Hal Kitchen
Another year’s London Film Festival comes to a close with its grand finale screening of Poor Things, one of a handful of films I was sorry to miss this year: The Zone of Interest, How to Have Sex and Starve Acre I also count among my most regretted missed opportunities, but one has to sleep sometime. Nonetheless, I was still able to avail myself of many of the festival’s early showcases of some of the year’s most hotly anticipated releases. Some of these lived up to their hype and then some, while other works whose praises have yet begun to be sung managed to leave impressions just as enduring. I fervently hope films like Last Summer, The Beast, Perfect Days and The Bride earn their share of the prestige and viewership that will readily come the way of Killers of the Flower Moon or The Killer. Those films deserve it just as much.
As always, for those who weren’t able to keep up with the festival’s releases, here’s the top ten highlights as Film Obsessive experienced them.
The Boy and the Heron
A Hayao Miyazaki film is an undisputed highlight of any line-up and even the great master’s messiest and most uneven film to date still bursts with such vivid humour, wisdom and grotesquery that it stands a head and shoulders above the very best of its peers. — Hal Kitchen
Perfect Days
Wim Wenders’s poignant slice of life drama may demand more patience than most films, but stick with it and you may find it to be one of the most rewarding experiences on your calendar, it certainly had the standout lead performance of the festival and the best soundtrack too! — Hal Kitchen
The Royal Hotel
Kitty’s Green’s follow up to The Assistant is pulpier and more genre-inflected than it’s predecessor, but sacrifices little of its weight in reworking the same feminist themes into a faster-paced and often thrillingly enjoyable package. — Hal Kitchen
Killers of the Flower Moon
I was enthralled by Martin Scorsese’s latest masterpiece. Lily Gladstone is mesmerizing, and Jesse Plemons swoops in with a third-act scene stealing role that I would’ve loved to see get some more screen time. — Cassie Hager
The Beast
Of all these movies, The Beast is perhaps the hardest to recommend and no doubt the most acquired taste, but despite its frustrations, I still found it to be one of the most provocative and intelligent films in recent memory and one well worth taking a chance on if one is willing to put in the work. — Hal Kitchen
The Bride
A tender, raw and quietly devastating look into the oppressive lives of women in a patriarchal society that’s reeling from self inflicted trauma, The Bride was one of the more unexpectedly powerful and subtly rewarding films of the festival. — Hal Kitchen
All of us Strangers
In a word: intoxicating. This emotional meditation on love, loneliness and loss had me in tears. Such a treat to see on the big screen. — Cassie Hager
Maestro
While a bit meandering in its focus, Maestro won me over in the end with its clever cinematography, a solid supporting cast, and a performance from Carey Mulligan that deserves all the awards. — Cassie Hager
Last Summer
An unexpectedly subversive and thought-provoking experience, Last Summer is an unforgiving and ultimately brilliant character study, showing the viewer from within exactly how cycles of abuse occur and the lasting impact that dysfunctional early sexual relationships can have. — Hal Kitchen
The Nature of Love
A rare film that’s as heady and intelligent as it is hot and heavy, The Nature of Love holds nothing back in its nuanced and sceptical take on the violent delights that lure us to our destruction. — Hal Kitchen
If you made it to the festival this year, or if you’ve seen any of these movies elsewhere, what did you think? Any major players we’ve omitted, or any we’ve managed to sell you on?
