Film

It may not have the glitz or sun-kissed glamour of Cannes or Venice, but there is arguably no other major film festival with a programme that’s as comprehensive as that presented to audiences in London each October. For British film fans, this is undoubtedly the highlight of the cinematic calendar – a chance to wholly immerse themselves in the magic of the movies. Trying to navigate the programme, however, can be an arduous task. With over 240 feature films playing,...

By Michael McNulty A beat up car barrels down a dusty road in the remote bad-lands of rural Pakistan, a group of sweaty men, armed to the teeth, sneer as they approach an isolated house. Standing tall, proud and brandishing a Kalashnikov of her own is the young, beautiful Noza (Suhaee Abro). The men pull up and pile out, weapons drawn. They’ve come to take the home. But, Noza won’t go easy; this is her family home, her land and...

A descendant of an Indian servant who inspired the new Stephen Frears movie with Judi Dench 'Victoria and Abdul' has told how his great-uncle introduced the monarch to curry and the Koran. Abdul Karim was an Indian Muslim who was handpicked to help Queen Victoria learn about her Asian territories in the late 19th century. He served her for 15 years and their extraordinary friendship is the subject of a new film, 'Victoria and Abdul', starring Dame Judi Dench as...

By Michael McNulty Attila Till blends fantasy and reality in his Hungarian comedy-cum-action thriller, Kills on Wheels, about a trio of wheelchair bound hit men. Zoli (Zoltán Fenyvesi) and Barba (Ádám Feteke) are best mates, both with disabilities, who live in a rehabilitation centre and who have a passion for comic books. Zoli is in urgent need of spinal corrective surgery, but his pride prevents him from accepting money from his estranged father to cover the costs. Marginalized and resigned...

By Michael McNulty Seijun Suzuki’s Branded to Kill was produced by Nikkatsu Studios, one of Japan’s major production companies who specialized in making programme pictures of the urban youth and Mukokuseki Akushon (borderless action) variety. The film exists in a cultural and cinematic middle ground, distinctly Japanese, but dressed in a noir-gangster film jacket that could have been stitched together by the French New Wave. It is a warped, exhilarating genre piece and a seminal work. Nikkatsu’s extremely busy production...

Aristotle once said that “Man is a political animal”, and in British politics, few are as ferocious as Dennis Skinner. Dubbed the ‘Beast of Bolsover’, referring to the constituency that he has represented in Parliament since 1970, Skinner is a renowned socialist, trade unionist, and Labour politician; a man both loved and loathed by members of the House. This absorbing documentary from first-time filmmaker Daniel Draper may not be a particularly comprehensive study of Skinner’s political ideology, but it is...

It’s a story so strange that surely it must be a work of fiction. Back in 2010, former art dealer and eccentric millionaire Forrest Fenn purported to hide a cache filled with gold and jewels worth over a million dollars somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, offering those who wished to find the treasure a series of cryptic clues that he claimed would lead them to its location. Seven years on, and still no one has succeeded in finding the loot....

By Jim Mackney Known for his distinctive visual and narrative style, Wes Anderson has produced some of greatest films to have graced our screens over the past decade. The American has a vast array of accolades under his belt despite his relative youth, suggesting there is still a lot more to come from the esteemed film maker. We pick out his top three. Bronze – Moonrise Kingdom Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom is a film about children that is not for children....

When I get through to Skinner's office, the phone is answered by a gentleman with a hushed voice and a regional dialect that I don't recognise at first. "Who is it?", Skinner says. Not quite the start I'd hoped for. I’d read reports he could be quite difficult to interview but he comes across patient, polite and affable. Curious to find out how someone had managed to persuade a modest ex-miner to make a film about himself, I ask him how...