Author: The Reviews Hub - Film

Writer & Director: Paul Schrader When Richard Gere’s wizened, terminally ill documentary maker, Leonard, agrees to be interviewed by his former students keen to celebrate the impact of his life, he promises revelations that even his wife sitting in the room may be unaware of. With an esteemed counter-culture reputation built on draft-dodging in the 1970s, escaping to Canada, Paul Schrader’s film spools back in time to the young Leonard revealing his true motives for crossing the Canadian border. And while his now middle-aged students remained entranced by the man and his work, the audience will discover his rather mundane…

Director: Michael Premo With extreme views and a tendency to shout simplistic offensive opinions and wear really weird headgear it is easy to mock Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters. Director Michael Premo’s documentary Homegrown suggests MAGA supporters are trying to promote a more nuanced view of their movement. The documentary covers the run-up to the 2020 USA elections, which Joe Biden won but then-president Donald Trump refused to concede defeat, and the consequential storming of the State Capitol in Washington by Trump’s supporters.  Premo concentrates on three members of The Proud Boys, of whom Randy Ireland is the least…

Writer and Director: Sofia Alaoui With Animalia writer and director Sofia Alaoui uses an unearthly visitation to encourage viewers to question social class divisions, identity and belief. In present-day Morocco Itto (Oumaïma Barid) escapes rural poverty by marrying into a wealthy Francophone family but is aware she does not meet the approval of her judgemental in-laws. Pregnant with her first child but with no purpose in life Itto lounges around the luxurious home wasting time on social media. A mysterious meteorological event prompts the authorities to declare martial law and impose road blocks which leave Itto stranded as her husband…

Writers: Gabriel Domingues and Marcelo Caetano Director: Marcelo Caetano The beginning of this film, charting the journey of 18-year-old Wellington into a life of sex work and drug running, is incredibly realised. As Wellington is released from his cell at a youth detention centre in São Paulo, the other inmates are practising band rehearsal. This surreal and colourful opening promises a different take on the familiar story of a hustler trying to make his way in the unforgiving city, but the rest of Marcelo Caetano’s film fails to match this striking start. Escorted home by social services, Wellington discovers that…

Writer: Michael Radford Director: Annabel Jankel Based on the true experience of Freddie Knoller, a Holocaust survivor who died in 2022 aged 100, Michael Radford’s Desperate Journey mixes the two primary tropes of civilian movies set in the Second World War featuring both the harsh brutality of the concentration camps and the uber glamorous world of smoky clubs where men and women went to hide from the exigencies of war. Directed by Annabel Jankel, this is an extraordinary tale of ingenuity and an unbelievable ability to survive marred only by a slight lack of jeopardy for the central character and…

Director: Klára Tasovská Libuše Jarcovjáková is a photographer, born in Prague in 1952. Her Prague was one of Communist occupation, fixed gender roles, and oppression of women and LGBT+ people. A Prague taken over by Soviet influence in 1968. A city of transport, industry, and cultural suppression. Jarcovjáková was determined to document this world and her life, and I’m Not Everything I Want To Be reveals the extent and depth of her work, accompanied by narration from the artist herself taken from her journals. She was inspired by those around her, by nature, the weather, the sounds, the tastes. Director…

Writer: David Jařab Director: Viktor Tauš Viktor Tauš’ absurdist and surrealist film is a tale of a single orphanage in Soviet era Czechoslovakia and its aftermath, becoming an obsession for one woman who spent a lot of her childhood there. A striking if often baffling visual approach, Amerikánka (Girl America) is an obsession with freedom represented in the idea of the United States and the hope the central character retains that she will one day travel there and somehow recover all the personal losses that punctuate her young and deeply eventful life. When their mother disappears, Ema is taken into…

Director: Theodora Remundová There’s plenty to enjoy in this touching full-length documentary about a Czech national treasure, actor Iva Janžurová, directed by her daughter. No prior knowledge of Iva is required; her magnetism, talent and soulful view of the world are in evidence throughout. Theodora Remundová’s relaxed style feeds through to the finished movie as she gently prompts her mum to reflect on episodes from her life and career. Appearing on camera, Theodora seems to revel in the caustic little jokes Iva makes, which are always laced with affection. Iva’s story mirrors the post-second world war landscape. Czech and Slovak…