Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Paolo Sorrentino Stars: Toni Servillo, Elena Sofia Ricci, Riccardo Scamarcio, Kasia Smutniak, Giovanni Esposito, Dario Contarelli. This messy, vulgar, bloated and indulgent biopic of Silvio Berlusconi (played here by Toni Servillo), the lecherous tycoon and media mogul who served four terms as Italy’s divisive, colourful and controversial Prime Minister mired in scandal, is the latest film from idiosyncratic filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, etc). Sorrentino’s films always serve up a brash and flashy mix of the bawdy and Continue reading
NORMANDY NUDE
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Phillipe Le Guay Stars: Francois Cluzet, Gregory Gadebois, Toby Jones, Arthur Dupont, Phillipe Rebbot, Patrick d'Assumcao, Lucie Muratet, Daphne Dumons, Pili Groyne, Julie Ann Roth. This French comedy/drama tells of a town of struggling farmers who prepare to strip off and pose nude for a photo shoot. If this brief synopsis makes it seem like a Gallic variation on both The Full Monty and Calendar Girls you wouldn’t be far off the mark. The film is set in Mele sur Sarthe, a small farming community in Normandy. With the price of Continue reading
WAJIB
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Annemarie Jacir Stars: Mohammad Bakri, Saleh Bakri, Maria Zreik. Wajib translates as “duty”. But duty has different meanings for different people – there is duty to one’s family. To parents, to your country. This gentle and low key but insightful drama is the third feature film for Palestinian born filmmaker Annemarie Jacir (When I Saw You, etc), and this multi-award winning film was Palestine’s official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film for the 2018 Oscars. The film is set in Nazareth, an Israeli town which features a Continue reading
A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN
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Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire Stars: Joe Cole, Pornchanok Mabklang. This intense brutal prison drama is like Kickboxer meets Midnight Express. This unflinching, hard hitting and gritty and harrowing true story is set inside Thailand’s notorious Bang Kwang Central prison, better known as the infamous Bangkok Hilton. Like Midnight Express, which depicted Billy Hayes’ ordeal after being arrested and imprisoned for smuggling drugs in Turkey, A Prayer Before Dawn is based on the 2014 memoir written by expat Brit Billy Moore (played by Joe Cole, Continue reading
