Being Ola film review by UK film critic James Learoyd. Starring Ola Henningsen, Lasse Kortegaard Kristensen directed by Ragnhild Nøst Bergem. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Being Ola Film Review average rating is 5 out of 5 Critic: James Learoyd | Posted on: Feb 24, 2026 Directed by: Ragnhild Nøst Bergem Written by: Ragnhild Nøst Bergem Starring: Ola Henningsen, Lasse Kortegaard Kristensen Documentaries don’t get any more moving than Being Ola , Ragnhild Nøst Bergem’s recent film about a man named Ola Henningsen who enjoys gardening and writing. The film focuses most prominently on how Ola navigates living with an intellectual disability. In this 70-minute feature, we see him reflect on a challenging, confusing childhood and adolescence; and the painful but, ultimately, socially beneficial and emotionally constructive decision to find a home amongst a close-knit rural community, consisting of many also living with learning disabilities – a safe space of growth, cohabitation and surrogate family. His journey is one of grappling with self-doubt, learning to love one’s imperfections and becoming more independent. But it’s also about looking towards the future, as Ola questions whether he may one day wish to live outside of the village wherein he’s forged such a valuable home. This is a beautiful piece, and a story that will touch many. The first thing you fall in love with while watching Being Ola is the cosiness of the physical location itself. One of the best decisions the filmmakers make on a level of immersion, is allowing the audience to slowly acquaint themselves with each and every place and landscape inhabited by those in the village of Vidaråsen. By letting the viewer grow to have a sense of visual familiarity, the narrative being crafted before you becomes all the more inviting. This is a movie you truly enjoy spending time in. You love the people it paints a portrait of. You love the various activities it documents. And, perhaps most of all, you love the always optimistic spirit of Ola – an endlessly charismatic, amusing and kind screen presence. This is also a wonderfully put-together work of art, both in terms of camera and audio. There’s so much to love about the quaint beauty of the cinematography. Defined by a subtlety and simplicity, both in its composition and in-the-moment capturing, so many shots feel like a colourful, affectionate meditation on the environments and people of Norway. And then, in turn, the very carefully crafted sound and calming choice of music go a long way to build a mood and provide the technical side of the filmmaking a finished quality. Like all great documentaries, all of this then comes together in the editing, which manages not to rush any moment whilst also maintaining a steady, purposeful direction of pace. There’s one clear highlight of movie, for this critic at least. On the celebration of another occupant’s seventieth birthday, many of village’s residents perform for her as a form of gift. For Ola, he’s been rehearsing Chopsticks on the piano. When he begins performing, things go a little wrong, and you can see his heartbreak at being unable to follow through with the performance. Later that day, though, he returns to the piano with his teacher, and together they perform a duet. After this performance, Ola receives a rapturous round of applause. In testimony captured later in the day, he turns the event into a most moving and optimistic philosophy about not giving up. It’s such a perfectly imperfect, almost overwhelmingly – yet effortlessly – emotional instance of captured reality, and the sequence which takes Being Ola into five-star territory. Being Ola gets its UK premiere at the opening night of Oska Bright film festival, on March 28th. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic James Learoyd Indie Feature Film, Documentary, Film Festival, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >

The Defectors film review by UK film critic William Hemingway. Starring Lyud Hristov, Mike Kirk, Charlie Ann Upton, Stephen Vatikiotis directed by Ollie Killip. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS The Defectors Film Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Critic: William Hemingway | Posted on: Aug 15, 2026 Directed by: Ollie Killip Written by: Ollie Killip Starring: Lyud Hristov, Mike Kirk, Charlie Ann Upton, Stephen Vatikiotis In a near future, police state Britain, the leader of a rebel group is gunned down on a stage that he was never supposed to have been on, as a member of the ruling authority tries to play both sides in an effort to bring back everything the UK has lost along the way. In 2028 the Prime Minister was assassinated and a new power seized control for what was supposed to be only a temporary period. By 2032, The Interim Authority still has a stranglehold on the power in the country and has created a surveillance state where everybody’s movements are monitored and everyone’s details are registered in order to control them. Casey Rock (Vatikiotis), the leader of a rebel group, has managed to infiltrate an IA conference and has got himself on stage to deliver a message to the people, helped there by double agent, Detective Reed Stanford (Hristov), but before he can get his first sentence out, he’s blasted through the head and falls down dead on the stage. Detective Reed rushes to help, oblivious to who might be watching, and is helped out of the building by shady agents of no description. What follows is an unfolding of events, where we are caught up in flashbacks, while Detective Reed tries to keep playing his hand as a member of the IA and the rebel group simultaneously. Alongside him on either side are his wife and fellow rebel, Maddie (Upton), and his new boss, Detective Monk (Kirk), who both need Reed to keep doing what he’s doing as long as they each believe that he’s on their side. Sold as a Children Of Men (2006) style look into the future of Britain, where the police state runs everyone’s lives and home-grown terrorism lurks on every corner, The Defectors rushes us straight into the action with very little setup, throwing characters and scenarios at us that we have no clue about until we are caught up in the round. Very quickly we have to deal with people shouting in rooms at each other in one scene, and quiet conversations of subterfuge and revolution in another, while everybody moons around in black and grey without necessarily giving up just which side they are on. There is quite a bit of to-ing and fro-ing in the script, as Detective Reed switches between sides, trying to play all angles, and we are thrown around from past to present as we are furnished with the details that we never got in the beginning, through flashbacks that try to tell us which side Reed is really on. It can be quite tricky to keep up with what’s going on in The Defectors , as people can look pretty similar in their black and grey, with their ratty facial hair and turned up collars, standing in the shadows, and the dialogue doesn’t help us any as it rattles through its exposition from a writer’s standpoint, telling us its facts as though we have already lived the past four years with these people. In the space of twenty-minutes we should really be able to get a good handle on our characters and scenarios, if they were introduced and handled properly, but here we are faced with stylised cinematography and bad synth chords instead, as a crutch to expose the near-futurism of the piece, without really focusing on the main things that any good story needs. In the end The Defectors gets caught up in itself and its character play, twisting threads around each other in ways that don’t feed the main idea or the over-arching scenario, but instead keeping the pieces moving around the board until they are so far up each other’s backside that it’s hard to tell them apart. It’s also hard to tell what the point of The Defectors really is, when it jettisons the overall narrative to instead focus on the Internal Affairs of a few bent coppers and a tiny home-cell of supposed rebels. There’s no real commentary on the state of the country as it is today, and no real warning of where we could be heading if we don’t fix the unnamed things that are broken. Without taking a standpoint against anything in particular, The Defectors just becomes a play about people in a future that doesn’t exist, talking about things that don’t affect us. Their machinations are entirely self-ingratiating and only look inward at the characters rather than expositioning a world that we could believe in, and with that it leaves itself more as a poor man’s Line Of Duty (which is poor enough itself in the first place) than any sort of revolutionary statement on life in the UK. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic William Hemingway Digital / DVD Release, Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Red and Blue Make Purple film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Ruby Wasserman, Amber Kase directed by Olivia Medrano. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Red and Blue Make Purple Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Jul 3, 2022 Directed by: Olivia Medrano Written by: Olivia Medrano Starring: Ruby Wasserman, Amber Kase Hoping to escape her troubled household, a young woman spends time with her friend. Lily (Wasserman) lives in a home where there are constant arguments. She contacts her friend Natalie (Kase) and the two of them go out together and have a great time. Natalie will be going away soon and Lily must decide whether to remain where she is or join her friend. This is a heart-warming short drama that focuses on two individuals who have reached a stage in their life where they have to make life-changing decisions and decide what is best for them. It is a story that deals with a variety of subjects, including self-discovery, the desire to move on to better things, friendship and the challenges of living in a dysfunctional home. The narrative begins quite intensely, with Lily in her house, listening to a nasty argument. In order to escape, she retreats into her bedroom, where she puts on music on her earphones. The atmosphere changes dramatically, becoming very uplifting as she phones Lily and a montage begins, which shows them having fun together by attending an amusement park, eating ice cream and going to the beach. It is clear that these two have a rather strong bond between them. The atmosphere is joyful when they are together and there is a feeling of sadness as they worry that circumstances might cause them to separate. The acting is OK, with both leads delivering sympathetic performances as they portray individuals who find happiness and support when they are with each other. Regarding the soundtrack, there are two wonderful, uplifting songs that signify the positive emotions that emerge for the two protagonists, when they share each other's company. This is a moving coming-of-age story that explores the bond between two friends. It carries the message that one must follow their heart when it comes to making difficult decisions and do what will make them happy. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Life After film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Torri Yates-Orr, Jessejames Locorriere, Patricia Taber, Parker Bradway, Mykie Fisher directed by Jesse Edwards. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Life After Film Review average rating is 5 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Nov 17, 2021 Directed by: Jesse Edwards Written by: Jesse Edwards Starring: Torri Yates-Orr, Jessejames Locorriere, Patricia Taber, Parker Bradway, Mykie Fisher A troubled police officer trying to come to terms with the loss of a loved one must resolve a hostage-taking situation. Ashley (Orr) is a young member of the police force who is dealing with the aftermath of a devastating loss. Her life has been turned upside down and she sees a therapist who appears to be unable to help her. Then someone claims to be holding three people as hostages in an abandoned storehouse and she, along with a large number of armed police officers rush to the scene. The perpetrator has left a note on the front door of the building which says that he has lost all purpose in life and also contains a phone number for people to contact him and three names that are apparently the names of the hostages. After a tense conversation, the captor agrees to let Ashley enter and talk to him, as he is covinced that she understands what he is going through. This is a very tense thriller with nail-biting moments that take the viewer on quite a ride. There is threat, drama, people pointing guns at each other, a great deal of fear that someone is going to get killed and the chances that there is going to be a peaceful resolution seem rather slim. However, the two main themes in this story are grief and the importance of empathy. The hostage taker (Locorriere) is a man who is torn apart by the death of a person who meant the world to him and he believes that Ashley might be able to explain to him how someone can keep on going after that person is gone. The screenplay effectively explores the lives of Ashley and the perpetrator. Ashley is a strong and determined person who struggling to cope with a loss and her life life has become lonely and empty and Orr brings this character to life very convincingly. Locorriere delivers an outstanding performance as a broken and dangerous man who is desperate to find out if there is meaning in life after someone has lost the person who was so important to them. Both protagonists play characters who have lived different lives but are now partially similar due to the loss that they have experienced and neither of them seems to know how to deal with their loss. The mise-en-scene is quite interesting and it includes police cars and a large number of uniformed police officers, armed with a variety of guns and wearing protective gear. When Ashley enters the storehouse, the well-organised surroundings and lighting create a rather sinister and menacing atmosphere and give the impression that she is entering another world, one that is dark and hopeless. Ryan Taubert makes a great contribution with the music, which accompanies the scenes very well, especially when the situations are dramatic and tense. Aaron Seldon delivers wonderful cinematography. This is a very well made short film that contains strong acting and an intriguing plot that focuses on the lives of two people who are going through unbearable emotional pain. Some scenes will keep the audience on the edge of their seat, while others are moving. To conclude, this is an achievement that stands out. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

To Hell With You film review by UK film critic Joe Beck. Starring Andrew Bourne, Brett Brooks, Erin Ownbey directed by Jason Sheedy. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS To Hell With You Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Joe Beck | Posted on: Nov 23, 2024 Directed by: Jason Sheedy Written by: Jason Sheedy Starring: Andrew Bourne, Brett Brooks, Erin Ownbey Exorcisms aren’t a new thing in cinema. Though obviously most famously portrayed in William Friedkin’s masterpiece ‘The Exorcist’ in 1973, they have been shown on screen ever since early horror films in the silent era. In recent years there has been a bizarre revival of exorcism on the big screen, notably beginning with ‘The Conjuring’ in 2013, this has snowballed in the past few years to mixed effect with the likes of ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ and two films starring Russell Crowe - ‘The Exorcism’ and ‘The Pope’s Exorcist’. Therefore, with such proliferation of exorcism films, it is remarkable that ‘To Hell With You’ manages to feel fresh, even if it isn’t always as witty or humorous as it wants to be. ‘To Hell With You’ begins with a botched exorcism of the high-flying young student Brennan (played by Andrew Bourne), who has his promising career, and life, cut short when the priest shoots him in order to remove the demon from his body. With his mother (played by Claire Christie) collapsed on the floor out of shock and the priest nowhere to be seen, Brennan, or Brennan’s soul, is visited by a stubborn demon, called Doyle (played by Brett Brooks) and a tenacious angel, called Esme (played by Erin Ownbey) who quarrel about his fate. It’s a little bit like ‘Good Omens’ the Neil Gaiman story recently adapted for television with Michael Sheen and David Tennant. It has that same sort of pulpy energy, with colours that are popping and a funk infused soundtrack. There are times where it is extremely witty, and where the jokes flow seamlessly, however it doesn’t quite have the heart to sustain the deeper and more personal moments. This is a flaw in Jason Sheedy’s screenplay, which is otherwise very well written, with strong dialogue that helps all the actor’s involved give solid performances. Brett Brooks in particular is excellent as Doyle, the demon, and is perhaps the character with the most weight and emotional development over the course of the films fifteen minutes. Jason Sheedy also directs the film, and this is where his talent really comes out. Sheedy gives the film a visual style that perfectly matches the script, and enhances the film to make it stand out from a bog standard exorcism story. ‘To Hell With You’ is a fun film. It revels in its grisliness and its attempts to be anarchic. Though this doesn’t always work it nonetheless makes for a fun spectacle. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Joe Beck Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Baba film review by UK film critic William Hemingway. Starring Amir Zavosh, Maziyar Khatam, James Choy, Sina Djamshidiat directed by Meran Ismailsoy and Anya Chirkova. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Baba Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: William Hemingway | Posted on: Jan 26, 2023 Directed by: Meran Ismailsoy and Anya Chirkova Written by: Maziyar Khatam Starring: Amir Zavosh, Maziyar Khatam, James Choy, Sina Djamshidiat Baba's life appears to be falling apart but the thing is he doesn't seem to be helping himself either. Right now he's expecting a visitor who is coming over to his small flat to buy something from him but the smoke alarm is going off, the landlord has descended to demand months of backdated rent and everything around seems to be total chaos. Baba (Zavosh) is an Iranian immigrant who despite living in the West for some time still doesn't speak or understand English, so his landlord's (Choy) pleas and protests keep falling on deaf ears. Rather manipulatively though, Baba has called his son Reza (Khatam) over from out of one of his university lectures, by feigning an emergency, just so that he has someone to translate for him as he deals with the multiple problems that seem to keep mounting up. Soon the buyer (Djamshidiat) arrives, knocking on the door and being led into the already busy scene. He is there to buy a painting, something created by Baba's ex-wife which looks like a panel from Persepolis (2007) and which still holds significance and emotional resonance for the rest of the family. Right now though, Baba is willing to sell it on for a few hundred bucks which he reckons is going to get him out of the hole he's in, at least for now, and then he'll be able to get back on with his hedonistic, self-destructive lifestyle. So, with everyone at odds with one another and the buyer trying to extract whatever advantage he can from the situation, Reza is left trying to put all the pieces of his father's life back together despite Baba seemingly doing his best to keep things fractured and chaotic. It's all very stressful and intense and if something isn't released soon from this pressure cooker of a tiny flat then something is bound to break. Billed as a 'fever dream dark comedy', Baba is a lot of the time so intense and confrontational that it can be hard to see where the funny lies. It is in there though, with the over the top caricatures represented on screen using filthy, offensive language on one another while their psychopathic natures are given free rein to play out without much fear of reprisal. This is all underpinned though by a deep seated seriousness which is firmly embedded in the scenario as well as the background characterisation. Baba's issues arise from his psychoses, created by the fallout of his divorce and his inability to integrate into his new surroundings whilst simultaneously drowning himself in the vices of its open and permissive culture. No wonder Reza is having a hard time trying to sort it all out. The performances from all four leads are very strong with Amir Zavosh as Baba coming across as a perfectly odious narcissist with a playful twinkle in his eye and Sina Djamshidiat giving a decidedly perverse turn as the shifty buyer. Co-directors Meran Ismailsoy and Anya Chirkova do a great job with an over-the-shoulder point of view which helps the viewer gain the feeling that they are also caught up in the melange while everyone tries to get what they want from each other. Baba is not an easy watch and not necessarily a fun(ny) one either but it does make its point very well. Some very personal writing from Maziyar Khatam helps Baba to hit home where it hurts and if you can find your way through to spending fifteen minutes with some truly terrible people you may also be able to find the wry humour in some rampant self-destruction. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic William Hemingway Short Film, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Limbo film review by UK film critic William Hemingway. Starring William Ferdinand Hansen, Ronar Rødberg Evanger directed by Arin Aksberg-Kristensen. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Limbo Film Review average rating is 2 out of 5 Critic: William Hemingway | Posted on: Apr 26, 2022 Directed by: Arin Aksberg-Kristensen Written by: Arin Aksberg-Kristensen Starring: William Ferdinand Hansen, Ronar Rødberg Evanger In Norway, a man struggles to come to terms with the ailing health and memory of his father whilst also trying to figure out his own place in the world – if indeed he still exists within it. Limbo , from film-maker Arin Aksberg-Kristensen is a long, slow-burn of a movie, despite only being thirteen minutes long. It takes an age to fade up from black and uses post-rock soundscaping to create its ominous atmosphere long before any plot is exposed. When we do get to the characterisation and dialogue, they are used sparingly, with short declarative sentences being the order of the day. The cinematography keeps things in black and white to enhance the ethereal feel while the aspect ratio shifts to signify that everything may not be as it seems. This, is Scandi-noir at its most basic. Produced by the Arctic University of Norway, Aksberg-Kristensen seems to have leaned on the Scandinavian greats to create his vision of Limbo . There are more than shades of Bergman's The Seventh Seal (1957) at play here, with the plot revolving around Lukas (Hansen) trying to stave off death while he gives himself some time to figure things out. Scenes are punctuated with moments of black static to further increase the feeling of an unwaking nightmare and there's some clever use of repetition and character switching to keep the audience guessing. Technically, Limbo is well put together with the music (also by Aksberg-Kristensen) and sound editing working well with the images on screen. There are plenty of slow moving pans and dynamic shots which give the feel of being an anonymous observer to Lukas' story, while a few quick cuts and camera tricks remind us that there is another level to what's going on. Ultimately though, Limbo ends up feeling rather slow and empty. There is very little characterisation as to just who Lukas, or the people in his life are, and the minimal conversations that are included come across as either banal or confusing. The Limbo in which Lukas supposedly exists may be one of death, or of impotence in the face of his father's decline, but this never becomes clear, even in what is apparently the film's resolution. There may be those who find Aksberg-Kristensen's film intriguing or fascinating but there is too little here that is anything new and it takes a long time for an awful lot of nothing to happen. There are plenty of ideas borrowed from other slow-burning, thoughtful movies but here they don't get the space to breathe or the right level of exposition to truly create something unique. Of course, in Limbo, the overall sense is one of not getting anywhere, but in film it's not a particular feeling that an audience enjoys. Treading water is just not the way to go. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic William Hemingway Short Film, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Modern Arcana film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Serina Ojala, Mariah Salazar, Rico Changeux, Mike Wird directed by Thomas Wingerd. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Modern Arcana Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Dec 26, 2023 Directed by: Thomas Wingerd Written by: Thomas Wingerd, Thea Chard Starring: Serina Ojala, Mariah Salazar, Rico Changeux, Mike Wird Two people in the afterlife repeatedly live through a series of different lives. A man (played by Changeux and voiced by Wird) passes away and ends up in the afterlife, which (in this feature) involves being in the middle of a forest and wearing a tiger-like, colourful mask. With him is another deceased person, a young woman named Estelle (played by Ojala and voiced by Salazar), who calls him Leo and is wearing an almost identical mask. She informs him that the two of them have been together in previous lives and that if he wishes, he can return to the world of the living and live the life of whoever he wants and the way to do that is to die in the afterlife. The two of them take turns in living lives they want to, with one person remaining in the forest, waiting for the other to return. As they continue to do this, their relationship develops more and more and they begin to question whether they could do something more meaningful. This feature is a fantasy story where a lot happens. The majority of the narrative takes place in the forest, with the two protagonists enjoying the afterlife together, growing deep feelings for each other and trying to understand what would make them happy, out of all the lives they are experiencing, what exactly would be the best thing for them to gain out of all this? Basically, the screenplay alternates between the two of them in the forest and the lives they live when they die, which is done by one killing the other (with the other's permission) and the alternative lives are primarily why a lot happens, as they are plenty and diverse, although shown briefly. Between them, Estelle and Leo become a pirate, a whale, an MMA fighter, an astronaut among other things and they sort of become short intriguing stories (from various filmmakers), enabling the film to explore a variety of genres, including horror, sci-fi, adventure and animation. Of course, a lot also happens in the forest, with the romance that develops between the two heroes, the character development they go through and the dance scenes. The dance sequences turn the film into a musical and their main purpose appears to be to highlight the blooming relationship between the two lead characters. These scenes are accompanied by music that is either gentle or hip-hop and they are very well choreographed thanks to Wingerd, Heather Cino and Sky Shaver and the creative editing by Wingerd and Jesse Rarick adds to their good quality. Regarding Estelle and Leo, they are people (departed ones during most of the feature) who are struggling with their identity, they are having difficulties comprehending who they want to be and what would be the ideal life for them. However, what they do know is that they care deeply for each other and although they constantly wear those masks, the audience can still sympathise with them. The mise-en-scene is interesting, with trees covered with colourful handprints, the masks and the clothing, that is the work of Wingerd and Emily Luebcke. Significant praise goes to the creativity that was contributed to the animation during the whale sequence (which is narrated rather enthusiastically by Michael Winslow) and to the magical music by Jordan Polovina. This film is a fantasy love story with drama, comedy and dancing that explores the afterlife and the meaning of life. It is a journey of self-discovery that looks into the idea of people undestanding what it is that brings them happiness and therefore live the best life possible. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Indie Feature Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring Regina Hall, Sterling K. Brown directed by Adamma Ebo. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: Sep 1, 2022 Directed by: Adamma Ebo Written by: Adamma Ebo Starring: Regina Hall, Sterling K. Brown Honk. It’s such an inelegant word. Not that beep or toot are much more graceful, but honk? That’s what makes it such a perfect choice for writer/director Adamma Ebo’s look at commercial spirituality, Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. First Lady Trinitie Childs (Regina Hall, amazing as always) is launching a comeback. Her husband, Pastor Lee-Curtis Childs (the incomparable Sterling K. Brown), had a little run in with morality and scandal five years ago. Since then, their mega-church, Wander to Greater Paths—which once boasted more than 10,000 congregants—has been shuttered. Well, no more! That scandal is almost behind them (there’s the issue of one holdout in the settlement…) and this dynamic duo is ready. And they want people to know, which is why Lee-Curtis agreed to let a documentary crew follow them as they prepare for their upcoming Easter Sunday resurrection. What follows is a mockumentary of sorts, although Ebo’s point of view is not exclusively that of the documentarian (that elusive Anita). And while the world seems most interested in the pastor and his past transgressions, that sly Anita seems more drawn to the first lady. To call this a satire, or really even a mockumentary, is to be a bit off the mark. Though it’s often funny, it’s not exactly a comedy, either. Brown’s damaged, shamed pastor is so pathologically single-minded as to be villainous outright. But Brown seems incapable of creating a character whose flaws don’t make him all the more human, and therefore tender, however irredeemable. Likewise, Hall, whose performance is more decidedly comedic, mines Trinitie for deep conflict between submission to spirituality or to patriarchal bullshit. Her profound unhappiness partnered with her pride make the character a preaching contradiction in a church hat. Solid support work bolsters the comedy (Nicole Beharie, in particular) and the tragedy (the late introduction of Austin Crute’s Khalil is powerful). What starts off as a bit of fun at commodified religion’s expense turns into a surprisingly layered and cynical investigation into the damage organized religion of any kind can have, especially on those who believe. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Theatrical Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Adam's Song film review by UK film critic William Hemingway. Starring Nathan Xia, Ken Dubois, Carlos Padilla Jr. directed by Nathan Xia. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Adam's Song Film Review average rating is 3 out of 5 Critic: William Hemingway | Posted on: May 27, 2025 Directed by: Nathan Xia Written by: Nathan Xia Starring: Nathan Xia, Ken Dubois, Carlos Padilla Jr. A young musician on the cusp of releasing his new EP faces the crushing realism and lack of expectation from those around him, especially his father. When we first meet Adam (Xia), he is interrupting the evening’s session of karaoke in his local bar to play a few songs for the crowd. His best friend, Marco (Padilla) is there for (very vocal) moral support, but sadly that’s about the best he can hope for, as nobody else is there to cheer him on. Back at the family restaurant, Adam’s father (Dubois), aunt, and cousin, sit themselves around the table to enjoy some food after a busy day. His cousin has just graduated summa cum laude from university and is set for a promising career ahead of her. The pride, support, and encouragement she receives from Adam’s dad, as a respectable member of the family who is pushing forward into a respectable line of work, is in stark contrast to the constant beratement and disappointment which is pushed Adam’s way. It’s obvious that being a creative, with no discernible path for the future, holds no weight in his father’s estimations. However, on the night of the eve of Adam’s newest EP release he’s back at the local nightspot, living it large with his pals and nonchalantly trying to forget about the ever-increasing crushing weight of expectation of how it might do. When even Marco brushes him off, Adam steps into the parking lot for a cigarette and runs into an old school flame who has blown back into town with her new boyfriend. The reveal of his chosen career path and news of his impending album drop are not received from them in the way he had hoped either, and so Adam spirals into a depression of self-loathing and malingering doubt, resulting in a confrontation with his father which he may never be able to come back from. All the way through Adam’s Song , we are treated to some really effectual background music, along with the eponymous song of the title. These add no little atmosphere and context to the film, and greatly enhance the feeling of being involved in the various parts of Adam’s life. The upbeat mariachi music in the family restaurant, Wok-O-Taco , contrasts wildly with how Adam really feels, as his own music bleeds melancholy and inner-turmoil all over the microphone. Similarly, the cinematography and colouring of the film casts a veil of muted optimism over the proceedings, whilst also luring us into the shady environments and backgrounds which surround Adam. There is an understanding that the bright lights and centre stage which Adam is aiming for may always be stuck somewhere in the rear-view mirror, and that without the support or validation that he craves from those closest to him, he may forever be fumbling in the shadows of an out-of-reach dream. The script and subsequent direction from Xia himself, is modern, enigmatic, and funny at times, and he clearly shows that he knows what he’s doing behind the camera. The little interludes which punctuate the main story are welcome and refreshing, and are handled with no small amount of care, while the main themes of family dynamics and acceptance, especially from an American-Asian centric point-of-view, come across loud and clear. It is slightly unfortunate that the main trope of an angry, unsupportive, first-generation immigrant parent, is one that is so well-worn, but in this instance it’s obvious that there’s some truth behind the playing of the character. There’s a lot to enjoy in the seventeen-minute runtime of Adam’s Song , with the technical aspects really standing out as being well handled. Nathan Xia is obviously a well backed filmmaker with skill and success at his fingertips, with this outing showing that he’s able to bring together a strong group of talent to help him realise his vision. Unfortunately, Adam’s Song is, in the end, actually quite light on statement and reasoned conflict resolution with everything that’s explored in the film staying firmly on the surface. Each relationship and interaction is easily identifiable and goes exactly where you expect it to, but with no real explanation for how we get to where we’re going in the denouement. Still, if you want to see another film about Chinese-American kids trying to make their non-demonstrable parents proud, you could do a lot worse than Adam’s Song . Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic William Hemingway Digital / DVD Release, Short Film < All Reviews Next Film Review >

In a Violent Nature film review by UK film critic Hope Madden. Starring Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Lauren-Marie Taylor directed by Chris Nash. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS In a Violent Nature Film Review average rating is 4 out of 5 Critic: Hope Madden | Posted on: May 29, 2024 Directed by: Chris Nash Written by: Chris Nash Starring: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Lauren-Marie Taylor When a filmmaker upends slasher tropes, the result often takes a comedic turn. Scream benefitted simultaneously from the audience’s effortless acceptance of genre staples and Wes Craven’s wicked sense of humor. Likewise, the absolute treasure of a meta-slasher Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon zeroes in on slasher cliches to generate fear and horror, laughter and empathy. Chris Nash is not doing that. After years making horror shorts, Nash writes and directs his first feature. Though In a Violent Nature builds its unstated plot on your knowledge of slashers, the filmmaker is not in it for laughs. In a Violent Nature is unapologetically a slasher. A handful of young adults gathers in a secluded national park to camp. They are vaguely horny, annoying, drunk. One mourns some kind of recent tragedy. The fact that we will never get to know these characters by name seems fitting, since slasher characters are one-dimensional by nature. Why do we return to Crystal Lake year after year, sequel after sequel? It’s not for the campers. We hear their inane chatter, their campfire stories, their bickering and flirtations, but just barely because we’re at a safe distance. We’re far enough from the fire that they can’t see us. In fact, it isn’t until the third act that we finally find ourselves more than a few feet away from the unstoppable killing machine whose point of view defines our story. And even then, at the end, how far away could he be? What Nash does with his retake on the slasher—utterly minimalistic except for the carnage, which is generally inspired—is both a deconstruction and loving ode. This movie loves slashers. It does not mock them, doesn’t wink and nod at what we accept when we watch them. Nor does it add any depth to them. People watch slashers to see characters you don’t care about meet inventive, bloody death in a beautiful landscape. We watch slashers because death is comeuppance, it is coming no matter what, and it’s coming in the form of a hulking, horrifying mass with a tragic backstory. The practical fx are glorious. The storytelling is clever in that the story tells you nothing, but Nash’s thoughtful direction is enough. If you don’t like slashers, you won’t like In a Violent Nature . If you sincerely do, though, this film is not to be missed. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Hope Madden Theatrical Release < All Reviews Next Film Review >

Sunflower film review by UK film critic Jason Knight. Starring Martyna Zozula, Sylwia Boron, Helena Mazur, Wieslaw Zanowicz directed by Mateusz Balcerek. HOME | FILMS | REVIEWS Sunflower Film Review average rating is 5 out of 5 Critic: Jason Knight | Posted on: Oct 27, 2024 Directed by: Mateusz Balcerek Written by: Mateusz Balcerek Starring: Martyna Zozula, Sylwia Boron, Helena Mazur, Wieslaw Zanowicz A short World War II drama written and directed by Mateusz Balcerek and starring Martyna Zozula, Sylwia Boron, Helena Mazur and Wieslaw Zanowicz. This film is a special project of the director as it is a true story that is based on his grandmother's experiences and this year marks the 80th anniversary of the events depicted in the film. The plot concerns a family living in a village in Poland during the Second World War. The story concentrates primarily on Danusia (Zozula), a little girl who lives with her older sister Helena (Mazur), their mother (Boron) and their grandfather (Zanowicz). The whereabouts of the children's father are unknown, nevertheless, the family appears to be living a fairly peaceful and happy life. However, their bliss is savagely interrupted when Nazis reach their household and bring death. The impressive creativity of the filmmakers is quite evident. Filming took place in Radom, Poland and commendations go to production designer Rafal Osinsk who has worked on the latest Hunger Games and Bridge of Spies and creates an environment that effectively brings to story back to the nineteen forties and Kamila Buturyn's excellent work on the costumes adds significantly to the look of that decade. The film is beautifully directed by Balcerek, with remarkable shots that look even better thanks to the cinematography by Lukasz Dziedzic, whose previous projects include Steven Spielberg's West Side Story . The soft, sombre and wistful music is the terrific work of Roberto Mengoli, the London Symphonic Orchestra and the Kids Choir. Acknowledgements also go to the creativity during the closing credits. It should be mentioned this film is quite heavy regarding drama and that there are certain scenes that some viewers might find rather distressing. The acting is superb by the entirety of the protagonists. Zozula is a simple child who loves sunflowers and enjoys drawing pictures of them. As the threat of war invades her life, viewers cannot help put feel very sorry for the terrible realities she has to face at such a young age. Although, his appearance is brief, Zanowicz is rather likeable and sweet as Danusia's grandad, an elderly man who wants to spend time with his beloved granddaughter. Boron's character is a strong, loving and protective mother who refuses to be overpowered by the events that are occurring to her family and tries to prevent Danusia from seeing the devastating truth. On the other hand, Helena does not see things from her mother's perspective and seems to believe that they must accept that bad things are coming their way and they must act. The themes that are explored are quite deep. The nagative things that are examined involve the effects warfare has on simple people, such as loss, survival nd generally people's lives being torn apart. The positive subjects include the significance of unity and support, particularly involving households, with family members being there for each other during challenging times. Hope is another significant theme and it seems to be represented by the presence of sunflowers throughout the film, the type of flower that Danusia cherishes. This short is partially a WWII story and partially a family drama. It is quite dramatic when it reveals the devastating consequences war has for people. In the end, this powerful and emotional story seems to suggest that hope can exist even in the darkest of times. Buy UKFR Banner Space About the Film Critic Jason Knight Short Film, World Cinema < All Reviews Next Film Review >