamo i Tyler Mane) i el seu mastí, Masher. I sí, fins i tot el gos ha de ser hipermasculí. Cena i companyia acaben rescatant tres germans d’una cabana de troncs en flames i llavors es produeix el caos. Tot són bromes de pets i bolquers amb Cena traient-se inexplicablement la samarreta cada cinc minuts per mostrar les ondulacions del seu cos. Sembla una pel·lícula per a un canal per a nens amb més pressupost del normal i és tan estúpida i planera que costa pensar que algú la trobi divertida, ni tan sols entretinguda.

In movies, love is often all rose petals, kisses in the rain and clichéd grand gestures. Not here. Instead, co-directors Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn give us a tender drama which comes alive in its quietest, most undemonstrative moments. A bit like the real thing. Tom (Liam Neeson) and Joan (Lesley Manville) lead a simple life in retirement, following the death of their only child. Their lives are intentionally undramatic. Joan adding worcester sauce to their evening soup is about as exciting as it gets. Then she notices a lump in her left breast, and we all know what’s coming. This first screenplay from playwright Owen McCafferty isn’t entirely cliché-free – a graveside speech from Tom rings a little hollow – but it’s scrupulous in showing that love isn’t all sonnets and bouquets. Through Manville and Neeson’s considered performances, we see the way that Tom and Joan’s love is expressed in small gestures: they forgive each other’s irritating habits; Joan allows that extra beer Tom shouldn’t have; Tom teases Joan while shaving her head after chemo with ‘I never really liked your hair.’ Don’t expect dramatic fireworks – very little happens narratively – but prepare for this quiet film to tiptoe into your heart. You’ll find yourself hanging on Manville’s typically sensitive and ultimately heartbreaking performance, and appreciating the tender side of Neeson. It all adds up to a melancholic portrait of real love that lingers. 

En las películas, el amor suele ser pétalos de rosa, besos bajo la lluvia y grandes gestos cliché. Aquí no. En cambio, los directores Lisa Barros D'Sa y Glenn Leyburn nos dan un tierno drama que cobra vida en sus momentos más tranquilos y poco demostrativos. Un poco como la cosa real. Tom (Liam Neeson) y Joan (Lesley Manville) llevan una vida sencilla en la jubilación, tras la muerte de su único hijo. Sus vidas son intencionalmente poco dramáticas. Ver a Joan agregar salsa Worcester a su sopa es tan emocionante como se ve. Luego nota un bulto en su seno izquierdo, y todos sabemos lo que viene. Este primer guion del dramaturgo Owen McCafferty no está completamente libre de clichés, un discurso junto a la tumba de Tom suena un poco hueco, pero es escrupuloso al demostrar que el amor no es todo sonetos y ramos de flores. A través de las actuaciones de Manville y Neeson, vemos la forma en que el amor de Tom y Joan se expresa en pequeños gestos: se perdonan los hábitos irritantes del otro; Joan permite esa cerveza extra que Tom no debería tener; Tom se burla de Joan mientras le afeita la cabeza después de la quimioterapia con un “Nunca me gustó tu cabello”. No esperes fuegos artificiales dramáticos, muy poco sucede narrativamente, pero prepárate para que esta película silenciosa llegue de puntillas a tu corazón. Te encontrarás colgando del rendimiento típicamente sensible, y en última instancia desgarrador, de Manville, y apreciando el lado tierno de Neeson. Todo se suma a un retr

‘He is an avenger,’ intones a priest at the beginning of ‘Game of Thrones’ director Brian Kirk’s debut feature, ‘21 Bridges’. It’s hard not to crack a smile at the in-joke. The film’s lead is Chadwick Boseman – aka Black Panther – and it’s the first post-‘Avengers: Endgame’ project (as producers) for directors Anthony and Joe Russo. While you’re waiting for someone to snap their fingers and make half the cast disappear, a heist gets bungled by two crooks and NYPD detective Andre Davis (Boseman) is leading a manhunt for the pair who gunned down eight cops. Boseman lends him a chivalrous quality, doggedly clinging to what’s right in a world that has gone so wrong. It’s the kind of role Gary Cooper used to play, albeit in a dusty western town rather than gritty New York. Harking back to cop thrillers like ‘We Own the Night’ and ‘Training Day’ (but better than both), ‘21 Bridges’ gets all the key elements right – high-stakes heists, breakneck car chases, and a plot that keeps you guessing – and its themes ring with political resonance. White cops fire on unarmed black men, and the plot neatly touches on police brutality and systematic racism. As Black Panther, Boseman is a hero in spandex; here he’s a hero with a badge and gun, who looks the devil in the eye, and stares down the evil in the system. Gary Cooper would definitely approve.

Mary Shelley was just a teenager when she wrote ‘Frankenstein’, a novel that would come to define the gothic genre. A true prodigy, she deserves much better than this lifeless biopic charting how she came to write her most famous work – despite the best efforts of Elle Fanning in the title role. As young Mary, Fanning passionately captures the spirit of her character as battles against the sexism of the era. Too often, though, the script has this dynamic woman merely reacting to the men surrounding her – including her husband Percy Bysshe Shelly (Douglas Booth) and Lord Byron (Tom Sturridge, going full panto) – rather than taking charge of her own destiny. In reality, her life was full of drama, loss and betrayal, but ‘Mary Shelley’ largely eschews her complexities. Instead, montages of her scribbling away at her masterpiece and soapy scenes of Percy’s courtship draw the majority of the focus. The latter is presented by director Haifaa al-Mansour with the pre-watershed sheen of a Sunday afternoon telly drama. We’re left to wonder how he convinced Mary to run off with him, on the promise of free verse and even freer love, when it’s rendered with all the passion of a bath sponge. Al-Mansour made the milestone feminist drama ‘Wadjda’, but here he’s taken a much safer tack. ‘Mary Shelley’ would have been infinitely more enthralling if he’d taken a leaf out of her book and got under the skin of one of literature’s most remarkable women. n Joseph Walsh

Tras la maravillosa 'Una chica de Brooklyn', Desiree Akhavan dirige 'La (des)educación de Cameron Post', un drama tierno y suavemente cómica sobre una adolescente lesbiana que lucha contra la desaprobación de la sociedad. Chloë Grace Moretz –en su mejor actuación– interpreta a Cameron, una estudiante que tiene una relación secreta con su amiga Coley. Tras descubrirlas, los padres la enviarán a un campamento cristiano evangélico para 'curarse' de su homosexualidad. Allí manda la amenazante doctora Marsh (Jennifer Ehle), que intimida a los pacientes hasta llegar a conclusiones rebuscadas sobre su sexualidad. Sus métodos son una tortura psicológica, pero los compañeros de campamento de Cameron –Adam y una fumeta a quien llaman Jane Fonda– le enseñan cómo sobrevivir al bullying de la doctora. Akhavan presenta una película hecha con el corazón en la mano que nos invita a disfrutar de la felicidad y a aceptar quienes somos. ¿Existe un mensaje mejor?

Després de la meravellosa 'Una chica de Brooklyn', Desiree Akhavan dirigeix 'La (des)educación de Cameron Post', un drama tendre i suaument còmic sobre una adolescent lesbiana que lluita contra la desaprovació de la societat. Chloë Grace Moretz –en la seva millor actuació– interpreta Cameron, una estudiant que té una relació secreta amb la seva amiga Coley. Després de descobrir-les, els pares l’enviaran a un campament cristià evangèlic per ‘curar-se’ de la seva homosexualitat. Allà hi mana l’amenaçadora doctora Marsh (Jennifer Ehle), que intimida els pacients fins a arribar a conclusions rebuscades sobre la seva sexualitat. Els seus mètodes són una tortura psicològica, però els companys de campament de Cameron –l’Adam, d’esperit navajo, i una fumeta a qui diuen Jane Fonda– li ensenyen com sobreviure al bullying de la doctora. Akhavan presenta una pel·lícula feta amb el cor a la mà que ens convida a gaudir de la felicitat i a acceptar qui som. Hi ha un missatge millor que aquest? 

It’s the eyes that get you in Ivanno Jeremiah’s performance as an Eritrean refugee, Haile. They are haunted by the trials he’s endured escaping his homeland, before finding himself in a grey cell in a UK detention centre. Enter Lena Headey’s bureaucrat Wendy, who’s keen to hit her targets. The plot cuts back and forth between the clinical interrogation and the hardships of Haile’s journey. Despite everything Haile has endured, he still shows Wendy compassion. She’s more interested in trying to win back custody of her daughter while swigging white-label vodka from a water bottle. Helen Kingston’s script is based on accounts collected by director Anthony Woodley during his time volunteering in the Calais Jungle. No doubt that experience led to the film’s sense of authenticity, right down to its gallows jokes. ‘Do you know what they call those who get across first time?’ Haile asks. ‘Bastards.’ He’s lost everything except his sense of humour. ‘The Flood’ is an understated, lean film, shorn of flashy camerawork or narrative pyrotechnics. Nothing is over-polished or glossed-up. Instead, there’s a searing emotional reality in evidence, not just from Haile, but from Mandip Gill (‘Doctor Who’) as a fellow refugee, Reema. As we come back to those haunted eyes, we’re given a sharp reminder that the refugee crisis is far from over. Thousands of Hailes lose their lives fleeing persecution every day. 

London’s Open City Documentary Festival might be small but it’s perfectly formed – and this year’s line-up is bigger than ever. Here are just five reasons why you should make space for this film fest to your calendar.  The ground-breaking films Featuring films that travel from the icy plains of Greenland (‘Winter’s Yearning’) to the scorching heat of Kenya (‘The Last Male on Earth’), this year’s packed seven-day programme allows you to travel the globe without leaving your cinema seat or enduring any nasty jabs. Be sure to check out the weather-appropriate environmental doc ‘The Hottest August’, and ‘Midnight Family’, which follows a family of ambulance drivers in Mexico City. The venues are ace Hackney’s Total Refreshment Centre, an event space and recording studio, played a crucial role as a hub for London’s emerging jazz artists. It doesn’t host live gigs anymore but is being celebrated at the ICA at Emma Warren’s Sunday Listening Session, where she will talk about the importance of creating spaces for creativity while playing records that trace the history of this music landmark. If you want to stay central, the Open City Doc festival hub in Chinatown is your base for talks, parties and Q&As. That makes a good starting point for visiting the ICA on the Mall and Curzon Soho, which is also hosting talks, Q&As and more. It’s great for budding filmmakers Are you bursting to make a doc but don’t know how? You can learn from filmmakers who will be sharing tips on how to get tha

FrightFest, London’s legendary horror festival, celebrates its twentieth birthday next week. Featuring over 70 films and 150 guests – including horror maestro Dario Argento – there’s everything from creature features to serial killer comedies. To mark the occasion, we asked one of its founders, Alan Jones, to pick his personal favourites. 1. ‘Audition’ (1999) ‘A man goes looking for a blind date, and he makes a connection with a girl he thinks will be the one, and as we all know, it isn’t. I will never forget the scene where the bag suddenly jumps. You could feel the audience go completely cold.’ 2. ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ (2009) ‘We saw this adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s novel before the whole Nordic noir trend kicked off. People kept telling us this was more of a thriller than a horror, but we know the FrightFest crowd. It’s a brilliant film to watch with an audience. I was gripped from the start, and I wasn’t familiar with the books, so it felt fresh too.’ 3. ‘The Girl Next Door’ (2007) ‘I’m still surprised this adaptation of Jack Ketchum’s novel only received a 15 certificate. It’s a girl-locked-in-a-basement story, but it has a particularly nasty edge to it. There was a woman at the screening that we had to bring out of the audience and calm down. It’s the only time we’ve had such a violent reaction to a film.’ 4. ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006) ‘It was magical – one of my all-time favourite screenings. Guillermo del Toro knew the festival, and I will always remem