Phoenix

Another film from director Christian Petzold featuring Nina Hoss and Ronald Zehrfeld, previously all together in Barbara. This time, it's a Berlin immediately in the aftermath of WWII, and Hoss plays a concentration camp survivor who returns home having had reconstructive facial surgery following her injuries. She's so vulnerable and delicate you can almost imagine she …

Ida

I think Ida would win the award for the most beautiful road movie ever made. Every shot is so perfectly framed and lit (in black & white) - absolutely breathtaking. Ida is a young novitiate preparing to take her vows, but is first forced to find out about her family before taking the final step. …

The Congress

Robin Wright plays an actress called Robin Wright whose last role is to allow her image to be digitised and used by the film company as they wish. What I admire very much about this film are the interesting questions it raises about image and longevity, given the current possibilities with CGI and film making. …

La femme du V??me – The Woman in the Fifth

This is actually quite a short film (coming in at 84 minutes) but it managed to fit a lot in without feeling rushed. I liked that Ethan Hawke was allowed to be an American who had sufficient command of French to conduct conversations in the langua...