Tag, 2015. Directed by Sion Sono. Starring Reina Trendl, Mariko Shinoda and Erina Mano. SYNOPSIS: Mitsuko, a normal, average schoolgirl, experiences extreme situations that lead her to question her own reality. That plot synopsis of Tag above is simply a decent guess. Director Sion Sono has already directed six films this year, with a seventh […]
29th Leeds International Film Festival Review – Son of Saul (2015)
Son of Saul, 2015. Directed by Lazlo Nemes. Starring Geza Rohrig, Urs Rechn and Uwe Lauer. SYNOPSIS: A prisoner forced to help exterminate his people finds a body that he believes is his son and will stop at nothing to give him a proper burial. Son of Saul opens with a scene that would be […]
29th Leeds International Film Festival Review – Victoria (2015)
Victoria, 2015. Directed by Sebastian Schipper. Starring Laia Costa, Frederick Lau and Franz Rogowski. SYNOPSIS: Victoria meets a group of guys while at a club, but soon finds herself drawn into their world when they have to repay a dangerous favour that same night. If you’ve read anything about Victoria, it’s that it’s done in […]
Leeds International Film Festival 2014 Review – Love is Strange (2014)
Love is Strange, 2014. Directed by Ira Sachs. Starring John Lithgow, Alfred Molina, Marisa Tomei, Darren Burrows and Charlie Tahan. SYNOPSIS: After Ben and George get married, George is fired from his teaching post, forcing them to stay with friends separately while they sell their place and look for cheaper housing — a situation that […]
Leeds International Film Festival 2014 Review – M (1931)
M, 1931. Directed by Fritz Lang. Starring Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke and Gustaf Gründgens. SYNOPSIS: When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt. Within Fritz Lang’s first film made in sound, 1931’s M, there’s fascinating evidence of the period’s – and, of course, the […]
Leeds International Film Festival 2014 Review – Songs from the Second Floor (2000)
Songs from the Second Floor, 2000. Written and Directed by Roy Andersson. Starring Lars Nordh, Stefan Larsson, Bengt C.W. Carlsson, Torbjörn Fahlström, Sten Andersson and Peter Roth. SYNOPSIS: One evening, a series of strange events with no apparent logic take their course. A clerk is made redundant; an immigrant is violently attacked; a magician makes […]
Leeds International Film Festival 2014 Review – Catch Me Daddy (2014)
Catch Me Daddy, 2014. Directed by Daniel Wolfe. Starring Sameena Jabeen Ahmed, Conor McCarron, Gary Lewis and Barry Nunney. SYNOPSIS: Laila (Sameena Jabeen Ahmed) has run away from home, living in the Yorkshire moors with her boyfriend Aaron (Conor McCarron), but her brother, alongside his mates and some muscle for hire are in pursuit. NOTE: […]
Leeds International Film Festival 2014 Review – Wild (2014)
Wild, 2014. Directed by Jean-Marc Valle. Starring Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Gaby Hoffman and Kevin Rankin. SYNOPSIS: Cheryl Strayed (Reese Witherspoon) takes on the 1,100 mile Pacific Crest Trail to help focus her life after the death of her mother. There are times that Wild threatens to become the film everyone assumes it is, based […]
