System Crasher (Nora Fingscheidt, 2019)

System Crasher is a brazen and unreserved telling of a child whose out-of-control behaviour prevents her from finding any type of permanence. Benni (Helena Zengel) is this story’s nine year-old girl who bounces from home to home, medical facility to medical facility, between blood-family and social worker as her inability to control her highly-emotional and …

Queen & Slim (Melina Matsoukas, 2019)

From first-time feature film director Melina Matsoukas, Queen & Slim stars well-known versatile actor Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) and newcomer Jodie-Turner Smith as the titular characters. The trailer was an empowering Milk (Gus Van Sant, 2008)-esque vision of a fight against prejudice, hyping me up for what Kaluuya was going to bring to the table …

Honey Boy (Alma Har’el, 2019)

Written by Shia LaBeouf during his time in rehab, Honey Boy is a semi-autobiographical film in which Shia plays his own father. Upon discovering his alcoholism is connected to PTSD from his upbringing, twenty-two year old Otis (Lucas Hedges, Lady Bird & Manchester by the Sea) works through his memories within the rehab programme. These …

By the Grace of God (François Ozon, 2018)

This film could be set in a political, educational, religious, or any other setting that is built upon a hierarchal ladder; the environment doesn’t matter, as the story’s message is still the same. Based upon the true events from the 2019 conviction of Cardinal Phillipe Barbarin of Lyon for hiding the crimes of Father Bernard …

Pain and Glory / Dolor y Gloria (Pedro Almodóvar, 2019): a classic Almodóvarian tale.

I have been avidly waiting for this film, ever since watching Julieta (2016) and knowing his next film would be only two-three years after. Viewing his entire filmography for my dissertation on my small laptop screen was never ideal, so having the opportunity to see Pain and Glory on the cinema screen made the wait …