Ukrainians assail Russian-Canadian war film at Venice fest
Ukrainian politicians and cultural figures on Friday (6 September) slammed a screening of a Russian-Canadian filmmaker’s war documentary as propaganda, a claim the director denied.
cinema
Maldoror review โ true-crime serial killer procedural induces stomach-turning horror
Inspired by a notorious real-life case, Fabrice Du Welzโs film starts strong but gets lost in the murky waters of conspiracyFabrice Du Welz began the century as a master of Belgian gothic, riding the wave of Euro-extreme cinema. Calvaire, or The Ordeal…
Fragile Memory review โ a personal tribute to a prolific Soviet film-maker
Ihor Ivankoโs documentary looks at his grandfather Leonid Burlakaโs career through a treasure trove of undeveloped photos and explores the role film has in preserving historyA labour of love, Ihor Ivankoโs documentary pays tribute to his grandfather Le…
Venice Film Festival 2024: Is cinema journalism โat risk of extinctionโ?
It’s only Day 2 of the Venice Film Festival, and there’s already trouble a-brewing… Why is press access to talent so hard this year?
Together With Lorenza Mazzetti review โ compelling final testament from overlooked director
The Italian director, whose film Together made a key contribution to the Free Cinema movement in the UK, died in 2020 but this interview is a fitting tributeLorenza Mazzetti was the Italian artist, writer and film-maker whose short film Together made a…
Grand merci to French cinema
Alain Delon, whose death was announced on Sunday, was a film star whose impact was far beyond his country of France, including in Eastern Europe during the communist era, where he was an icon of Western and European culture writes Georgi Gotev
French film star Alain Delon dies aged 88
Celebrated actor and star of Plein Soleil and Le Samouraรฏ has died, his children have saidPeter Bradshaw on one of cinemaโs most mysterious starsA life in picturesAlain Delon, the celebrated actor who starred in a string of classic films such as Plein …
Alain Delon: a life in pictures
French actor Alain Delon has died aged 88. Best known for his cinema work in the 1960s, he starred in a string of works by auteur directors before turning producer. Here we look back at his life and careerโข Peter Bradshaw: Mesmeric and beautiful, Alain…
Mesmeric and beautiful, Alain Delon was one of cinemaโs most mysterious stars
Whether playing the lover opposite Marianne Faithfull or the assassin in Le Samouraรฏ, the prolific French actor, who has died aged 88, was a symbol of the lost beauty of the 60sโข A life in picturesThere is a famous photograph of Alain Delon in 1967, si…
Alain Delon, French cinemaโs enigmatic, โangel-facedโ icon
After a long career that brought him legions of fans โ and many detractors โ French actor Alain Delon leaves behind a rich legacy in film, including some of the great classics of world cinema. A dark acting style, encapsulated in a look that earned hi…
7 times UK politiciansโ holidays were totally ruined
Keir Starmer’s just the latest prime minister to kill off his vacation plans.
Luce review โ enigmatic Italian drama of dreams and drones
Locarno film festivalA young womanโs breakdown โ or is it an epiphany? โ in coastal Italy, in Luca Bellino and Silvia Luziโs film, does not surrender its meaning easilyLuca Bellino and Silvia Luziโs new film is an intriguing yet perplexing piece of wor…
Three review โ Yugoslavian trilogy of tales tracks the horrors of the second world war
Aleksandar Petroviฤโs 1965 interlinked stories focus on the changes wrought in one young Yugoslavian by the brutality of the war and its aftermathSerbian film-maker Aleksandar Petroviฤ was a member of the former Yugoslaviaโs insurgent Black Wave cinema…
โMy slogan is very simple: no education, just liberation!โ โ Bรฉla Tarr on how film can fight the political right in Hungary
The Hungarian film director is known for his existentially daunting black and white films. He explains why he left his home country to run his own film school, and why he loves Chekhov, Hitchcock โ and Gus Van SantFor years, Bรฉla Tarrโs daunting films …
The Fifth Seal review โ a spiky political cabaret of cruelty and fear
Zoltรกn Fรกbriโs 1976 film follows military veteran Karoly in wartime Hungary as he asks fellow drinkers in a bar what they would choose: be the slave master or the slaveThe seventh seal that gave Ingmar Bergmanโs film its title is the one whose opening …
Tim Burtonโs Beetlejuice Beetlejuice to open Venice film festival
The much-anticipated sequel to the directorโs 1988 hit Beetlejuice will get its world premiere at the festival in AugustBeetlejuice Beetlejuice, Tim Burtonโs sequel to his 1988 hit Beetlejuice, has been selected as the opening film of the Venice film f…
A life in quotes: Ismail Kadare
Ismail Kadare, the Albanian writer who explored Balkan history and culture in poetry and fiction, has died aged 88. Here are some of the most memorable quotes from interviews he gave throughout his lifeIsmail Kadare, giant of Albanian literature, dies …
Head of Franceโs cinema agency sentenced to three years for sexual assault of godson
Dominique Boutonnat to step down from French industry champion CNC, and will serve sentence at homeDominique Boutonnat, the head of Franceโs powerful National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC), was on Friday given a three-year prison sentenc…
Bye Bye Tiberias review โ heartfelt memoir of Palestinian family reunion in Galilee
Hiam Abbass, AKA Marcia Roy from Succession, returns to the village she left 30 years ago to become an actor, with her daughter Lina Soualem behind the cameraHiam Abbass is the Franco-Palestinian actor who has been a consistent presence in internationa…
Paris arthouse cinema La Clef to reopen after buyout from squattersโ collective
Filmmakers and students evicted by police in 2022 make a triumphant return to the historic venue after raising funds to buy it for โฌ2.7mTwo years after being evicted by Paris police, a collective of students and film-industry professionals returned to …
London premiere of movie with AI-generated script cancelled after backlash
Plans to show The Last Screenwriter, whose script is credited to โChatGPT 4.0โ, prompted complaints although the film-makers insist the feature is โa contribution to the causeโA cinema in London has cancelled the world premiere of a film with a script …
Iconic Paris cinema shuts after 90 years in sign of Champs-Elysees decline
The iconic UGC Normandie cinema on the Champs-Elysees in Paris closed its doors Thursday after 90 yearsย โ with critics seeing another sign of tourism and fashion sucking the life from one of the world’s most famous shopping boulevards. Once a preferre…
Birthday Girl review โ Trine Dyrholm superb in mother-daughter cruise ship rape drama
Rocking big hair and fake eyelashes Dyrholm shines in provocative film that deals with issues of sexual assault and female bondingTrine Dyrholm is one of Europeโs finest and hardest-working actors, though she is hardly a household name for viewers beyo…
Keeping it reel: a look behind Londonโs independent cinema scene
Meet the people who curate the pioneering programmes at four venues that are must-visits for film buffs
French cinema tried to hide its violence against women. At Cannes, weโre calling it out | Rokhaya Diallo
I took to the red carpet alongside other activists to highlight sexual violence. Now women of colour need a bigger place in the movement The 77th Cannes film festival reaches its climax on Saturday when all eyes will be on the Croisette, as the winners…
Three Kilometres to the End of the World review โ brutal self-denial in deepest Romania
Cannes film festivalA drama of despair plays out in a remote village, as a debt-ridden father is mortified to discover his son is gay Here is a self-laceratingly painful tale of repression and denial in a remote Romanian village in the Danube delta, di…
Francis Ford Coppolaโs Megalopolis is a painfully awful labour of love โ Cannes review
Another giant of 1970s cinema bites the dust with an over-ambitious camp sci-fi satire
The Second Act review โ Quentin Dupieuxโs likable meta comedy of actorsโ private lives
Cannes film festivalWith help from an A-list cast, Dupieux brings his customary mischief to an amiable tale of imposture and role playCannes can always do worse than choose a comedy for its opening gala, and the festival is off to an amiable, entertain…
Greta Gerwig: โThe number of female directors has gotten better. Weโre not done yetโ
While this yearโs Cannes film festival jury president declared her role โa dream come trueโ, storms over sexual abuse and workersโ rights are expectedThe reviews were gushing on the first day of the 77th Cannes film festival, as Barbie director Greta G…
Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever review โ Danish morgue sequel returns from the dead
Ole Bornedal follows up his 90s suspense thriller Nightwatch and goes back to the same creepy buildingThirty years ago, just before the Dogme 95 movement raised the profile of Danish film-making, Ole Bornedalโs suspense thriller Nightwatch was what suc…
On an island still tormented by the Troubles, Britainโs Legacy Act is making things worse | Fintan O’Toole
Keir Starmer has promised to revisit this contentious law. When that happens, he needs to do three thingsFifty years ago, on 17 May 1974, my father, a bus conductor, was out on strike. That day, the Troubles arrived with a vengeance in my home town of …
French parliament agrees to investigate sexual abuse in cinema
The French parliament on Thursday agreed to create a commission of inquiry to investigate sexual and gender-based violence in cinema and other cultural sectors after several recent allegations.
High-minded, progressive and literate, Laurent Cantet made a trio of brilliant films | Peter Bradshaw
In Human Resources, Time Out and The Class, the Palme dโOr-winning film-maker โ who has died aged 63 โ addressed French and European society at all levelsLaurent Cantet was a classic product of the French cinema industry: a deeply intelligent, high-min…
Grace review โ monumentally odd father-daughter odyssey via mobile cinema
Travelling across Russia in mostly silence, Ilya Povolotskyโs debut feature has a strange confidence in its own insistent dispiritednessWith long journeys in a red camper van, long unbroken shots of shattered Caucasian landscapes, and very long silence…
Triangle of Sadness director Ruben รstlund: โYou should need a licence to use a camera โ you need one for a gunโ
As his new film looks at societyโs relationship with the camera, the double Palme dโOr winner talks about the power of the screen โ big and small โ and why the next generation will be MarxistโI have an idea,โ says Ruben รstlund. โWhat if you were only …
Horror, humour, music and more: Is Fantasporto the ultimate film festival?
The 44th edition of the Porto International Film Festival has a varied selection for all tastes, with around 100 films on show at the Batalha Cinema Centre.
Head of Franceโs cinema body to face trial over alleged sexual assault of his godson
Activists call for Dominique Boutonnat to step down saying allegations undermine his ability to lead changeDominique Boutonnat, the head of Franceโs top cinema institution, is to be tried in June on charges of sexually assaulting his godson, prosecutor…
Micheline Presle obituary
French film star who spanned Hollywood and French New Wave cinema, best known for the controversial The Devil in the FleshMany postwar British filmgoers had their perception of French women shaped by seeing such sophisticated stars as Edwige Feuillรจre,…
โKremlin Leaksโ: Files detail Putinโs โฌ1 billion propaganda effort ahead of presidential vote
Leakedย documentsย describeย the Kremlin’s concerted efforts to influence public opinion โย using cinema, streaming series and TVย programmes โย to promote a narrative of Russian heroism, traditional values and loyaltyย towards President Vladimirย Putinย ahead…
Sex, lies and sundowners: Robin Campillo on turning his army brat childhood into a film
The cult director grew up on the luscious island of Madagascar just as it was casting off French rule. It was a deliriously happy time for him โ but now he realises what was really going onRobin Campilloโs new movie, Red Island, is an amazing, moving e…
Awards season comes as French actors accuse filmmakers of sex abuse in new #MeToo wave
As French cinema basks in Academy Awards attention, actors who allege they were teenage victims of sexual and physical abuse by directors decades older than them are shining the light on the repulsive underside of the country’s industry.ย
Missile tubes, an unfunny joke, my wifeโs band sweatshirt: in Ukraine, this is how we fund our fight for survival | Oleksandr Mykhed
Every concert now features an auction to support the army. Two years into the invasion, they have become ever more inventive, surreal โ and personalDay 636 of the full-scale invasion. Kyiv, the House of Cinema, the venue for many premieres of films tha…
Judith Godrรจche to address French cinemaโs โomertร โ around #MeToo
Actor, who has accused two directors of raping her as a teenager, to address Franceโs most prestigious film awards ceremonyJudith Godrรจche, an actor who has accused two high-profile directors of raping her as a teenager, will address Franceโs most pres…
From Russia without love. Vladimir Putin doesnโt celebrate Valentineโs Day
The Russian leader receives messages of love but does not reciprocate.
Food as movies: The agricultural exception is gaining traction in France
France’s far-right Rassemblement National and far-left LFI are proposing to introduce a form of ‘agricultural exception’ – which, as is already the case for the arts, would exempt some agricultural products from the EU’s free trade agreements with othe…
Secret recordings and โdripping insinuationsโ: the bitter feud between French film star Alain Delonโs children
Now 88 and disabled by a stroke, the star leads a reclusive life and his children are in a bitter legal battle over his treatmentAlain Delon was among the greatest celebrities of the golden era of French cinema, with his brooding good looks, ice-blue e…
โItโs the work of that war criminal Putinโ: Kharkiv reels under Russian missiles
Kharkiv, only 25 miles from Russia, has been under constant attack since the start of the war in Ukraine. Now fragments of rockets from North Korea are being found among the debris Russia-Ukraine war โ latest news updatesWhen the air raid siren sounded…
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer review โ master directorโs passionate idealism
Account of the German film-makerโs singular career takes in numerous starry admirers but also is a portrait of an existential disruptorWith pop-culture brand recognition like no other auteur, he walks the walk and talks the talk โฆ in that inimitable vo…
On the Line review โ telephone-exchange thriller is one-person kidnap mystery
Victoria Lucie is impressive as the only visible actor, connecting calls on the island of Alderney and piecing together a propulsive 60s-set dramaHere is a claustrophobic thriller that unfolds entirely inside a small telephone exchange on the island of…
Depardieu accusations expose divide in France over sexism
An open letter penned by dozens of actresses and other artists in defense of Gerard Depardieu, the cinema giant accused of sexual harassment, has laid bare divisions in France over the #Metoo reckoning with sexism.