Kids On Speed? is a factual and fly-on-the-wall series which follows five children who are suspected to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). It’s a powerful and revealing show that looks at this much-maligned, misunderstood and stigmatised illness that has been met with controversy (due to its resulting in more children being medicated). This documentary…
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When we consume every day, household products we assume that the ingredients have all been tested and are safe for humans to use. But what if this assumption was wrong? The Human Experiment is a documentary that looks at the pervasive, hidden chemicals that are found in all of the things we commonly use- from…
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It may be hard to believe but there was a point in history where the idea of the teenager didn’t exist. You were either a child or an adult, there was no other option. Teenage is a documentary that is directed by Matt Wolf and is adapted from the book, Teenage: The Prehistory of Youth…
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Perfect Sisters has some good features but that doesn’t mean it’s free from flaws. The film is based on a real life story, a case involving two Canadian sisters who performed matricide. But despite being based on a true crime story, this film is often unbelievable, flippant and lacking in emotion and tension. The movie…
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When you shop at a farmers’ market or eat at a restaurant that displays the food’s providence on the menu (and the ingredients are local and fresh), chances are the name Carlo Petrini doesn’t immediately spring to mind. But he is the man who is responsible for the rise in these things. Petrini is the…
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We as consumers may not realise that using everyday products is a lot like playing a game of Russian roulette. All sorts of consumables are laden with chemicals and independent testing is often rare or non-existent. Chemical companies are also very profitable and powerful machines, but there is hope as individuals out there strive to…
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It’s not often that documentary filmmakers manage to capture their subject matter in an unobtrusive, fly-on-the-wall style manner. It’s even rarer for the filmmaker to achieve this while talking about sex, baby, and to show some explicit scenes of the deed without it all turning into sleazy voyeurism. But Love Hotel manages to achieve all…
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Between Us first found success as an off-Broadway play but it fails as a film. The story focuses on two key episodes in two pairs of couple’s lives and exposes the flawed relationships between themselves and with each other. It is supposed to be an arty, intense and cerebral drama but instead it feels like…
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Unravel is a short film that lifts the veil on the recycled garment industry. It is produced and directed by Meghna Gupta and travels to the Northern Indian town of Panipat. It is here that over 100,000 tonnes of discarded clothes from the West wind up each year and are subsequently recycled. The film mainly…
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The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window & Disappeared (Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann) looks set to divide people. The reason for this is because your enjoyment of the film hinges on whether you warm to the centenarian lead character. Ultimately, this film is full of dark humour (which also won’t…
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Death is often tragic. But it’s even sadder when a young person has died from their own hand. Korean film, Thread Of Lies (우아한 거짓말) deals with this taboo issue in a soft and tender way. It also slowly reveals the tragic set of circumstances surrounding the lead character’s passing and does so with a…
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The Hundred-Foot Journey is the latest addition to the recent surge of food-related films (see: The Chef, The Trip To Italy, Julie & Julia, etc). This new film is a feel-good one which will no doubt curry favour with many members of the audience. But despite being a pleasant trip, the overall meal could use…
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The name Aaron Swartz may not mean an awful lot to some people. But if you’ve ever used Reddit, openlibrary.net or Creative Commons or if you can remember the real reason why there was an Internet black-out in 2012 then you’ve been touched by his work. Swartz was a gifted computer programmer and activist who…
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And So It Goes won’t win any points for its name. Nor will it win any prizes for originality. But this rom-com does have a bewildering amount of talent coming together to make a film that’s not great, just nice. This means it is fun and pleasant enough to watch, but it won’t change your…
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The Good Life (La Belle Vie) is a French drama film based on a true story. It’s a delicate, coming of age tale and portrait of paternal love set in the freewheeling countryside. It asks some big questions about love and freedom. But while it is beautiful, it fails to fill in some of the…
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We Are The Best! (Vi är bäst!) is a loaded title but this Swedish film is all about challenging your expectations. The movie was written and directed by Lukas Moodysson, who was adapting the graphic novel that his wife, Coco, had penned about her fictionalised teenage years. The result is a feel good, coming-of-age story…
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A Most Wanted Man is an espionage thriller about terrorists. But despite this genre, the film contains no explosions, gun battles or high-tech special effects. Instead, it has more in common with The Ides Of March, in that it is a tense and dramatic labyrinth of power plays where rivals with competing agendas use political…
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The Angriest Man In Brooklyn could be dubbed “The Diary Of A Mad Man”. The film is a straight-to-DVD release directed by Phil Alden Robinson and stars comedian, Robin Williams as one obnoxious lawyer. After being told he has 90 minutes left to live the irate curmudgeon engages in a frenzied, amazing race around New…
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Director Michael Winterbottom is no stranger to showcasing sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll in his work, as one of his most famous films to date is 24 Hour Party People. Four years after that was released came 9 Songs, a movie once described as the most explicit one in British film history. The controversial…
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Departures (Okuribito) is a simple, Japanese film about some big subjects: love, life and death. This existential family drama was the winner of the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2009. It is also a subtle and nuanced story where a Zen-like air means that even though the final message is poignant and meaningful, it is…
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Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad (Tôkyô tawâ: Okan to boku to, tokidoki, oton) will warm your heart and tug at your heartstrings. The winner of the best film award at the Japanese Academy Awards as well as winning a host of others, is a slow-burning and detailed family drama. It’s also the…
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One country. Two men. Three cities. Two Men In China sees friends- comedian and writer, John Doyle (who is best known as “Rampaging” Roy Slaven) and scientist and activist, Tim Flannery once again taking a trip. This is the pair’s first overseas sojourn as the two have previously travelled across the Great Divide as well…
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Heart Of A Lion (Leijonasydän) is a Finnish drama that asks the question, “Should you be ruled your head or by your heart?” It’s an age-old conflict and yet, this film manages to deal with this along with two sensitive and timely topics (racism and nationalism). Directed by Dome Karukoski, Heart Of A Lion is…
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The late, French fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent will be the subject of two different biopics this year. The first is the eponymously-titled one from actor-turned-director, Jalil Lespert and is perhaps the most authentic film, as it had the full support of Saint Laurent’s lover and business partner. Pierre Bergé lent original outfits, designs, and…
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Peedu Ojamaa once had the world’s greatest job. He was the founder and boss of the only commercial film studio in the Soviet Union at a time when the iron curtain ruled and there was a strictly planned economy. Advertisements were unnecessary as there was a shortage of goods due to government controls, but these…
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Humans need water. People are also made of water. And we affect water. The documentary, Watermark looks at the different experiences that society has with water, from celebration to pure science; from duress to progress and through spirituality and work, the many facets of this subject are covered by this ambitious project. But audiences will…
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Agnès Varda is a director who has a nose for a good story and an eye for the sublime. The Grand Dame of French New Wave Cinema started her career as a stills photographer and it is clear that she has brought these skills to her feature films. Her movies are often quite sensual and…
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Dior & I could be renamed “Dior & Co.” or “Dior & Us”. The documentary film goes behind the scenes at the French fashion house as the new creative director for Dior Haute Couture, Raf Simons prepares his debut collection. After John Galliano was unceremoniously fired amid controversy (he’d made anti-Semitic comments at a Parisian…
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The theme of two lovers kept apart from their families or individual circumstances is hardly anything new. But Gabrielle is a film that deals with another rarely discussed subject and one that is infrequently depicted in cinemas. It is the love lives of the disabled and this film shows this with dignity and for the…
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Agnès Varda – the Grand Dame of French New Wave Cinema – has lived one rich and vibrant life. And in Les plages d’Agnès (The Beaches of Agnès) this is captured perfectly. The film is a strange documentary that is helmed by the doyenne art house director and lovable eccentric, as she candidly takes us…
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