Operatic in its entirety, at its core The Conductor has a heart, but it is surrounded by substantial implausibility that makes it hard to find. It might have grand theatrics, but ultimately falls flat.
At only 75 minutes, this film doesn’t overstay its welcome although it feels more like two hours given the snail-paced progress. The opening scenes do test the patience, given their lack of direction. However, the message emphasising the value of family and altruism is an endearing one that lasts beyond the final credits.
Based on a remake of a Russian classic, Gentlemen Of Fortune is a mistaken identity comedy that’s ability to amuse will depend entirely on…
From the country that may have created the social-realism genre with Sergei Eisenstein’s silent masterpiece Strike, A Long And Happy Life could be seen as something of a modern day re-assessment of working men’s status, that’s well made and tells the plight of its protagonist with a gripping sense of realism.
Upon its local release earlier this year, Metro was billed as Russia’s first Hollywood-style disaster movie. For better or worse, this is a fittingly accurate summary as to what audiences can expect from director Anton Megerdichev’s attempt to transplant mayhem and destruction of the American variety to the subways of Moscow.
Intelligent, warm, touching and above all original, You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet is one of the richest experiences you could ever possibly hope to have in a movie theatre. Do not miss it.
A beautifully staged period film, Farewell, My Queen fictionalises the final days of the French monarchy. The opulence and superfluous ceremony that is usually characterised in films about Louis the XVI and his infamous bride Marie Antoinette
Directed byJiayi Du, and adapted from a book by Chang Chia-Lu and Cheng Hsiao-Che, the film is quietly absorbing and beautifully shot, and suggests that with enough motivation we harbour resilience and tenacity beyond what we thought possible.
Happiness Never Comes Alone is a perfect date night movie with a fantastic soundtrack, many references to cinema classics such as Casablanca, West Side Story and Singin’ in the Rain, and old school physical comedy so perfectly timed it elicited a rare out loud chortle from this humble reviewer on more than one occasion.
11-year-old Skunk (Eloise Laurence) witnesses a senseless, brutal attack on one of her neighbours which kickstarts series of events that change the lives of three middle-class families forever.