There’s more to Benedetta than Immaculate Penetration

There’s more to Benedetta than Immaculate Penetration

Director: Paul Verhoeven Starring: Virginie Elfira, Charlotte Rampling, Daphne Patakia Running Time: 132 minutes “Lesbian nuns!” “A wooden Virgin Mary sex toy!” The press packet for Benedetta speaks loudly for itself, an eye-catching and/or hand wringing series of headlines from festival first impressions all the way to Liveline. It might seem like one of those…

White Building: An Introspective Look at Dreams and Demolition

White Building: An Introspective Look at Dreams and Demolition

Director: Kavich Neang Starring: Piseth Chhun, Hout Sithourn, Jany Min Runtime: 130 mins For filmmaker Kavich Neang, White Building is deeply personal. Already in his youthful but promising career, he has cut his directorial teeth by chronicling the painful destruction of the apartment block where he and his peers were raised. In 2019, he documented…

Happening; Harrowing & Humanising

Happening; Harrowing & Humanising

Director: Audrey Diwan Starring: Anamaria Vartolomei Runtime: 100 mins Happening (L’événement) is a French film adapted from Annie Ernaux’s autobiographical account of having an illegal abortion in the 1960s. Ernaux’s genuine experience gives this film the weight and depth required for such serious subject matter. In Happening, we meet Anne Duschene (played by Anamaria Vartolomei), a young college student…

Reykjavík is under siege in crime movie satire Cop Secret

Reykjavík is under siege in crime movie satire Cop Secret

Director: Hannes Þór Halldórsson Starring: Auðunn Blöndal, Egill Einarsson, Sverrir Þór Sverrisson Running Time: 98 minutes If there’s one thing you can say about Cop Secret with absolute certainty, it’s that it is the best movie to be made by a professional Icelandic goalkeeper… Ok – that’s a joke that I’m positive will have been made 100 times…