mark kermode love and friendship review guardian

Set in 17th-century Ireland, Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s gem runs in the tradition of Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke or Mamoru Hosoda’s Wolf Children. Kilkenny’s Cartoon Saloon delivers another beautiful animation treat. A joy! ‘A beautiful animation treat’: Wolfwalkers. Kelly O’Sullivan writes and stars in this terrifically engaging tale that dresses its subversive self-determination manifesto in the clothes of a ditzy, bittersweet comedy about mid-life disappointment. This vibrant, insightful and deeply empathetic drama about teenage girls forging their identities in a potentially hostile world showcases a host of talented screen newcomers, brilliantly directed by Sarah Gavron. Her third feature tells an oft-hidden story of reproductive rights, yet is best described as an astute portrait of female friendship a coming-of-age tale with road-movie inflections. Ludicrously overlooked in last January’s Oscar nominations, it packs a weighty punch, boosted by Kathryn Bostic’s eerie ambient score.įrom Eliza Hittman comes another drama that blends the gritty authenticity of a documentary with the poetic sensibility of pure cinema. Like its antipodean stablemate, Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook, it’s a horror movie with a heart – a profoundly emotional experience.Īlfre Woodard and Aldis Hodge are note-perfect in this low-key death-row drama from writer-director Chinonye Chukwu, the first black woman to win the grand jury prize for drama at the Sundance festival. The film’s UK opening in February was followed later in the year by the release of Bong’s black-and-white version, cementing Parasite’s cult status.Īnother jaw-dropping feature debut, this heartbreaking psychological thriller from Japanese-Australian writer/director Natalie Erika James examines the realities of Alzheimer’s through the language of fantasy. South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho made history when this genre-straddling tour de force (“a comedy without clowns, a tragedy without villains”) won this year’s best picture Oscar, provoking oafish outrage from Donald Trump. Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Filmed in painterly hues by Claire Mathon, this masterpiece seamlessly intertwines themes of love and politics, representation and reality. The French film-maker Céline Sciamma won the 2019 Cannes screenplay prize for this 18th-century story which she has called “a manifesto about the female gaze”. Adam Janota Bzowski’s eerily prowling score and Paul Davies’s affecting sound designs add to the cinematic spell. Morfydd Clark is mesmerising as the newly religious nurse determined to save the soul of her patient (Jennifer Ehle – superb). Rose Glass’s electrifying debut feature establishes the writer-director as a thrilling new voice in British cinema.

Mark kermode love and friendship review guardian