The final film of the 2023 BFI Flare is Drifter and, it has to be said, it’s a delicious side-eyeing choice from the programmers to have the final film be one that leaves you thinking ‘where is this going?’ for the first 60 minutes of its 79-minute length. Moritz (Lorenz Hochhuth) moves to Berlin … Continue reading
For many British people, the poetic works of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen were the only rebukes to British nationalism that they were ever taught in school. Sasson recounted not just the wounds of the Great War but also spoke with contempt of the incompetence of the generals, the jingoism of politicians, and the … Continue reading
Some people will hate The Whale, some people will love it. But if you are lucky, you will be one of the people who both love and hate it. That’s a rollercoaster worth the ride. Charlie (Brendan Fraser) is entombed in both his body and his apartment. Reclusive, morbidly obese, and refusing to show … Continue reading
As the British Film Institute Flare Festival heads into its final few days it’s nice to discover one of those quirky sub genres that makes these events special. Ladies, Gentlemen and Everybody let me introduce a new favourite, the Jolly Germanic Lesbian Romcom. It’s not often we get to put those three words … Continue reading
As audiences, we are used to perceiving cinema as a coming together of various structural units – a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. The director duo of Isidore Bethel and Francis Leplay are on a mission to dismantle this belief of ours. Their project Acts of Love is full … Continue reading