IS THAT ALL THERE IS?
Premiering at the London Film Festival, the latest from Oscar-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia (“Amy”) is an adaptation of Akram Khan’s ballet. It could use more cinematic flair.
Caspar Salmon is a film and culture writer based in London.
CHOOSE YOUR FIGHTER
Filmmaker Alberto Vasquez’s new film, which made its world premiere at the London Film Festival, has far bigger things in mind than its mythical warring animals.
BRITISHNESS
Mourners have taken to leaving Paddington Bears and marmalade sandwiches (his snack of choice) at Buckingham Palace in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. But… why?
TONE-DEAF
The latest from acclaimed filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda (‘Shoplifters’) centers a group of child traffickers who form a familial bond while on a road trip trying to sell a child.
COMING-OF-AGE
The latest from Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont is far less exploitative than his previous “Girl,” capturing an intimate relationship between two young boys that takes a tragic turn.
SENSORY OVERLOAD
This relentless 2.5-hour biopic, premiering in Cannes, “lurches about flashing its gold like a drunk old millionaire in a strip joint,” writes Caspar Salmon.
BODY HEAT
The latest from French auteur Claire Denis (“Beau Travail”) features Margaret Qualley and Joe Alwyn as two young lovers navigating a Nicaraguan coup. But they are woefully miscast.
WE BUILT ANOTHER WORLD
Premiering in Cannes, this film based on the real-life story of June and Jennifer Gibbons, twin Black girls who grew up in Wales, is visually arresting and transportive.
ONE TO WATCH
The directorial debut of Owen Kline—who played the young son that smears semen on library books in “The Squid and the Whale”—is a lo-fi comedy bursting with humor.
AMONG THE STARS
Brett Morgen’s surrealist documentary premiering in Cannes aims to capture the late music legend’s creative essence. But it fails to wrestle with the man behind the mask(s).