Larry Oliver Film Reviews

Pictured : Goodbye, Vienna. Mrs Knoller ( Sienna Guillory , left) and son Freddie ( Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen , right) in a scene from the Nazi era drama, ' Desperate Journey ', directed by Annabel Jankel . Still courtesy of Emblem Pictures .  The Nazi era drama, Desperate Journey , based on the memoir by Austrian Jewish Holocaust survivor Freddie Knoller raises more questions than it answers. It is set in two distinct time periods: the late 1930s (and perhaps early 1940s) in Austria and France and 1945 in an unspecified country. The film only acknowledges that it is based on a true story in the closing credits, specifying the source material. The opening credits omit a number of featured actors – Ed Stoppard, Sienna Guillory, Nathaniel Parker – which suggests a cause for dissatisfaction. The project was developed by British director Michael Radford, best known for his Oscar nominated international charmer Il Postino . He also helmed White Mischief and an adaptation of George Or...

  Pictured : Dr Lilian Steiner ( Jodie Foster ) searches index files in a scene from the French language mystery, ' Vie Privée ', co-written with Anne Berest and  Gaëlle Macé and directed by Rebecca Zlotowski . Still courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics (US). In a film about a suspected murder, you can’t get more on the nose than blasting your audience with ‘Psycho Killer’ by Talking Heads during the opening credits. That’s how director Rebecca Zlotowski begins her film, Vie Privée , a mystery drama that features American star Jodie Foster in her first French speaking role since Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004). Foster plays American expatriate psychiatrist Dr Lilian Steiner, who at the film’s start complains to her upstairs neighbour about his loud music (the aforementioned song). Lilian is expecting a patient, Paula (Virginie Efira), who subsequently doesn’t turn up. Lilian leaves her a message. ‘I’ll have to charge you,’ she explains none too sympathetically. Sh...

  Pictured : Aldona ( Michalina Sosna , right) finds an unexpected passenger in her back seat, seven-year-old Zosia ( Wiktoria Nowak , left) in a scene from the Polish family comedy romance, ' Uwierz w Miko łaja 2 ' (' Believe in Santa Claus 2 '), directed by Anna Wieczur . Still courtesy of Magnetes Pictures (Poland) / Next Film . Set in Bielsko-Biala, Poland’s 22 nd largest city, the Polish family comedy Uwierz w Mikołaja 2 ( Believe in Santa Claus 2) is the sequel to director Anna Wieczur’s 2023 film, Uwierz w Mikołaja . The earlier film grossed USD 3 million at the Polish box office . It is an ensemble comedy-drama that involves three generations of a family as well as romance, a ski lift, drinking, swearing, a television programme and digital snow.  At its heart is a hopeful seven-year-old child, Zosia (Wiktoria Nowak) who believes in Santa and desperately needs a miracle. Initially, she asks for her father, Artur (Antoni Pawlicki) to be released from prison. H...