One of the first images we see in Alcarràs, the stunning sophomore effort by the talented Carla Simón, is that of a group of children playing in a car, which has been abandoned near a reservoir somewhere near their home, which sits at the heart of rural Catalonia, in the region that bears the title…

There was a period that lasted around a decade between the mid-2000s and the end of the 2010s, in which one of the most popular genres for films were those that centred on boxing – they weren’t confined to this period, but this is when they were arguably at their peak, each one seeming to…

For over half a century, Mike Leigh has defined the concept of radical cinema in both political and artistic terms. One of the most important stalwarts of the “angry young men” movement that was borne out of the rise of kitchen-sink realism, he has produced works that simmer with complexity and fury for the state…

There are few names as synonymous with the very definition of cinema like that of Steven Spielberg, who has become an institution unto himself, having spent over half a century crafting many wonderful films over a wide range of genres, often being at the forefront of pioneering new ways of filmmaking. He is also well-regarded…

There was a point in the 1990s when we saw an emerging trend in which an acting legend was paired with a young but also very strong performer, in a charming and insightful character-based drama, which often traded narrative complexity for warmth and comfort. Nick Cassavetes became quite good at these films, which is not…

Few filmmakers have been able to capture the human condition in as much vivid detail as Vittorio De Sica. Many may debate who the true master of Italian neo-realism is, based on parameters such as who made the first essential work, or the extent to which they strove to represent a particular period in the…

Peddling in absolutes rarely results in good writing – but it can sometimes be necessary to dip into the pool of hyperbole on occasion, especially when it is on the subject of someone who deserves the attention. Joanna Hogg is truly one of our greatest working filmmakers, and her recent re-emergence through her remarkable The…

Few directors were capable of capturing the horrors of the post-war experience than those who hailed from Japan, with many of the greatest filmmakers to ever work in the medium being those who experienced the hardship caused to their country as a result of the Second World War, which wrought havoc on Japanese society in…

Few modern filmmakers from within the continent have done more to bring Africa to a global stage than Mahamat Saleh Haroun, whose career is populated with many hard-hitting films that look at serious issues plaguing many communities on a continent that is rarely afforded many opportunities to be explored critically through film on many international…

Not to give him too much credibility, but when it was revealed that Harvey Weinstein was a serial sexual predator who had assaulted countless women through executing his authority as arguably the most powerful producer in Hollywood since the height of the studio system, the entire entertainment industry was suitably shaken, with one of its…