The Birthday Party had its UK première at Glasgow Film Festival, 27 Feb 2026 The Birthday Party opens in 1965, with Greek shipping magnate Marcos Timoleon (Willem Dafoe) receiving news late one stormy night that his beloved – and only – son Daniel has been killed in a plane accident, while his 15-year-old daughter Sofia…
Gonzo Girl has its US première at Tribeca Film Festival, 12 June 2025 Gonzo Girl opens with the now obsolete clatter of a typewriter’s keys being hit, and text that appears on screen letter by letter: “The story I’m about to tell you is partly true.”, only for the last two words to be deleted…
If a cinema screen had eyes, all that it would see during a film’s run is faces staring at it from the shadows, and a bright flickering light above them to guide their gaze towards the dreamy images projected on its otherwise blank surface. Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu opens with a perspective something like this, as…
Six home releases from June 2023 first published by Little White Lies as entry 177 in my Cinema Psychotronicum column Includes capsule reviews of: The Lighthouse, Red Sun (Rote Sonne), Revenge (Adauchi), Stephen King on Screen, Lady Reporter, Le Mépris (Contempt) The Lighthouse (2018) “I’m probably a figment of your imagination,” observes Thomas Wake (Willem…
“I will always be your father.” These words close the letter that Giulia Fontana (Giada Colagrande) reads – and that we hear in voiceover – as she circles a cloister at the beginning of Padre. Famous composer Giulio (played by singer, artist and filmmaker Franco Battiato) has died, leaving for his adult daughter a mysterious…
eXistenZ first published by Little White Lies, as the 57th entry in my Cinema Psychotronicum column “I don’t like it here. I don’t know what’s going on, we’re both stumbling around together in this unformed world whose rules and objectives are largely unknown, seemingly indecipherable or even possibly non-existent. Always on the verge of being killed by forces that we don’t understand.” ‘PR nerd’ Ted Pikul (Jude Law) is a…
Antichrist first published by Film4 Summary: Maverick Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier tells a traumatic tale of mental and marital breakdown in the deep, dark woods. Review: “There is nothing atypical about your grief”, declares an unnamed cognitive therapist (Willem Dafoe) to an unnamed patient (Charlotte Gainsbourg) who also happens to be his wife, and whose grief is,…
First published by Film4 Synopsis: David Lynch is executive producer on this Werner Herzog film about a man, his sword, his mother, and the long arm of the Lord. Inspired by a true story. Review: As the sound of a train is heard in the distance, the title ‘David Lynch presents’ appears on screen, followed swiftly…