It’s a situation we all know too well – we’re in the presence of a couple who have been together for a considerable amount of time. Once the pleasantries and small-talk have concluded, the tensions start to rise, and the underlying animosity that exists begins to simmer into a potent combination of angst and awkwardness….

From a mostly western perspective, this time of year is one in which we normally spend time with family, reflect on the memories of the past and simply just dive into our own experiences, all through a vaguely melancholic, nostalgic lens. This festive season, I chose to spend some time watching home movies with my…

Hermann Hesse’s Narcissus and Goldmund (German: Narziss und Goldmund) is a classic of European literature, a moving story of two individuals who start out their lives in much the same way, before deviating onto wildly different paths, it has been the source of a lot of discussion since its original publication. Oddly enough, it has…

Even when he wasn’t directly focused on it, the central concept in the work of Yasujirō Ozu has always been family, with many of his films venturing towards discussions into the role of the individual amongst their closest connections, which has made for some thoroughly compelling viewing throughout his career. One of his crowning achievements…

Long before they were the critically-acclaimed embodiment of the modern independent auteur, known for directing masterful works such as Good Time and Uncut Gems, Josh and Benny Safdie were obscure filmmakers that worked on shoestring budgets that could barely fund even a day’s work on a mainstream film, and who created films from the most…

Before he was a world-class actor known for an almost chameleonic control of his craft, Riz Ahmed was a journeyman entertainer, taking on minor roles in smaller productions, all as a means of supporting his music career, where he would rap under the stage name Riz MC, as part of the underground duo Sweat Shop…

Adam (Youssouf Djaoro) lives in the centre of a busy city somewhere in Chad. He has lived a simple but worthwhile life, with his earlier years being dominated by his reputation as one of the best swimmers in his nation’s history, which has made him into quite a folkloric figure. However, he has mainly spent…

Jim (David Thewlis) and Veronica (Laysla De Oliveira) are a father and daughter who carry many secrets, most of which have gone with the former to his grave. Now deceased, Jim is about to be buried, and his daughter decides to honour his final wish to have his funeral at a specific Catholic church, for…

Archie Rice (Laurence Olivier) is the last person who will ever admit to being outdated, even though nearly everyone else around him holds this to be an unimpeachable truth. A relic of the days when the stage was dominated by eccentric, middle-aged men who performed in sold-out theatres to adoring crowds who enjoyed the upbeat,…

Beth (Sophia Lillis) is an impressionable young woman starting college in New York City, which is just about as far as she can get, both physically and mentally, from her hometown, the small working-class hamlet of Creekville, South Carolina, where the spectre of the past still lingers, despite being well into the 1970s. As a…