DIFF 2025: Postcards from Happy Endings in Neo Sora and Radu Jude’s new films

DIFF 2025: Postcards from Happy Endings in Neo Sora and Radu Jude’s new films

Happyend Director: Neo Sora Starring: Kurihara Hayato, Hidaka Yukito, Ayumu Nakajima, Makiko Watanabe, Shirō Sano. Running Time: 113 minutes The senior prank, one of the great fascinations of American cinema. It feels rare to see these burning displays of late adolescence in other realms of global cinema, but Neo Sora’s (Ryuichi Sakamoto:Opus) debut retools those well worn senioritis japes for…

Chasing Pavements: Alex Ross Perry’s Docu-Fiction Hybrid Film Is A Fascinating Look At The Alt-Rock Legends

Chasing Pavements: Alex Ross Perry’s Docu-Fiction Hybrid Film Is A Fascinating Look At The Alt-Rock Legends

Director: Alex Ross Perry Starring: Pavement, Zoe Lister-Jones, Michael Esper, Kathryn Gallagher, Joe Keery, Jason Schwartzman, Nat Wolff, Fred Hechinger, Griffin Newman, Tim Heidecker, Logan Miller Running Time: 128 minutes Alex Ross Perry’s affinity for a chaotic and self-destructive artist is well-established in his filmography. His 2014 feature, Listen Up Philip, is an examination of…

Who has who’s number in Beat the Lotto?

Who has who’s number in Beat the Lotto?

Director: Ross Whittaker Featuring: Stefan Klincewicz, Paddy Kehoe, Pat Kenny, Running Time: 86 minutes Early on in Ross Whittaker’s documentary about an infamous Irish syndicate stitch-up in the early 90s, we see an appearance from stat-man Stefan Klincewicz on Pat Kenny Live, promoting his book of tips on how to increase your chances winning the…

A Life Lived: The Quiet Beauty of The Summer Book

A Life Lived: The Quiet Beauty of The Summer Book

Director: Charlie McDowell Starring: Glenn Close, Anders Danielsen Lie, Emily Matthews, Ingvar E. Sigurdsson Running Time: 90 minutes There’s a quote from one of Tove Jansson’s delightful Moomin books that I have always adored: “The quiet transition from autumn to winter is not a bad time at all. It’s a time for protecting and securing…

The Monkey: A Horror Film that Thinks Outside the Toy Box

The Monkey: A Horror Film that Thinks Outside the Toy Box

Director: Osgood Perkins Starring: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Adam Scott, Elijah Wood Running Time: 98 minutes As someone who isn’t necessarily a fan of scary movies, mostly because I enjoy sleeping at night, I approached the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s The Monkey with extreme caution. Walking into the…

The Killing of Several Dozen Sacred Sheep: Farmland Fury in ‘Bring Them Down’

The Killing of Several Dozen Sacred Sheep: Farmland Fury in ‘Bring Them Down’

Director: Christopher Andrews Starring: Christopher Abbott, Barry Keoghan, Nora-Jane Noone, Paul Ready, Aaron Heffernan, Colm Meaney Running Time: 106 minutes Watching the exports of the European arthouse over the last few years, one of the big strains of film I’ve seen pop up has been the rural paranoid thriller. These are dour films shot in…

Inspiring, provoking – Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story

Inspiring, provoking – Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story

Director: Sinead O’Shea Featuring: Edna O’Brien Running Time: 99 minutes Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story is a moving documentary about the life and works of one of Ireland most talented writers. Directed by Sinead O’Shea, the documentary highlights how Edna O’Brien defied censorship, challenged societal norms, and redefined a woman’s place in literature with…

The Brutalist is a daunting, impressive construct

The Brutalist is a daunting, impressive construct

Director: Brady Corbet Starring: Adrien Brody, Guy Pearce, Felicity Jones, Alessandro Nivola, Joe Alwyn, Raffey Cassidy, Isaach De Bankolé Running Time: 215 minutes A film over six years in the making, that replaced an entire A-level cast before filming (Joel Edgerton, Marion Cotillard and more were originally set to star), one with obviously lofty awards…