Reviews February 2023

27/01/2023 | Reform

In God’s name

Holy SpiderDirected by Ali AbassiCertificate 18, 116 minutesReleased 20 January (UK cinemas), 10 March (MUBI)

The year 2000. The Holy City of Mashhad, Iran. Prostitutes are being targeted by a killer who is justifying his crimes with … Read More

Reviews December 2022 / January 2023

28/11/2022 | Reform

Compelling mythology

Son of the White MareDirected by Marcell JankovicsCertificate 12, 86 minutesReleased on 4K Blu-ray

This 40-year-old animated film deserves to be better known. It recalls two perennial favourites. One is Fantasia (1940), where the idea of classical music liberated … Read More

Reviews November 2022

01/11/2022 | Reform

A repressive Islamist regime

No BearsDirected by Jafar PanahiCertificate 12a, 106 minutesReleased 11 November

The Iranian director Jafar Panahi (whose son Panar made the excellent road movie Hit the Road) has been in trouble with the country’s repressive Islamist regime … Read More

Reviews October 2022

03/10/2022 | Reform

Testing conventions

Doctor Who Am IDirected by Matthew Jacobs & Vanessa YuilleCertificate 12a, 80 minutesReleased in cinemas 27 October andDVD & Digital 28 November

What is a church, and why do people attend it? This is a documentary about Doctor … Read More

Reviews September 2022

20/09/2022 | Reform

Hiding from deportation

Where Is Anne FrankDirected by Ari FolmanCertificate PG, 99 minutesReleased 12 August

Amsterdam, about a year from now. Inside the Anne Frank House, Anne’s imaginary pen-friend Kitty (voiced by Ruby Stokes) materialises out of the ink from … Read More

Reviews July/August 2022

24/06/2022 | Reform

Transformed by an atrocity

Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In TimeDirected by Robert B. Weide, Dan ArgottCertificate 15Released 22 July (cinemas and digital platforms)

The late Kurt Vonnegut claims that after touching a tree trunk he saw the bombing of Dresden before … Read More