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here’s the trailer. the film is now playing here https://youtu.be/wgi6Pg4Mz84

(Release Info UK schedule; May 8th, 2020, Curzon Home Cinema) (Virtual Screening) https://www.curzonhomecinema.com/film/watch-the-whistlers-film-online "The Whistlers" 'The Romanian New Wave' goes global in 'The Whistlers', the latest eccentric yarn from director Corneliu Porumboiu. Not everything is as it seems for Cristi (Vlad Ivanov), a corrupt police inspector in Bucharest who plays both sides of the law. Embarked by the beautiful Gilda (Catrinel Marlon) on a high-stakes heist, both will have to navigate the twists and turns of treachery and deception. This twisty gangster noir opens on 'La Gomera', where Cristi is sent against his will. In a downright whimsical turn, he’s there to learn the region’s aboriginal whistling language, which he needs to pull off an elaborate plot right under the noses, or rather ears, of 'The Romanian Police'. As the film’s labyrinthine plot unfolds with clockwork precision, revolving, of course, around a stash of money, there are twists, turns, and double-crossings aplenty, involving not just Cristi’s also-corrupt superior Magda (Rodica Lazar), but also his mother (Julieta Szönyi), and femme fatale Gilda. A secret whistling language spoken on 'The Spanish' island of 'LaGomera' might just be what they need to pull it off. The opening scene, the almost triumphant arrival on the island of 'La Gomera', lays the foundations of the film; Cristi thinks he’s in heaven but soon discovers he’s bugged and under surveillance. He's in fact imprisoned by the gaze of others. Within the context of a very ambiguous police investigation, it's a story of a disillusioned cop, who shows up at 'La Gomera' to meet a woman and learn a whistled language. But things get more complicated and nothing goes according to plan. The policeman embarks on an initiatory journey, a kind of adventure with many turns and surprising twists. We don’t immediately understand that Cristi is wire-tapped and suspected by the police. His character does not lend itself to immediate identification, but the film gradually reveals his secret to us. Cristi is a complex character, initially thinks he’s controlling things but he’s mistaken because very soon he's caught in a storm, a vertiginous triangle. He's no longer the master of his fate. Cristi is disillusioned and elusive. He's no longer believes in his vocation, he starts to work with the mafia and to make money from drug trafficking. He’s a person who no longer believes in anything, in his professional life, his private life, and he seeks to escape all of this when he gets to the island of 'La Gomera'. As a police officer, he's part of the power structure and he thinks he’s in control of his life, but rather quickly he's caught up in a storm of events beyond his control. People talk a lot, ponder things, to try to define this revolution that eventually overthrows the power that's unshakeable for so long. In this film, the characters are caught up in a world dominated by strong opinions, where everyone wants to impose their point of view on others; it’s a permanent power play. In a dark world where everything must be negotiated, genuine communication functions better through a secret language that enables, for those who master it, the ability to extract oneself from the control of very tense human relationships, to be able to preserve a kind of sincerity. This secret language is crucial for Cristi, as he comes to use it for personal ends that have nothing to do with the criminal reasons for which he has to learn it. His seriousness in all circumstances occasionally makes him comical. Cristi is quite opaque and doesn’t show much emotion, but he shows his hand at a key moment; when he negotiates Gilda’s future with the mafia. He's madly in love with her. So we discover the truth about the characters only through their actions. Gina is the archetype of a woman. She betrays the men, turning against them. She's a lure, ambiguous and unsettling character who manages to manipulate others without them realising it. She succeeds in giving full weight to the scene of the kiss with Cristi, staged to dupe the police officers following them. It's a moment that reveals her power. She always knows how to play her different roles before the surveillance cameras and she masters some very tense and borderline situations. Gilda eventually escapes this constant roleplaying, gradually revealing herself to herself, and becoming a more real or realistic woman. All the while remaining a film character. Gilda is the femme fatale, and Magda, the prosecutor, Cristi’s boss, is a strong and cold woman in the style of Marlene Dietrich. The mafia boss Paco (Agusti Villaronga) avoids the cliché of 'The Mafiosi'. In the end, we understand that the strongest characters are the women around him; Gilda, Magda, and his mother. The women are pulling the strings to move the story forward. Here, we understand that he's being carried along by the women. In the end, his decisions are not his choices. It's a story with characters who lie, who play a double game. They believe they’re the masters of their fate. The principle of this film lies in transactions, including the transaction of words. The dialogues here are no longer discussions based on an idea but hard and fast exchanges, like ping-pong, blow upon blow. Each character is caught up in their professional role, the cops and mafia have a functional way of talking, there’s not much time for forethought because they’re constantly having to take action. In an increasingly controlled society in which everyone must play a role, a very old form of communication can allow people to escape it; to escape from this control and the constant power relations that determine the actions of each character. The characters are playing roles and the film plays with the codes of language and genre. The visual references follow this idea. Each character plays a role for others. Only Cristi’s mother has retained a kind of sincerity and realism. Each of the chapters bearing the name of a character who plays an important part in Cristi’s story arc. The film establishes distanciated, abstract aesthetic, to emphasise the idea of artifice and the roleplaying of each of the characters. This film is based on the whistled language 'El Silbo', practised on the island of 'La Gomera'. 'The Romanian' title refers to the name of this island in 'The Canaries', a place to get away from it all, a lost paradise. 'The French' and 'English' titles refer to the mysterious whistled language that exists in many different places in the world but whose roots are unknown. This island of 'La Gomera' is closely linked to the tradition of these whistles. The whistled language struck as a possibility for pursuing this theme differently. Adjective on language and the way in which it's used for political ends. The history of a secret language, used for criminal ends, is the core that determined the narrative style and staging. The language 'El Silbo Gomero' allows us to code spoken language, in a similar way to how film codes reality. The film plays with the codes of very different genres, from the detective film or film noir, to the western or comedy. 'The Romanian' auteur’s glossiest, most expensive production to date, "The Whistlers" nonetheless retains a eclectic sensibility and deadpan humour. Watching this deliriously enjoyable tale, you like the characters, you getting away with something. You’ll want to go along for the ride. The film creates an imbalance between heroic pretensions and the reality of things. This terribly serious side, in all circumstances, gives the film a touch of the absurd. "The Whistlers" is edgy, imaginative, and seems to deal with reality. It's a very dark film, a comment on human relations and today’s society.

(London Film Festival, October 10th, 2019, Embankment Garden Cinema, Victoria Embankment Gardens, Villiers St, London WC2N 6NS, UK, 17:0 pm) https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=officialsecrets&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id= "Official Secrets" Based on Marcia's and Thomas Mitchell's book 'The Spy Who Tried To Stop A War', "Official Secrets" tells the remarkable true story of 'British Secret-Service' officer Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley) and her effort to stop an illegal war. In 2003 at her job as a 'British Intelligence Specialist', Gun comes across a disturbing email from 'The US National Security Agency' division chief Ken Macdonald (Jeremy Northam); a request for 'UK' assistance in blackmailing members of 'The United Nations Security Council' into endorsing an invasion of Iraq. The memo proposed blackmailing smaller, undecided member states into voting for war. Shocked, she makes a decision that will change her life and put her family in danger. Unable to stand by and watch the world be rushed into an illegal war, Gun makes the gut-wrenching decision to defy her government and leak the memo to the press. Leak the email to the press setting off a chain of events that exposes an international conspiracy and lands her in custody, charged under 'Britain’s Official Secrets Act'. That will ignite an international firestorm, expose a vast political conspiracy, and put Gun and her family directly in harm’s way. She risks everything to stop an unjust war. Her government calls her a traitor. A gripping true life political thriller of a spy gone rogue who risked everything to stop an unjust war.   An ordinary person who finds herself in an extraordinary situation. The courtroom in 2004, with Katharine Gun standing alone in the witness box, is where the narrative of "Official Secrets" begins, flashing back to the consequential events, for Gun and for the world, of the previous year. There comes a time when one must take a position that's neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it's right. Conscience, that still small voice we do not always listen to, but, when we do, banishes cynicism and raises us to a better, kinder place. When Gun is at home and calls in sick to 'GCHQ'; a moment later her husband opens the front door and the incoming daylight makes Katharine flinch. She’s so in the moment of what she’s doing, the reactions are fresh and not planned. The camera is tracking around her on an extreme close-up looking right into her face, asking her to take the time to struggle through the decision. In the hands of a lesser actor, that scene could be a little forced. But in Katharine's case, when she makes that decision to get up, you feel that you’ve lived that internal struggle with her. Katharine is amazingly sane. She's very clear about why she’d done what she did. She’s someone who decides to take this stand at considerable cost to her career and her personal life. Katharine is in a quite tricky position because if you question her on it, she still is bound by 'The Official Secrets Act'. Gun isn't a journalist. She navigates and endures the consequences faced by an ordinary person committing an extraordinary act. Gun beautifully captures the moral complexity and vulnerability of a high-stakes whistleblower whose fight against government misinformation remains unnervingly relevant. She allows us a unique look into the psychology behind her decision to risk both her family’s safety and her own life without always knowing why. The result is a portrait of human nature that focuses on what's best in all of us. Yasar (Adam Bakri) is Gun's husband. There's a genuine love between Gun and her husband, which is rocked after the scandal. As depicted in the film, Yasar is almost deported during the aftermath of the leak but saved at the eleventh hour. The emotional feeling of that reconciliation is what re-established their love, their connection, after he’d been pretty frustrated and thrown. She leaks the e-mail without telling him she's going to do it. Ben Emmerson (Ralph Fiennes) has a very strong presence, which can be intimidating if he chooses it to be. Within a few minutes of talking to Ben, you feel the force of someone who will take on tough causes because there's an ethical urgency within his work. On March 2nd, 2003, British newspaper 'The Observer' published a front page article with the headline, 'Revealed: US Dirty Tricks To Win Vote On Iraq War'. This was mere weeks before 'The United States' would invade Iraq and topple the regime of 'Saddam Hussein', but journalists Martin Bright (Matt Smith), Ed Vulliamy (Rhys Ifans) and Peter Beaumont (Matthew Goode) were detailing a blackmail scheme targeted at members of 'The United Nations Security Council' from five countries, coercing them to authorize the invasion. The breathtaking claims in the article, challenging the whole pretext for war, were based in part on a classified email that had been leaked from a 'British Intelligence Agency' called 'Government Communications Headquarters' (GCHQ). As a rigorous internal investigation began at 'GCHQ' to expose the whistleblower, a quiet young translator in her late twenties stepped forward to confess to the leak. Her name was Katharine Gun. Gun’s actions did not prevent the invasion of Iraq, which commenced on March 19th, 2003, or the huge loss of life that followed. In the American media, her story was only glancingly covered. In 2004, she went to trial, defended by human rights lawyer Ben Emmerson. And remarkably, the charges against her were dropped, with many suspecting that 'Fhe British Government' risked exposure and embarrassment if it pursued a case against Gun, especially after the search for 'Weapons Of Mass Destruction' in Iraq had proved fruitless. Her story, however, is finally being told. '9/11', Osama, Bush, Afghanistan, Powell, 'WMD', 'OSP', Iraq, Obama, drone strikes, 'ISIS', Syria, refugees, Trump, walls, 'Fake News . It’s been a maddening, confusing two decades that has left many of us disillusioned, angry and uncertain. Can anyone be trusted? Is it all just too complex to fathom? Are the basic concepts of personal integrity and human decency, those simple ideals we teach our kids, dead? Is cynicism our only refuge? 'The UN' didn’t vote in favor of an invasion. Bush and Blair relied on false intelligence claiming Iraq had 'WMD' to justify going to war. Everyone knows that now. But imagine if they’d secured a 'UN' resolution authorizing war as they initially tried to do? There’d have been no need to rely on 'WMD . If 'The UN' had backed the war, Bush and Blair would have had perfect legal cover for their invasion. They’ve never been held legally accountable for their 'WMD' lies anyway. Katharine Gun leaks a top secret 'NSA' memo about an illegal spying operation designed to push the smaller, non permanent 'UN Security Council' members into voting in favor of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. "Official Secrets" dramatizes these real-life events and brings Gun to life as an ordinary woman in an extraordinary situation. By slowly revealing specific details and lingering on pivotal moments, the film creates an intense atmosphere that captivates you until the very end and begs the question; what would you do? Watching "Official Secrets" nvariably stirred up old feelings from 'The Iraq Invasion'. We're all saying how angry we're again about the whole debacle and how really it’s an open sore. It will make people realize how nothing much has changed. It’s been a continuum of the same for the last fifteen years and it’s a really shocking state of affairs. There’s a whole new generation who won’t have caught onto this yet, because they're under ten when it happened. Gun’s story and 'The Iraq War' itself has huge ramifications. This is a war that corroded all our major institutions, our judicial system, our political system, the intelligence services and the press. So it continues to have a major effect on our public life. What Katharine was revealing went beyond a simple piece of wrongdoing. What she was revealing was something wrong at the heart of our national and international institutions. As difficult as the process was 16 years ago, Gun is delighted that 'The British Government’s' lack of transparency will once again come under the spotlight when "Official Secrets" is released to audiences worldwide. It’s this whole paradigm of what's national interest? So much gets swept under that overall heading. Who's to decide what's in the national interest? It's a story about government transparency or lack of transparency, which is still resonant now.

Christopher Nolan is back! Take a look at the Dunkirk movie trailer which makes other war film trailers quake in their boots...

From Writer / Director James Webber and Producer Roxanne Holman comes SOROR, the follow-up to the BAFTA long-listed and Cannes Film Fetsival Coup de Coeur winning DRIFTWOOD. Starring: Rosie Day (Outlander, Misfits), Sian Breckin (Tyrannosaur, Starred Up, Donkey punch), James Alexandrou (Eastenders) & double BAFTA winner Kate Dickie (Red Road, Game of Thrones, The Witch). Watch the full film for free now on Findie:https://www.findie.me/video/soror

(London Film Festival, October 3rd, 2019, Curzon Soho Cinéma, 99 Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1D 5DY, England. Soho, 18:00 pm) https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=beanpole&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id= "Beanpole" 1945, Leningrad. 'World War II' has devastated the city, demolishing it's buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Although the siege, one of the worst in history, is finally over, life and death continue their battle in the wreckage that remains. Two young women, Iya Sergueeva (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) and Masha (Vasilisa Perelygina), search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins. On a surface level, "Beanpole" is a word that describes the physical attributes and outlook of the main hero, Iya, as she’s a very tall woman. Masha has scars, based on the injuries she suffered during the war and the operations that she had to undergo. But "Beanpole" is more about clumsiness and this is how the heroes feel and express feelings in the film, they're clumsy, they're learning how to live again after the war and it's very difficult for them. The story is based around the lives of two young women who've their whole lives ahead of them. A major focus in the film is their desire to reproduce. One of the film’s primary heroes chooses birth as a kind of medicine for her trauma. Iya believes that if she gives birth, then this new person will be able to cure them both. This is a very powerful creative decision that makes the story even more relevant today, to talk about the role of women in society. It allows us to retell a story about traditional 'PTSD' in a more dramatic and radical way. Until Stepan (Konstantin Balakirev), Sasha (Igor Shirokov) and Iya find the internal strength to rid themselves of war and of it's memories, it will continue. In the young women’s apartment, the precise texture of an authentic, historical St. Petersburg’s flat of that time is recreated. Every wall is covered by up to five layers of different wallpaper; from pre-revolutionary wallpaper to the pages of biological atlases depicting exotic birds. Some of the materials used are actual historical wallpaper and not modern recreations. For later periods the film uses 'Soviet' newspapers as wallpaper. The film also uses authentic newspapers from 1942 to plug the holes in the windows of the girls flat as people of that period used to do. These newspapers are also use to make paper napkins for the 'New Year’s' scene at the hospital. They're placed on the patients’ bedside tables. It's very important that the story takes place in 1945. The heroes, like the city they live in, are mangled by a horrible war. They live in a city that has endured one of the worst sieges in the history of warfare. This is a story about them and about people they meet in Leningrad, the obstacles that they've to overcome and the way they're treated by society. They're psychologically crippled by the war and it will take time for them to learn to live their normal lives. The film is interested in the fates of women and especially women who fought in 'The Second World War'. This was the war with the highest participation of women. The film want to find answers to the question; what happens to a person who's supposed to give life after she passes through the trials of war? Out of this deep and intimate psychological drama grows a powerful metaphor about war; it never stops, even when the actual battles are over. This film is based on the book 'The Unwomanly Face Of War' by 'The Nobel' Laureate Svetlana Alexievich. We know very little about the war and how little about the role of women in the war. What happens to a woman after the war is over, when there's a tectonic shift in her mind and her nature, a violation of her nature that would obviously take place afterwards. Leningrad is especially important as it's the city that survived this terrible siege, and the consequences of the siege played an important part in the film. It's vital to feel this space and background in the film, and you can feel it even now, in today's Leningrad (Saint Petersburg). There's not a single image of Stalin, Lenin or any other traditional communist symbols of the time in the film. The streetcars in "Beanpole" are authentic. They're a loan from 'The Museum Of Electrical Transport' in St. Petersburg. The challenge is to construct a special step outside of the streetcar, usually used by people without tickets who rode, just hanging on for dear life. Given it isn't possible to do in a museum exhibit, the film constructs a special contraption that damage the original step, but at the same time can support the weight of a dozen people. For example, in the scene where the patients in the hospital celebrate 'New Year’s, the decorations, thread with pieces of wadding threaded through, are recreated with historical accuracy by the prop-masters. During the post-war years, the patients who lost limbs in Leningrad’s hospitals had to design exercise equipment for physical therapy themselves. The close-up shots of injections in the hospital scene are shown in such a way that the design and manufacture custom-made foldable needles. To make the bandages look more authentic, the film soakes them in tea and dried them on radiators before shooting. This gave the bandages the appearance of having been washed multiple times. "Beanpole" talks about war as a personal tragedy; this is a story of post-traumatic stress. We've seen similar films but almost all of them are stories of men whose lives were crippled by war, who come back to their normal lives and try to find their place in the world. "Beanpole" looks at the post-war world through women’s eyes. When we study the diaries of people who lived during that time, we learn that despite all the hardships and the devastation, they're surrounded by bright colours every day. This conflict between bright colours and the nature of post-war life is also very interesting. We feel the consequences of war in the space where the action takes place, and in the colour palette of the film. But most importantly it’s in the fates of our heroes. It's important to show the consequences of war through people’s faces, eyes, physiques, bodies, not just through abandoned or destroyed buildings. The fact that we live in a world where wars still rage, makes "Beanpole" a traditional story through powerful visual metaphors that create an intricate tapestry. The colour palette tells us more about the internal struggles of his characters than the words could ever do. Two colours, green and ochre, dominate the film. We see them in costumes, in interior design, even in covering shots. These colours give us both drama and warmth. They speak to us both about intimacy and a conflict with the world to which our heroes have much trouble adapting. Even though this is not a documentary, there's a natural authenticity to everything that we see and to all the actions the heroes make. Everything takes place in a carefully reconstructed world where every little detail, from interiors to everyday objects, is authentic to the time period. But attention to detail doesn’t make "Beanpole" a period story. This is not a story about a historic period; this is a story about the world today. This is why the ages of the heroes, the way they act in front of the camera, even their clothes although authentic to the time period, look very modern and visually appropriate to contemporary filmmaking. The film combines true knowledge of classical cultural tradition with a voice of this generation. The true strength comes from a realization of the drama and cruelty of life. There's a deep affection and empathy towards the people who are trying to survive and overcome terrible obstacles. We've to understand the problems that the world faces today and also the hardships and cruelty. The film feels compassion to those who still suffer.

(Release Info London schedule; July 5th, 2019) ■ Empire Haymarket, 63-65 Haymarket, St. James's, London SW1Y 4RL, United Kingdom) https://m.empirecinemas.co.uk/index.php?page=features&forthcoming=1 ■ British Board Of Film Clarification, 3 Soho Square, Soho, London W1D 3HD, United Kingdom https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/anna-2019 "Anna" Beneath Anna Poliatova’s (Sasha Luss) striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the world’s most feared government assassins. Anna’s job demands that she hone a multiplicity of identities, but even as she moves from addict to model to numerous disguises, she quietly keeps a tight grip on who she was before she became an operative. The story of a resilient assassin who's used as a pawn but then breaks all the rules to control her own destiny. This film takes place on a more epic, global scale, placing Anna quite literally at the icy-hot center of the tensions between the world’s two superpowers. As Anna moves like a magnetic force between life on the street and on the glam, high-fashion runway, between 'The KGB' and 'The CIA', between two lovers on opposite sides, between loyalty to her mentors and devotion to her most private dreams, she's propelled most of all by an unswerving drive to be truly free. An electrifying thrill ride unfolding with propulsive energy, startling twists and breathtaking action. Anna is a 'KGB' recruiter, one of many masters she appears to serve, in a world of turbo-charged aggression. What's so intriguing about Anna is that she exudes strength, independence and her own strong, feminine power in every second of the film. Even when she’s manipulating people, Anna’s doing it because she has an agenda and she has a dream. She has many guises, many selves, many ways of transforming, and many ways of surviving. Even as she proves herself a brutally fierce player in the cut-throat world of 'Cold War' spies, Anna is slyly constructing her own game-within-the-game that no one sees coming. Modeling and being an assassin are both just jobs. She’s going to be the best she can be, she’s going to excel, but it's all a means of getting to her own agenda. And nothing is going to stop her, not even the most powerful intelligence agencies in the world. In some ways she resembles characters from 'La Femme Nikita' and 'Leon The Professional'. She manifests a 'POV' relevant to our world right now. "Anna" shows the psyche of a woman who proves as capable of astonishing destruction as refined sophistication. The character is as seductive and treacherous as any classic 'femme fatale', but who's also a modern woman who refuses to belong to anyone but herself. The film shows how she learns to move with ease and determination through the raging mayhem that surrounds her. Because even though she can be so tough and so icy, her story is also very personal and emotional. Underneath her training as a killer, she's lonely, she's angry and she's fighting for a kind of liberty that seems impossible in her world. She has led many lives, on the streets, as a model, as an agent and a double-agent, but she has never been able to dream of a future that's really her own, which is all she wants. Anna’s life changes again and again as she tries to survive, and she's always able to land on her feet and adapt. She never imagined herself doing photo shoots when she was a drug addict in Moscow, but that's one of the great things about Anna; she's smart, determined and she can learn new things very quickly. She becomes very sought-after in the fashion world because she has something different, which makes it all the stranger that she has this whole other life where she's one of the world’s most merciless assassins. Whether Anna is soaking in the glitzy modeling limelight or carrying out high-stakes hits for 'The KGB', her aim is beyond both of them. Even after Anna is recruited by a 'KGB' agent who suspects she has the kind of game-playing smarts and skills that could be useful to the government, her new handler scoffs at the idea that Anna will even make it through her first assignment. This is Olga (Helen Mirren), a war-wearied veteran of 'The KGB'. Ultimately, Olga and Anna will become a seemingly invincible team who never fail; even as Anna sees in Olga a dark mirror of who she might become. Olga is a very interesting character. Olga is s gutsy women who has found a way to thrive in a world that offers no quarter. This film is a manifestation of that. Olga is a very, very strong woman who can bring out the best, and the worst, in one another. As Anna’s spymaster, Olga’s single-minded perfectionism begins to rub off on Anna, and Olga begins to do what has never come naturally to her; trust in Anna. At first, Olga is highly skeptical of Anna. Of course, she can see that she's very beautiful, which has it's uses in the spy world, but she doesn’t believe that Anna has all the other qualities you need to survive as an assassin. She really doesn’t believe it until Anna proves it. As Anna’s story unravels in multiple time frames, and as she obliterates one target after another, she also becomes entangled in several romances that pull her in polarizing directions. Those chasing Anna include 'KGB' agent Alex Tchenkov (Luke Evans), his rival 'CIA' agent Lenny Miller (Cillian Murphy) and the spirited French model Maude (Lera Abova), though Anna’s fiercely independent heart gives them each a run for their money. It's Alex Tchenkov who first gives Anna a choice between death and the anonymous, controlled life of a state assassin. But as much as he sees Anna as a valuable weapon of the government, He's a man who doesn’t ever give away anything, When you look at him, he could be contemplating where he’s going to take you for dinner or how he’s going to kill you and where he’s going to bury your body. You wouldn’t know either way. Alex has been trained over a long time to show no emotion, to be able to shoot someone from point blank range as if it's nothing. Alex also is drawn to the fiercely independent woman he knows she really is. At the same time, Tchenkov does have an interior life, if hidden away, mostly seen in his relationship with Anna. He’s not completely cold-hearted, despite his job. As for the sexual chemistry that develops between Alex and Anna, they share a lot under the skin. They’re both a little lost and lonely. Being an assassin is a very solitary job. You constantly find yourself with different name in a different country surrounded by people who are not your friends or your family and you can’t tell anyone any one your secrets. So, in this dark, harsh environment, they're both seeking whatever moments they can of liberation and love and care. Of course, Alex has been in 'The KGB' long enough to know that neither Anna’s story, nor their story together, is likely to have a happy ending, but that's part of his reality. It’s an unconventional romance between them, but they truly need one another. In the world Anna lives in, no one can be trusted, and everyone is a target; to be killed, seduced, turned or manipulated; until she sets out to disrupt that cycle. How she does it's one of the film’s most satisfying pleasures. It seems that Anna is trapped, that she has no choice but to carry out other people’s violent agendas; but Anna never loses sight of her own plan. With "Anna", Luc Besson returns to the neo-noir style and themes of his early films, but this time with a fresh vision of a 'femme fatale' as a trans-global hit-woman who harbors more power than anyone realizes. Though Besson’s thrillers have been influencing other filmmakers for 3 decades, they continue to have a hypnotic look and feel that's unmistakably Besson’s. Seductively colorful and insistently rhythmic, they take on the feel of pop culture fairytales, mixing pure sensuous enjoyment with the palpable dangers of our real, sometimes alienating, world. His long takes have become a trademark, allowing him to work close-in with the actors and giving them the freedom to dive deep into the scenes without having to re-surface. The alluring Anna Poliatova is plucked from a dingy Russian street market and transformed into one of Paris top models. But much like 'The Matryoshka' nesting dolls Anna once sold, what you get in this breathless thrill-ride of a film defies what you think you see. 'La Femme Nikita', which forever shattered the taboo against female-driven action movies. For the mysterious, if efficiently lethal. There's this very strong feeling of immediacy and the atmosphere is never broken. The film is inspired by 'The Cold War' spy tensions that were heating up in the early 90s. Those were sinister times in 'The KGB', assassinations were common, and people were disappearing inside and outside Russia if they're considered a threat. The film collects masses of images from 'The Cold War' era focusing equally on the contrasting worlds of deadly serious 'Soviet' operatives and playful, decadent fashion runways at a time when the fame and power of supermodels were surpassing even movie stars. Throughout the film a color code to divide 'East' and 'West'. The Russians are all in browns, beiges and greens and 'The CIA' is all in blue and grey. But when Anna arrives in Paris as a fledgling model, that’s when the film really has a chance to let loose with color and form. Anna’s look is constantly changing so the film creates this new spy-girl that you haven’t seen five minutes before. Distinctive is the operative word for each component of the film’s design. Every color, shape, sound, choreographed move and swoop of the camera has to be part of building towards a climax that thrillingly turns the world so carefully crafted upside down. This is a story that has layers upon layers, and that you really can’t fully see all that's happening until you get to the end of the story. You get hints here and there of where things are going. But it’s very much like a 'jigsaw' puzzle, where only when the very last piece is put in place do you suddenly see the whole picture. It's a picture of thoughts and feelings at the time. The film is a 'Polaroid' of this moment. And one of the strongest themes in the movie is about trust, which we've lost in our society right now. As for how the story weaves hardcore action through a passionate story of empowerment that also works as an elaborate puzzle. This reflects life, where one minute, things are sweet and then next a storm is breaking. There's action in "Anna", but the film also want audiences to be challenged, so be prepared.

(Release Info London schedule; October 29th, Picturehouse Central, Piccadilly Circus, Corner of Great Windmill Street and, Shaftesbury Ave, London W1D 7DH, United Kingdom, 18: 20 pm) (Release Info London schedule; October 29th, Clapham Picturehouse, 76 Venn St, Clapham, London SW4 0AT, United Kingdom, 20:45 pm) https://www.google.de/search?q=After+the+Wedding+showtimes+London&oq=After+the+Wedding+showtimes+London&aqs=heirloom-srp.. "After The Wedding" As if driven by an inescapable force, Isabel (Michelle Williams) has devoted her life to running an orphanage in a Calcutta slum. With funds running dry, a potential donor, who requires she travel from India to New York, to deliver a presentation in-person, contacts Isabel. At first balking at the demand of an uncommitted philanthropist, she relents, and travels to a city she deliberately hasn't returned to in over two decades. Once in New York, Isabel lands uncomfortably in the sight line of the orphanage's possible benefactor, Theresa Young (Julianne Moore), a multi-millionaire media mogul accustomed to getting what she wants. From the glittering skyscraper where she runs her successful business, to the glorious 'Oyster Bay Estate', where she lives happily with her artist husband, Oscar Carlson (Billy Crudup), 21-year-old daughter, Grace (Abby Quinn), and eight-year-old twins, Theo (Azhy Robertson) and Otto (Tre Ryder), Theresa's life couldn't appear to be more perfect and different from Isabel’s. But appearances are only skin deep and the two women have more in common than meets the eye. While Isabel thinks she'll soon be returning to her beloved orphanage, Theresa has other plans. She insists Isabel attend Grace's wedding at the family's estate. The joyful event becomes a catalyst for a revelation that upends the lives of both women, and the people who love them most. As if driven by some inescapable force, Isabel (Michelle Williams), an orphanage director in the slums of Calcutta, has devoted her life to caring for impoverished children. She's also become surrogate mother to a vulnerable seven-year-old boy, Jai (Vir Pachisia), with whom she shares such a deep emotional bond, that they're nearly inseparable. Despite years spent working with her colleague, Preena (Anjula Bedi), to scrape together donations, the orphanage is on the brink of bankruptcy. And just as the situation reaches it's breaking point, Preena receives a letter from a potential big donor, who requests that Isabel travel to New York to deliver a presentation in-person. At first balking at the demand of the as yet uncommitted philanthropist, Preena convinces her to relent, and Isabel travels back to a city she's deliberately been avoiding for over two decades. Once in New York, Isabel is as disoriented by the luxury of the hotel that's been arranged for her, as she's meeting the orphanage's possible benefactor, the glamorous, multi-millionaire media mogul, Theresa (Julianne Moore). From the glittering skyscraper where she runs her successful business, to the glorious 'Oyster Bay Estate', where she lives happily with her artist husband, Oscar (Billy Crudup), 21-year-old daughter, Grace (Abby Quinn), and eight-year-old twins, Theo and Otto, Theresa's life couldn't appear more perfect. But although their lives seem diametrically opposite, Isabel and Theresa are forces to be reckoned with, and have far more in common than they may ever know. While Isabel thinks she'll soon be returning to the orphanage, and her beloved Jai, Theresa has other plans. She invites Isabel to attend Grace's wedding to Jonathan (Alex Esola), a rising young executive at her company. Not wanting to feel any more displaced, Isabel demurs but Theresa, always in command, insists. Despite the veneer of joyfulness, the wedding exposes a long-hidden truth, ripping open an old wound, and exposing a new secret, which alters the course of all of their lives. Adapting Susanne Bier’s 'Danish' film of the same title, "After The Wedding" crafts an absorbing cinematic tale of secrets and intersecting lives. By cleverly changing the gender of Bier’s characters, the film offers an elevated take on the film’s melodrama, and tells a rich, emotional complex story about strong women, motherhood, second chances and fate. The film has two female leads. Between the dearth of significant, multifaceted leading roles for women, and the country's current climate regarding power dynamics and gender, the switch makes the story more current. Realistically zigzagging from extreme poverty in Calcutta to extreme wealth in New York is no small feat. The film creates the stunning visuals, that beautifully illustrated the chasm between the lives of Isabel and Theresa. The locations in New York are wholly emblematic of Theresa Young's life, and also stand in stark contrast with everything Isabel represented. She's a little bit painful. She has a deep loyalty to the children of the orphanage. 'Karaikudi' has it's own extreme challenges, which to the benefit of the movie, lent authenticity to Isabel's world of the orphanage and breathtaking colors. The conditions of the working environment are challenging. It's hot and unbelievably humid, but the film finessed it. There's a kind of luxurious look to the movie. The world that Isabel is thrust into, feels like something you want to be surrounded by. It's just beautiful and wide, and a little over exposed. It's very exciting to do such a deeply, intimate movie with this super wide scope feel. What makes a good father? The film reveals Oscar's inner turmoil. He has an intuitive understanding of how monumental things most often happen in small scale. The film's themes of what a parent wishes to pass on to their children, how they want protect them, and how they sometimes fail as parents, really resonated with both of them. Everything that's represented through a space is supposed to transform the audience, especially when it comes to Theresa and Oscar's estate. That house has to say everything about the characters. It focuses on tones that are neutral and soft; grays with blue and purple undertones. The goal is to keep it quiet but to include a layer of character dressing, because there's much in the script that's emotionally stirring. The film works with a new way to use white light and break it up into colors. You can do everything from subtly changing a character's features to creating more elegant shadows and reflections. Designing the costumes, the film remains alert to creating clothing that not only make the characters inhabit what they're wearing, but that what they're wearing belonged in the space they're living in. The space and the costume feel like one complete character. For Isabel's palette, the film uses only colors, textured fabric and garments that are sourced in India. Careful to not be heavy handed, the character's simple clothing is imbued with subtle indigos and turmeric. When creating looks for Theresa, Oscar and Grace, the film uses soft neutrals and sumptuous fabrics to convey quiet wealth, and the kind of moneyed comfort most often found in exclusive enclaves. Grace is marvelous. She's completely effortless, and open and lovely to watch. Even the costumes for Abby's elaborate wedding, which included a live fire-works display, take a backseat to the physical environment. While the wedding is richly detailed, the garden is the star of the location, so the film creates a story with the clothes, and the people at the wedding are an extension of the garden. We've many layers, and a plethora of different, three-dimensional, character perspectives. Al character's have a close familial relationships. They all embraces the conflict and the contradiction. They're happy with the endless peeling back of the layers of what could be going on. They strove to uncover the subtleties of how much these people are aware of their behavior, and how much of it's unconscious. So, it's an exciting opportunity to tell a story that takes on what it means for these women to make certain high-stake choices, and then have to deal with the many consequences of those actions. We've an intensive character development and a very modern way the high drama unfolded, to be compelling. It's a story that lives in the real world. The film explores that human frailty, and the joys derived from people we form relationships with over the course of our lives. At the end of the day, we’re all on this journey, but we don’t really have a choice about where it takes us fully. "After the Wedding" deals with the gray areas of life, and the idea that what's morally right or wrong can get muddied. We humans are nearly all guilty of manipulations both large and small, but even with the best intentions, bending the truth to fit your personal narrative often results in great damage.

When I was younger I used to be a huge fan of Jackie Chan, from his cult classic 'Police Story' series of films to his entertaining action comedy capers 'Shanghai Noon' and 'Shanghai Knights'. As a young boy I always had a fascination with martial arts and Chan was among others such as Bruce Lee and Jet Li of my on screen idols. When I hit my mid teens, I dropped out of my Ta-Kwan-Do lessons and decided to focus on a new passion, writing. I still enjoyed watching martial art flicks but wasn't as obsessed with them as previously. As I got older, I became more interested in the film genres of crime and drama. So it was a surprise and a delight one evening, when I happened upon a Film4 Thriller/Drama called 'Shinjuku Incident', starring none other then Jackie Chan. Although Jackie has done a handful of more serious films, he is most well known for his jaw dropping stunts, hectic and masterfully choreographed fight scenes and comic, light hearted style of acting. This film however made me reconsider my opinion of the actor, as I found both the story of the piece and Chan's acting engaging and impressive. Although there is a small amount of fighting and martial arts, the film is more about Jackie Chan's character and the physical and emotional toll he suffers, throughout the course of the narrative. So, you can imagine my excitement, when I first heard news that Chan was bringing out another film with him in a serious role. Having watched the Netflix film, I can gladly confirm that this is one of Chan's best performances. He brings a lot to the role and his gravitas in his performance is consistent throughout. In a nutshell, The Foreigner focuses on Quan (played by Chan), who after the fatal death of his daughter in a London bomb attack, seeks vengeance and goes in search of the people responsible. At first glance, it would seem like your typical revenge flick, following in the same vein as such payback classics as 'Commando' and 'Taken'. What sets it apart though, is the political backdrop it is set against. The bombing is by a rogue IRA group and with it's detonation, both England and Northern Ireland are plunged into political chaos with the threat of a British Civil War from it's backlash. The character of Hennessy, played aptly by Pierce Brosnan adds another layer to the film and his relationship with the prime minister of England and his former IRA associates, prevents this from becoming just another box standard revenge fesh. Despite their being that added layer of depth with the political angle, I did spend the first fifteen minutes of the film, contemplating that the death of the daughter and the father's decision for revenge, could be seen as glorification. At the end of the day, parents lose their children all the time but in reality, they wouldn't turn into Rambo and simply go on a killing spree. Life doesn't work like that and in a way to highlight that in film can be seen as a bit insensitive to anyone, who has actually experienced this sort of thing in real life. If there had been one scene where he was mourning the death of his daughter and then suddenly on the hunt for the killers, I would have very much felt it was glorification. In terms of story and Quan's character though, it is a little bit more thought out then that. Whilst he does eventually go rogue and take matters into his own hands, there is a decent amount of time where we see Chan mourning for the loss of his daughter. During this period of grievance, his action in regards to the people responsible, is more realistic to what someone would do. He visits the Metropolitan police every day, pleading with them to find the people responsible. When that fails, he appeals to Hennessy, again very politely and humbly asking for him to help. It is only when these avenues of aid fail to help resolve the matter, that he decides to take matters into his own hands. Although, this can be seen in some senses of glorification, the way Quan's character is written and the way Jackie performs it, plus the later revelations of his past and backstory, makes it less insensitive. Quan, although out for revenge feels like a real person, not just a trained fighter with his finger on the trigger. Martin Campbell has always been a director who has struck me as possessing that ability to deliver slick, smooth and stylish action, whilst at the same time having main characters that have much more going on, then their prowess at beating the crap out of anyone. He also has a good track record for implementing the ripple effect fictional events have on the political landscape of that world. 'Casino Royale' has all the classic traits of a bond film. Fast car chases, epic fight scenes, corny one liners but it was the first bond film, where I felt they tried to explore Bond's emotions. Yes, he is a cold blooded killer but he also has compassion and a sensitive side. Campbell has done the same here. Quan is a trained killer, taking down his enemies one by one but he is also a grieving father trying to deal with a tragic loss. One of the things I very much liked about this film was how clever Quan is, in terms of his tactical planning and execution. They could have avoided all of that and relied on Jackie's mastery of martial arts. To have scene after scene of him working his way through room after of room of brutes, to get to his objective. Instead, Quan's character is more methodical in his approach. He sets traps, plants false trails and makes sure he is one step ahead of his foes, so his chances of prevailing in his outcome are far more likely.  This makes sense, as both Jackie and his character are much older, meaning that to physically have to fight would be harder and waste precious energy and strength. On the handful of occasions Quan is forced to fight, the sequences are devastatingly brutal. They play to Jackie's strengths with him using the environment around him to best his opponents but the close combat fighting is harsh in its delivery. Combine these two together and you have fight scenes, which are both realistic and impacting, whilst at the same time with enough flair to be surprising and entertaining. What is interesting about Quan as a character is that he doesn't actually kill anyone apart from those responsible. Admittedly, he does rough up those that get in the way quite a lot but he refrains from killing on several occasions, when it would be easier too. As I have mentioned before, Quan is calculating and objectionable. His morale compass stops him from killing Hennessy's men but it is also a clever power play. By using other techniques such as the threat of death or blackmail, he can get the information he needs and secure his own safety better. Following on from this, it was a strong decision on the directing and writing front, to shake things up a little bit in the last act of the film. Instead of sending more men to be outwitted, disarmed and knocked out by Quan, Hennessy sends his nephew, an ex soldier, who fought in Iraq. This stops it becoming too easy for Quan and adding a sense of new threat and danger to the story. Hennessy is an interesting and very well developed character. At first I found him rather dislikeable and then warmed to him and then later in the film, grew to really hate him. But what is clever about how he is written, is that there is no straightforward answer. He is neither good or evil. Hennessy hovers between, in a murky grey area, making it hard to form an decisive opinion of the character. The ones that surround him, particularly his ex IRA colleagues further add to this character's complexity and by the end of the film, I was faced with a character I strangely pitied in a lot of ways. Again though, his actions would then contradict with this and I would find myself at odds with the character again. Brosnan plays it very well, never revealing too much but hinting at possible secrets his character is keeping tucked away. The tension and pace is achieved remarkably throughout, juggling both what is happening on a personal level with Quan and Hennessy and the larger political game that is happening with the Northern Irish and English governments. Finally you have the perspective of the bombers themselves. These three story arcs interspersed with one another, make for an exciting watch and when the three story lines come together at the end, the climax is exciting and dramatic. This goes to show how important editing is in a film's delivery, showcased in both the splicing and cutting together of events, as well as the skill of the edits during the fight sequences. 'The Foreigner' takes an overused and predictable revenge plot device and instills it with new life. It does this in a number of ways. Firstly, it takes a political topic that is still very fresh in terms of British history and executes it well, through both it's character writing and strong acting from a plethora of well regarded and praised Irish actors. Alongside that you have Jackie Chan bringing something completely new to the table. Probably one of his best performances, Chan presents a character who is broken emotionally and later on in the film physically. At the same time, he delivers just the right amount of stunts and martial arts, which at the age of 60, is pretty damn impressive. Although it is a revenge film at it's core, there are enough twists and turns to stop it from becoming too predictable. The fight scenes are well thought out, packing a punch but with enough of a tactical approach to not appear totally ridiculous. If you are looking for a revenge film that stands out from the endless copycats of 'Taken', then 'The Foreigner' is well worth your time. It still packs all the punches but isn't afraid to explore it's characters and the larger political world that surrounds them.

The film starts near the end. Zain is being brought to court from a juvenile detention centre to sue his parents for having brought him into the world. When we see in lengthy flashback what that world was like for him, we are inclined to agree. Zain is supposed to be 12 years old, but looks a squalid age eight. His birth was never registered, he has never been to school. He, his parents and a crowd of brothers and sisters live in a Beirut slum called Capernaum. He works all day for Assaad a neighbouring store owner -- running errands, making deliveries, hauling stuff up long flights of stairs. As a business sideline Zain's family peddles Tramadol. One day Zain realizes that his beloved sister Sahar, age 11, has begun menstruating. He washes out her panties for her, steals sanitary towels for her, warns her not to throw the used ones out in case their mother discovers them. Of course she does. Sahar is married off to Assaad in exchange for some chickens. Zain runs away. He is befriended by Rahil, an Ethiopian illegal immigrant. She feeds him, washes him, lets him stay, and in return he helps look after her baby boy called Yonas. One day Rahil is picked up by the police and Zain is left looking after the baby. When he finds Rahil's home has been locked up with her belongings thrown out in the street, he finds his only option is to hand over Yonas to Aspro (who deals in false ID documents and is also a people smuggler). Aspro promises Zain he will find Yonas a wonderful home with wonderful parents. He also tells Zain he can help him leave for Turkey, or even Sweden. All he needs is some sort of ID. He returns to the family home in search of just that, not knowing that his parents never registered his birth. Besides receiving a beating, he finds out that Sahar is dead. She became pregnant, and then bled to death outside the hospital. The hospital would not admit her because she had no ID. Zain grabs a knife and rushes out to attack Assaad. So, here we have a fullblown melodrama: the poor with no future; an unscrupulous trafficker who robs defenceless babies and tricks young boys; a young girl who dies before she even has a chance to live. All narrated soberly, coldly, heart-breakingly. The final ending has a tinge of hope. Thanks to Caritas little Yonas is rescued before he can be shipped off to be sold and is reunited with his mother. Zain finally smiles into the camera as his photograph is taken for his much needed ID. He will never recuperate his childhood. He may begin to enjoy his youth. This is a powerful, deeply moving film. Nadine Labaki is an accomplished young actress and filmmaker, whose previous work has focused mainly on women, their lives, hopes and aspirations (Caramel, 2007; Where do we go from here? 2011), Here the theme is relentless, grinding poverty. In all his short life young Zain has never known anything but poverty, work, deprivation. He has never slept in a real bed. He is a survivor, a warrior, a master of making do, dealing with impossible difficulties, managing to go on living. Zain Al Rafeea is superb in the part, as indeed is the whole cast, mainly first-time actors. Christopher Aoun, a German-Lebanese cinematographer portrays with documentary-style veracity the grim starkness of this Beirut slum.

Guillermo del Toro's visionary ideas of shine through in a beautiful love story in a Beauty and The Beast type fashion with the heroine falling in love with the beast. Del Toro's film is packed full of extraordinary colours - from the beautiful blues to the lavish greens, this is something not to be missed. The film is littered full of brilliant performances, from the dark Strickland played by Michael Shannon, The hilarious Zelda played by Octavia Spencer, the treacherous yet kind Robert Dr. Hoffstetler played by Michael Stuhlbarg who also recently put on an Oscar worthy performance in "Call Me By Your Name" and finally Sally Hawkins plays a mute cleaner named Elisa Esposito of which she gives the performance of her career portraying Elisa as a sly yet kind woman full of love. The visuals are stunning and Del Toro's mark unmissable as every single shot has his own signature written all over it, from the opening expressionistic scene as the camera takes us through an omnious water filled corridor to Elisa as she floats alone in her flooded apartment which is symbolic of a particular key scene later in the film. Del Toro has claimed a lot of his work with monsters has been influenced by Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" novel and the influence from James Whale's "Frankenstein" film is evident along with such films as Steven Spielberg's "ET". The Shape of Water is an outstanding piece of cinema diving into tones of melancholy, love and the supernatural that is made from pure passion - from director Guillermo del Toro as seen in his BAFTA ceremony speech, this is Del Toro's finest film. 5/5 Ben Rolph

Daddy can see us…when he gets here. But he’s already here. Do you fancy a movie along the lines of “Hush” but with people who aren’t mute? In short, a film in which there’s a lot of screaming. And should there be co-stars who are simply mown down with a wicked-looking ax as in every “Friday the 13th” episode? Then “He’s out there” might be something for you. However, if you are someone who expects a little explanation about why someone is terrorizing a family, then I’ll have to disappoint you. Why Laura (Yvonne Strahovski) and her two daughters Kayla (Anna Pniowsky) and Maddie (Abigail Pniowsky) were suddenly attacked by an unknown, still remained a question mark in the end. And again a cabin in the woods. “He’s out there” certainly isn’t a bad movie. The increasing tension ensures that you’ll be sitting on the edge of your chair. It’s a bit like “The wolf and the seven young goats“, only the wolf is a lurid disguised person and the 7 goats are played by two irritating screaming girls. Now such a disguise as the maniac uses is nothing new in the slasher genre. Jason Voorhees had a hockey mask. Michael Myers a scary rubber mask. Leatherface wore a mask made with the flesh of his victims. The perpetrator in “He’s out there” seems to be a cousin of “The Collector” in “The collection“. Almost an identical disguise and the same used clothes. A disappointing, simple, third-rate film.. I like to watch such a typical slasher full of screaming victims. The least I expect though is a surprising denouement or a unique thought up slaughter as in “You’re next“. But in this film, the standard list for slasher movies is neatly checked off and there’s no deviation from the standard formula. And then there’s also the fact that there are just a few victims and nothing (but absolutely nothing) of background information is shared. That makes “He’s out there” just a disappointing, simple, third-rate film. Even the end was so predictable that I had to sigh deeply. And to be honest, I also thought the denouement was a bit exaggerated. Let’s hope there won’t be a sequel. Is there something positive to report? Yes, there is. Yvonne Strahovski. And not only because she looks nice. She tries in a realistic way to give shape to a character who’s terrified and at the same time tries to protect her two panicky children. So expect a lot of hiding and running away while screaming. Kind of stupid though. Because the person who wants to hurt them, always knows where they are. “He’s out there” is like an ex-girlfriend. It was fun for a while, but then it turns out she wasn’t so special. And before you know it, you are glad you got rid of her. And in no time you are looking for someone else and you have forgotten about her. Let’s hope they aren’t planning to make a sequel. My rating 4/10 Links: IMDB