cinema

Film review: Oh, Canada

January 4, 2026January 6, 2026 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

Self-reflection is almost always on the cards for veteran writer and director Paul Schrader, who has returned with his first feature since his thematically linked ‘Man in a Room’ trilogy; a trio of tales which boldly explored redemption through lost souls living in solitude. In his latest drama Oh, Canada, the room is crowded and the man is Leonard Fife (Richard Gere), a dying documentary filmmaker turned professor who has agreed to sit for an interview about his illustrious life and career. Based on the 2021 novel Foregone by Russell Banks, the plot sees the acclaimed creative revisit his checkered past as his wife Emma (Uma Thurman) and former students Malcolm (Michael Imperioli) and Diana (Victoria Hill) watch on.

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cinema

Film review: It Was Just an Accident

December 27, 2025 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

A key player within the new wave of Iranian cinema, writer and director Jafar Panahi has pushed boundaries for decades through his metacinematic tales of contemporary state surveillance. His latest piece is It Was Just an Accident, a darkly comic thriller that centres around a bizarre mystery. When mechanic Vahid (Vahid Mobasseri) recognises the distinctive squeak of a prosthetic leg from a customer (Ebrahim Azizi), he suspects him to be his former tormentor from a stint in prison. Impulsively, he kidnaps the man, bundling him into the back of his van. However, as doubts set in over his true identity, he rallies together a line-up of fellow victims to help uncover the truth.

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cinema

Film review: Sentimental Value

December 21, 2025 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

The works of director Joachim Trier are often tied together by their tender explorations of existential emotions, the last of which, The Worst Person in the World, catapulted him into the hipster cinephile consciousness. This closed the chapter on his acclaimed ‘Oslo trilogy’ but his latest feature dabbles in the same thematic territory. Family drama Sentimental Value centres around theatre actor Nora (Renate Reinsve) who’s appearing in a stage production but suffers a severe panic attack backstage. When her mother passes away, she unites in grief with sister Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) and reconnects with her estranged filmmaking father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgård) who wants her to star in his new movie.

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cinema

Film review: Bugonia

November 23, 2025 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

Since they first collaborated on period piece The Favourite in 2018, director Yorgos Lanthimos and actor Emma Stone have had a fruitful working relationship which led to the latter’s Best Actress win at the Oscars for fantastical comedy Poor Things. They have come together again for their fourth feature with satirical thriller, Bugonia.

An English-language remake of South Korean sci-fi Save the Green Planet! from 2003, the plot follows conspiracy theorist cousins Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis) who kidnap ‘big pharma’ CEO Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone), convinced that she is an alien sent to destroy the planet. Tying her up in their basement and shaving her head, they begin torturing her in pursuit of the truth.

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cinema · EIFF25 · Interviews

Dragonfly Interview: Paul Andrew Williams – ‘If there’s a story I can tell that makes people feel something, I want to do that’.

November 10, 2025November 11, 2025 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

Since breaking into the British independent film scene with his excellent low-budget debut London to Brighton, writer and director Paul Andrew Williams has worked extensively in television and cinema from directing episodes of ITV dramas such as Broadchurch to crafting his own stories like 2021 revenge flick, Bull. His latest feature is Dragonfly, a social-realist drama with psychological thriller elements set in a working-class English town. When old-age pensioner Elsie (Brenda Blethyn) feels neglected by the nurses that visit her daily, her rough-around-the-edges neighbour Colleen (Andrea Riseborough) steps in to care for her, accompanied by her enormous bull terrier, Sabre. The women strike up an unlikely friendship but Elsie’s son John (Jason Watkins) worries that all is not as it seems.

I was fortunate enough to sit down with filmmaker Williams to discuss the piece…

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cinema

Film review: The Smashing Machine

October 16, 2025October 17, 2025 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

Benny Safdie is best known for making acclaimed indies such as Good Time and Uncut Gems alongside his older brother Josh, their films noted for their chaotic camerawork and scuzzy New York City energy. Like the Coens and Wachowskis before them, the directing siblings have gone their separate ways, and sports biopic The Smashing Machine marks Benny’s debut solo effort. Based on the 2002 documentary of the same name, the plot follows former MMA fighter Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson) through his career in the ring, his turbulent relationship with girlfriend Dawn (Emily Blunt), and his dangerous addiction to prescription painkillers.

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cinema

Film review: One Battle After Another

October 5, 2025 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

The challenging postmodern material of author Thomas Pynchon was first brought to the big screen just over a decade ago when Paul Thomas Anderson adapted stoner-noir tale Inherent Vice, and the filmmaker has once again looked to the novelist for inspiration in his latest feature. Loosely based on his 1990 book Vineland, action thriller One Battle After Another shifts the story to the chaotic landscape of modern-day America.

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cinema · EIFF25

Film review: On the Sea

August 17, 2025 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

A decade has passed since award-winning novelist Helen Walsh turned her attention to filmmaking, and after a foray into television last year, she has returned to writing and directing for the big screen. Her latest piece is erotic drama On the Sea which unravels within a fishing village of the north coast of Wales. Mussel farmer Jack (Barry Ward) is content in his stable yet unfulfilling marriage to Maggie (Liz White) and hopes that their teenage son Tom (Henry Lawfull) will join him and younger brother Dyfan (Celyn Jones) in the family hand raking business. However, as troublesome Scottish deckhand Daniel (Lorne MacFadyen) arrives in the tight-knit community, Jack confronts long suppressed emotions and risks everything he has worked for as an unexpected romance develops.

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cinema · EIFF25

Film review: Crushed

August 17, 2025January 6, 2026 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

No stranger to plying his trade within the circuit of genre festivals that showcase his low-budget efforts, indie writer and director Simon Rumley has taken his alternative sensibilities to Thailand for his next feature. Set in the leafy suburbs of Bangkok, religious thriller Crushed follows pastor Daniel (Steve Oram) who lives a quiet, comfortable life with his devoted wife May (May Nattaporn Rawddon) and Olivia (Margaux Dietrich), their 10-year-old daughter. However, following the mysterious disappearance of their cat Miss Kitty, Olivia is kidnapped and the family’s faith is tested when their distressing search exposes them to the depths of humanity.

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Berlin25 · cinema

Film review: Köln 75

March 22, 2025 Garry ArnotLeave a comment

On 24^th January 1975, American jazz musician Keith Jarrett performed to a sell-out crowd at Köln’s Opera House whilst playing a broken piano. The recording has since become the best-selling solo jazz album of all time, and the gig almost didn’t go ahead. Written and directed by Ido Fluk, period drama Köln 75 tells the amazing true story of how the evening came to be – the ‘scaffolding’ supporting the masterpiece as it is put in the film’s introduction.

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