Film

By Linda Marric Adapted from Maylis de Kerangal’s fantastic novel of the same name, Heal The Living is the third feature from critically acclaimed French director Katell Quillévéré (Suzanne, Love Like Poison). This beautifully atmospheric and truly devastating piece of filmmaking, is one of the most emotionally charged films of the year. First shown as part of the programme at the London Film Festival in 2016, the film is finally getting a nationwide release courtesy of Curzon Artificial Eye, which...

To celebrate the release of A Dog's Purpose in cinemas May 5th (with preview screenings over the bank holiday weekend) we're offering dog loving TLE readers the opportunity to win some very special A Dog's Purpose merchandise!! The packs include a ball-thrower, a doggie bowl, a themed blanket, a waste-bag dispenser and a dog-treat jar! (See pic below) We have three packs to give away and all you have to do is tweet us @TLE_Film with a picture of your loveable four...

  Cultural curator, video remixer / audio-visual DJ Eclectic Method has revisited the Eighties and the sound of 80s synth lasers for this brilliant musical homage to time-travelling kung fu cop Kung Fury, the cult Swedish homage to everything that was on telly and silly in the Eighties. Kung Fury (you can watch it below) is an English-language Swedish Kung Fu comedy action flick written, directed by, and starring David Sandberg, paying homage to 1980s martial arts and police action films with more visual...

By Linda Marric Fans of the Shakespeare might be a little surprised to find out that William Oldroyd’s brilliant debut feature Lady Macbeth isn’t exactly an adaptation of one of the Bard’s most loved tragedies. Set in rural England, this Victorian chamber piece is every bit as dark and twisted as any shakespearian tragedy worth its salt. Not only does Oldroyd manage to immerse his audience in this suffocatingly patriarchal world, but he also offers a very modern stance on...

By Michael McNulty It’s Forgotten Film Friday, here’s this week’s instalment. Gus Van Sant’s 2003 film Elephant won both the Best Director and Palme d’Or awards at Cannes. It’s a piercingly quiet, stunningly effective, nightmarish film based on the Littleton, Colorado Columbine school shooting of 1999 which left 12 students and 1 teacher dead. Unlike the media storm that surrounded the Columbine shooting, desperate to explain and assign blame, Elephant is unafraid to leave questions unanswered. It doesn’t try to...

By Linda Marric There are films which will make you fall in love with them almost instantly, they may not look as polished or roll as smoothly as you might have hoped, but you somehow develop a deep love and admiration for what the director and his cast have tried to achieve. Rules Don’t Apply can firmly be placed in that category; from the opening tittles you are completely gripped by what is to come, and you can’t even bring...

Wyndham Hacket Pain @WyndhamHP The monochrome style and real life boxing story may draw comparisons between The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki and Raging Bull, but there is little else in common with the Finnish film being much gentler, smaller, and understated than Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece. Told simply, this film follows the preparations of Finnish featherweight boxer Olli Mäki (Jarkko Lahti) in the lead up to his world championship fight against American Davey Moore (John Bosco Jr.)....

By Linda Marric When it comes to films about people doing heroic deeds during WWII, it becomes impossible to review the film without taking into account the real people behind these truly harrowing stories. Based on a non-fiction book by Diane Ackerman, The Zookeeper’s Wife tells the story of a couple who bravely put their own lives in harms way to save over 300 Polish Jews from certain death by hiding them in their zoo. Directed by Niki Caro, the...

By Linda Marric The very first time I came across The Belko Experiment was a few weeks ago through a controversial review in which an American critic explains why he felt the need to walk out of the screening of the film out of sheer despair and anger at the violence being shown on screen. As I am not here to judge another reviewer’s actions, I will instead attempt to justify why I didn’t completely hate the film, and why...