26 Jul 2023
Talk to Me review – zeitgeisty horror is slightly derivative but gratuitously fun
The debut from YouTubers-turned-filmmakers the Philippou brothers makes for sharp, bloody viewing, even if it runs out of steam
Articles by Fedor Tot
14 Jul 2023
While We Watched review – electric account of what it means to be in the eye of a raging storm
Director Vinay Shukla's vital documentary hones in on NDTV news anchor Ravish Kumar as he faces pro-Modi nationalist hysteria
06 Jul 2023
Shabu review – effortlessly breezy neighbourhood portrait is full of flair
Shamira Raphaëla's Netherlands-based doc is both a colourful coming-of-ager and a life-affirming celebration of community
06 Jul 2023
Smoking Causes Coughing review – Quentin Dupieux pulls off another smart-stupid satire
The prolific French filmmaker's latest spoofs Saturday morning kids' television with his usual degree of throwaway thoughtfulness
30 Jun 2023
Small, Slow But Steady review – boxing biopic is an uppercut above the rest
Shô Miyake's film about the world's first hearing-impaired professional woman boxer brilliantly sidesteps the standard beats
22 Jun 2023
The Super 8 Years review – astonishing diary film knits together the personal and political
Annie Ernaux brings her powers of razor-sharp self-reflection to celluloid for this wonderful, moving excavation of motherhood
16 Jun 2023
Inland review – rickety Lynch riff only shows splashes of imagination
Mark Rylance is on solid form in director Fridjof Ryder's noir-ish stab at folk-horror, but an overall lack of focus hampers the film
16 Jun 2023
Pretty Red Dress review – Alexandra Burke shines in an all-too-neat look at Black identity
Dionne Edwards’ impressive debut is well directed and packed with wonderful performances, but fails to fully develop its Big Themes
08 Jun 2023
Hairspray review – John Waters’ musical finds just the right balance of kitsch and sincerity
The cult director's 1988 film brings his trademark subversiveness into the mainstream through its deft exploration of music history
08 Jun 2023
My Imaginary Country review – invigorating insights into a nation at a crossroads
Patricio Guzmán’s multifaceted documentary about the 2019 mass protests in Chile makes for fascinatingly open-ended viewing
01 Jun 2023
The Old Man Movie: Lactopalypse! review – berserk stop-motion comedy is a laugh riot
This absurdist Estonian animation from Mikk Mägi and Oskar Lehemaa makes for a maddeningly immature and hilarious ride
26 May 2023
Unclenching the Fists review – sensitive and thoughtful coming-of-age story
Led by a superb central performance from Milana Aguzarova, this is a promising second feature from an up-and-coming filmmaker
26 May 2023
Inland Empire review – David Lynch’s nightmare fuel masterpiece returns to stalk cinemas
Few other films have ventured as far down the rabbit hole as this three-hour long avant-garde headtrip, now restored in gorgeous 4K
19 May 2023
Under the Fig Trees review – sensitive and eloquent filmmaking from Tunisia
Sun-dappled naturalism shines through in this sweet and relaxed fiction feature debut from documentary filmmaker Erige Sehiri
14 May 2023
The Dam review – Sudan-set drama is evocative but unspecific
Though we might have seen a more politically radical film, Ali Cherri’s dreamy debut has echoes of Apichatpong Weerasethakul
05 May 2023
Pamfir review – technically superb and powerful filmmaking from Ukraine
First-time director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk delivers a richly drawn, impressively subtle film set on the Ukrainian borderlands
28 Apr 2023
Love According to Dalva review – deafeningly empty exploration of child abuse
This miserable and pointless debut feature from writer-director Emannuelle Nicot has nothing to say about its traumatic subject matter
13 Apr 2023
The Plains review – sensitive and perceptive journeys on the nature of time
David Easteal's three-hour film, shot almost entirely from inside a car, makes mundanity into something genuinely profound
06 Apr 2023
The Outwaters review – truly terrifying reinvention of found-footage horror
Robbie Banfitch breathes new life into an exhausted sub-genre with this nightmarish, experimental vision set in the Mojave Desert
06 Apr 2023
Godland review – exquisitely poetic story of colonial folly
Writer-director Hlynur Pálmason sets out in the tradition of Herzog with this visually rich tale of a priest's ill-fated Icelandic expedition
30 Mar 2023
Law of Tehran review – fierce and propulsive Iranian crime drama
Director Saeed Roustayi delivers an ambitious, morally complex thriller that thrives on left-field turns and gritty atmosphere
28 Mar 2023
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman review – pleasant but empty Haruki Murakami animation
Pierre Földes adapts the revered Japanese novelist to sometimes diverting effect, but the approach is frustratingly surface level
23 Mar 2023
The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future review – magical realist fable climbs to a superb peak
Though it takes a while to find the right groove, this debut from Chilean director Francisca Alegrí locates some spectacular images
17 Mar 2023
The Age of Innocence review – Scorsese’s “violent” period drama is a thing of lavish excellence
The director's 1993 take on Wharton's novel positions upper class New York as a cutthroat world equal to those of his gangster films
15 Mar 2023
Winners review – likeable love letter to Iranian cinema is too reverent for its own good
Scottish-Iranian director Hassan Nazer's metatextual ode to the movies is undeniably charming, but puts its heroes on a pedestal
09 Mar 2023
The Middle Man review – off-kilter black comedy doesn’t stick the landing
Norwegian filmmaker Bent Hamer's bleak but well-crafted look at Rust Belt America is a deadpan delight... until an ill-judged last act
02 Mar 2023
Buck and the Preacher review – Poitier and Belafonte are glorious in overlooked western
Sidney Poitier’s first directorial effort makes for a wild ride, packed with memorable turns and smart filmmaking
28 Feb 2023
Tótem review – family faces mortality in a devastating, nuanced drama
Mexican director Lila Avilés' second feature finds generous shades of grey in its exploration of the ways we process death
28 Feb 2023
Kill Boksoon review – Korean actioner designed by the Netflix algorithm
Inventive fight sequences are undermined by dreary and uninspired dialogue scenes in Byun Sung-hyun's bloated John Wick wannabe
28 Feb 2023
Eastern Front review – incredible reportage from the Ukrainian frontlines
Vitaly Manskiy and Yevhen Titarenko's ground level documentary about the ongoing conflict is harrowing, though not without hope
24 Feb 2023
Mad Fate review – wildly uneven Hong Kong thriller has plenty of panache
Filmmaker Soi Cheang's latest sags somewhat in the middle but is packed with enough style and showmanship to make it worthwhile
24 Feb 2023
The Trial review – essential chronicle of Argentina’s recent, bloody history
Ulises de la Orden's three-hour documentary about the 1985 trial of the country's military junta is an incredible feat of filmmaking
23 Feb 2023
Afire review – creation and climate change in Petzold’s gorgeous, funny drama
Four people are confined to a seaside house in the German filmmaker's quietly apocalyptic mystery about artistic anxiety
03 Feb 2023
Every M. Night Shyamalan Film, Ranked
Overrated hack or underrated auteur? Fedor Tot explores the twisty filmmaker's output to mark the release of Knock at the Cabin
01 Feb 2023
You Resemble Me review – uneven but resonant look at a so-called suicide bomber
Journalist-turned-filmmaker Dina Amer's reckoning with the life of Hasna Aït Boulahcen starts poorly but eventually finds its feet
26 Jan 2023
The Lair review – ropey but hilariously gory B-movie
British filmmaker Neil Marshall's latest yarn is on the cheap side but reaffirms his status as a capable peddler of schlocky action
20 Jan 2023
The Substitute review – watchable Argentinian teacher drama fails to inspire
Writer-director Diego Lerman's well-meaning film shows flashes of insight, but is let down by a lack of focus and too many subplots
06 Jan 2023
Rashomon review – Kurosawa classic is every bit as good as you remember
The Japanese director's international breakthrough, now on re-release, is a masterwork of perspective and the human condition
26 Dec 2022
The Queen of Spades review – British gothic horror is a lurid smoulder of a film
Thorold Dickinson's often overlooked and beautifully crafted 1949 film, starring Anton Walbrook, is now re-released in UK cinemas
09 Dec 2022
The Bishop’s Wife review – superbly understated Christmas comedy
Cary Grant is perfectly cast as an angel sent to aid a bishop in this elegant, sweetly observed 1947 classic, now on re-release
02 Dec 2022
Dawn Breaks Behind the Eyes review – brilliantly tricksy Euro horror homage
Kevin Kopacka's meta-natured genre throwback, greatly atmospheric and narratively loose, is never quite what it appears
30 Nov 2022
Lynch/Oz review – an act of film criticism that illuminates and invigorates
Alexandre O. Philippe’s approachable, insightful documentary delves into the director's canon through his love of The Wizard of Oz
28 Nov 2022
Utama review – Bolivian drama of big themes and bold visuals
Alejandro Loayza Grisi's debut explores intergenerational conflict and climate emergency through the story of two elderly farmers
11 Nov 2022
The Draughtsman’s Contract review – Peter Greenaway’s nasty reinvention of the period drama
This acerbic 1982 classic, re-released courtesy of the BFI, tells the story of a 17th century draughtsman embroiled in a murder plot
11 Nov 2022
A Bunch of Amateurs review – moving portrait of filmmaking and fellowship
Kim Hopkins' compelling, sensitive doc about the Bradford Movie Makers triumphs as a celebration of both community and cinephilia
10 Nov 2022
No Bears review – powerful and perceptive tale of dissent, politics and filmmaking
Iranian director Jafar Panahi's latest is an audacious, multifaceted work about human responsibility and the intersection of life and art
04 Nov 2022
Neptune Frost review – angry and anarchic Afrofuturist musical
Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman's vision of the future is inventive and exhilarating, though it doesn't always find the right rhythms
03 Nov 2022
Something in the Dirt review – zonked-out ode to the joys of filmmaking
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead's latest follows two LA slackers as they set out to chronicle the strange-goings in their building
20 Oct 2022
Argentina, 1985 review – slick but slightly superficial courtroom drama
Santiago Mitre's film about the military junta trials following Argentina's Dirty War is gripping and well-made, but lacks detail
19 Oct 2022
Goran Stolevski on You Won’t Be Alone: “The film is about witches, but it’s also about feelings!”
The Macedonian-Australian director's bewitching debut feature is a Balkan fairytale that grapples with identity and humanity. Fedor Tot talks to the filmmaker ahead of its UK release
18 Oct 2022
You Won’t Be Alone review – a head-spinning trip through history
Macedonian-Australian director Goran Stolevski's incredible debut uses the tale of a body-swapping witch to ask what makes us human
08 Oct 2022
The Origin review – flawed action-horror is a fascinatingly taut vision
Andrew Cumming's thrilling debut feature, set during the Palaeolithic era, takes inspiration from the works of Robert Eggers
16 Sep 2022
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song review – fascinating deconstruction of musical immortality
This insightful doc goes deep on the singer-songwriter's most famous tune in a bid to uncover the cause of its wider appeal
16 Sep 2022
Bloody Oranges review – flawed but effective state-of-the-nation address
Jean-Christophe Meurisse's political satire often feels like a dead-end, though is saved by fine performances and flashes of humanity
08 Sep 2022
Saloum review – anarchic and ramshackle West African adventure
Three mercenaries square off against the supernatural in Jean Luc Herbulot's unfocused but ambitious acidic western riff
25 Aug 2022
Queen of Glory review – authentic comedy of a second-generation immigrant
Writer-director Nana Mensah's low-budget debut marks her as a talent to watch, though her film is slightly marred by its third act
18 Aug 2022
The Feast review – atmospheric but inconsistent Welsh-language horror
Rich people gather in a remote country house in a trippy arthouse tale that excels visually but is let down by obvious writing
10 Aug 2022
The Harder They Come review – a searing mix of politics, realism, chaos, and music
Jimmy Cliff stars and sings in this 1972 blaxploitation classic, now on re-release, about a country boy on a crime spree in Kingston
05 Jul 2022
Best of the Fest: Il Cinema Ritrovato
Fedor Tot reflects on this year's incarnation of the Italian festival dedicated to rediscovering and reframing the cinema of the past
24 Jun 2022
Theo and the Metamorphosis review – chaotic antithesis to the arthouse market
Director Damien Odoul builds a playground for star Theo Kermel in an experimental film that is by turns sweet, surreal and disturbing
21 Jun 2022
Moon, 66 Questions review – Greek father-daughter drama can’t sustain interest
This debut from director Jacqueline Lentzou shows promise but is let down by thin characterisation and an alienating obliqueness
14 Jun 2022
Pleasure review – authentic porn drama could have used more chaos
Sofia Kappel shines in director Ninja Thyberg's non-judgemental but overwritten look at the adult entertainment industry
09 Jun 2022
Il Buco review – ruminations on life and death at one of the world’s deepest caves
Michelangelo Frammartino's quiet and mediative new film explores a 700 metre abyss located in the Calabria region of Italy
07 Jun 2022
Earwig review – oppressively atmospheric and dream-like fable
Writer-director Lucile Hadžihalilović spins a slow-burning, narratively elusive mood piece about a girl with teeth made of ice
20 May 2022
The Innocents review – sinister Norwegian horror with a refreshingly nasty edge
Though it doesn't quite land a satisfying conclusion, this is a chilling and uncomfortable piece of work from director Eskil Vogt
16 May 2022
This Much I Know to Be True review – incandescent Nick Cave concert film
Andrew Dominik reunites with the Australian singer-songwriter for a documentary that is both intimate and epic in equal measure
13 May 2022
The Drover’s Wife review – effective and stirring revisionist western
Leah Purcell writes, directs and stars in this refreshingly feminist and well acted revenge tale, set in colonial Australia
11 May 2022
Vortex review – Gaspar Noé tackles old age in a quietly terrifying death spiral
The Irreversible director changes lanes for a gentler examination of one's final years that still packs the blunt force of his best work
10 May 2022
Father Stu review – Mark Wahlberg’s holy redemption tale commits a multitude of sins
The actor stars alongside Mel Gibson in a watchable but stiflingly sincere drama about a boxer-turned-priest, based on a true story
28 Apr 2022
The Velvet Queen review – breathtaking nature doc on the patience of the pursuit
This meditative film, scored by Warren Ellis and Nick Cave, explores the arduous labour of capturing images of animals in the wild
28 Apr 2022
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair review – ambitious exploration of internet anxiety
Writer-director Jane Schoenbrun helms this creepypasta-like horror film about a teenager caught up in a bizarre online challenge
21 Apr 2022
The Tale of King Crab review – visually sumptuous and quixotic anti-western
Taking their cues from Herzog, Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis deliver a spectacular tale about an ill-fated treasure hunt
14 Apr 2022
The Great Movement review – a challenging portrait of labour in La Paz
Bolivian workers find themselves afflicted with a strange disease in writer-director Kiro Russo's opaque but not unrewarding mystery
08 Apr 2022
Murina review – masterfully tense and sun-kissed psychological drama
Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović's elegant, claustrophobic debut finds a father and his daughter vying for power on the Croatian coast
31 Mar 2022
Cries and Whispers review – Ingmar Bergman’s sickly, spectral masterpiece
Three women care for a fourth during her final hours in a visually breathtaking drama touched by the unmistakable stench of death
24 Mar 2022
Hive: How Female Filmmakers Are Moving Kosovan Cinema Forward
Blerta Basholli's captivating debut follows a recent wave of Kosovan films exploring the female perspective in the shadow of war
23 Mar 2022
Escape from Mogadishu review – Somalia-set chase thriller thrives in the third act
This Korean based-on-fact actioner makes for great, fast-paced entertainment, though is let down by some casual stereotyping
10 Mar 2022
The Metamorphosis of Birds review – poetic grappling with family and loss
This blend of documentary and drama makes for challenging viewing, but those willing to engage will be rewarded
07 Mar 2022
Leonora Addio review – Paolo Taviani’s wonderfully lyrical goodbye to his brother
The director's sanguine, gently surreal road trip through Italy and its complex history makes for a strange, beguiling experience
24 Feb 2022
Gangubai Kathiawadi review – rousing Bollywood biopic with real star power
Alia Bhatt shines in a true to life tale of such pure cinematic spectacle that even the film's sizeable flaws seem to fall away
21 Feb 2022
The Outfit review – Mark Rylance leads an entertaining mob tailor whodunnit
The Oscar-winning actor stars alongside Zoey Deutch in a slight but gripping one-room noir from first-time director Graham Moore
17 Feb 2022
Both Sides of the Blade review – uneven but honest depiction of middle-aged lust
Claire Denis’ latest is a moving if inconsistent effort that rests on some exquisite performances by three of France’s finest actors
16 Feb 2022
Dark Glasses review – Dario Argento’s latest is a glorious return to form
The Italian "Master of Horror" delivers a well-oiled, greatest hits-like giallo riff in his first feature film for more than a decade
15 Feb 2022
Flux Gourmet review – culinary black comedy is mostly inedible
British filmmaker Peter Strickland’s food-obsessed fifth feature is big on detail but fails to make us care about its characters
15 Feb 2022
Peter von Kant review – limp redo of a Rainer Werner Fassbinder classic
François Ozon's shouty reinterpretation of the German filmmaker's 1972 masterpiece fails to bring anything interesting to the table
10 Feb 2022
Drown review – atmospheric Korean thriller doesn’t quite coalesce
This slow-burn mystery from director Lim Sang-su offers plenty of intrigue and local detail, but sputters out in its final third
10 Feb 2022
EAMI review – dream-like ode to the Ayoreo Totobiegosode people
This year’s Tiger Award winner is a quietly emotive and visually dense slice of docufiction that deserves a wider audience
09 Feb 2022
Petrov’s Flu review – a dizzying and anarchic vision of modern Russia
Kirill Serebrennikov's nightmarish black comedy about a man plagued with an unshakeable fever is one of the year’s best surprises
08 Feb 2022
Zalava review – juicy Iranian thriller pits the rational against the irrational
Superstition and science come crashing together in this sharp, supernatural mystery debut from Iranian filmmaker Arsalan Amiri
02 Feb 2022
Achrome review – World War II drama taps into a never-ending note of misery
Russian filmmaker Mariya Ignatenko opts for a slow cinema style but winds up with something horrendously morbid and boring
28 Jan 2022
Every Pedro Almodóvar Film, Ranked
To coincide with the release of Parallel Mothers, Fedor Tot delves into the great Spanish filmmaker's vast and transgressive canon...
27 Jan 2022
Amulet review – Romola Garai’s elegant slow-burn horror
Sickly, beautiful, though somewhat slight, this debut feature from the actor-turned-director works familiar tropes in an effective way
26 Nov 2021
Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn review – raucously funny takedown of modern society
Rude, irreverent, stupid and yet cuttingly witty and intelligent, Radu Jude’s Berlin winner is like Brass Eye by way of Slavoj Žižek
12 Nov 2021
Raging Fire review – relentlessly fresh and imaginative fight scenes
Benny Chan's impressive final feature is a dizzying cop procedural that harks back to the glory days of Hong Kong cinema
03 Nov 2021
A Hero review – Asghar Farhadi returns to form with a rich moral melodrama
The acclaimed Iranian filmmaker delivers his best film in ages with this twisty tale about the blurry line between right and wrong
03 Nov 2021
Landscapes of Resistance review – honest attempt to grapple with Yugoslavian history
The life of anti-fascist and Auschwitz survivor Sonja Vujanović is explored in a documentary that sets out to align the past and present
29 Oct 2021
Wild Indian review – brilliantly acted study of marginalisation and oppression
Debut filmmaker Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr. barely wastes a minute with this tight and haunting story of cyclical violence in America
22 Oct 2021
Leave No Traces review – tense and riveting Polish power battle
This political thriller from director Jan P. Matuszyński, inspired by true events, grips for the length of its near three-hour runtime
18 Oct 2021
Hit the Road review – Iranian debut is a claustrophobic crowd-pleaser
Winner of Best Film at last year's London Film Festival, this smart drama from director Panah Panahi charts a chaotic family journey
13 Oct 2021
The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão review – evocative but uneven period adaptation
Writer-director Karim Aïnouz explores the unfulfilling lives of two sisters in 1950s Brazil, though the melodrama never fully ignites