A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Italian and Italian-language Films
Simona Risi, “Hitler’s Big Fear – The Trial of Degenerate Art” (2026) Centred on a major exhibition of 20th-century German art held by the Musée National…
French and French-language Films
François Ozon, “L’Étranger” (2025) The third film adaptation of Albert Camus’s famous novel, and the first made in France – previous adaptations having been made in…
French and French-language Films, Northern European Films
Cédric Klapisch “La Venue de l’avenir” / “The Colours of Time” (2025) A derelict country house in Normandy, long abandoned by its last occupant, is an…
John Patton Ford, “How to Make a Killing” (2026) Inspired by and loosely based on the 1949 British crime comedy caper “Kind Hearts and Coronets’, notable…
British Films, North American Films
Nia DaCosta “28 Years later: The Bone Temple” (2025) At the end of the first film in this trilogy, we saw young Spike (Alfie Williams) being…
Brazilian Films, Portuguese-language Films
Kleber Mendonça Filho, “O Agente Secreto / The Secret Agent” (2025) Folks anticipating a fast-paced spy thriller might be disappointed to discover this film is actually…
Park Chanwook, “No Other Choice” (2025) Behind a convoluted plot in which a paper industry expert, unceremoniously retrenched after 25 years of giving his all to…
Round-up of Films seen in 2025 Dear USE Readers, The good news is that I managed to see more films than I thought I would in…
French and French-language Films
Emmanuel Courcol, “En Fanfare!” (English title: “My Brother’s Band”) (2024) Initially the advertising for “En Fanfare!” suggested this was going to be fairly straightforward light-hearted fare…
Japanese Films, North American Films
Hikari, “Rental Family” (2025) Beginning in the 1990s, rental family services offering actors to stand in for family members, spouses, friends, co-workers or companions at weddings,…