Larry Oliver Film Reviews

  Some Palestinian filmmakers accept funding from Israel. Not writer - director Annemarie Jacir. For her it is a point of principle. A consequence of this is that not many cinemas in the United Kingdom play her movies, though the word of mouth generated by her 2017 third feature, Wajib , has led to it getting a wider release. The film’s country of origin should not be a barrier to the marketplace, so long as its content is not overtly offensive. There are plenty of movies that do offend and are welcomed by multiplexes with open screens. We’ll see in the next few months how many cinemas decide to play Lars Von Trier’s serial killer movie, The House That Jack Built . Wajib is at once modest and epic. It follows the course of one day in which a father and son Abu Shadi and Shadi (real life father and son Mohammad Bakri and Saleh Bakri) travel around Nazareth in a metallic blue Volvo licence plate 51.492.80 delivering invitations for Abu Shadi’s daughter’s wedding. Through the cours...

  Pictured: Agnes Shakespeare ( Jessie Buckley , centre) is expectant at a production of her husband's play, 'Hamlet' in a scene from the film, ' Hamnet ', directed by Asian-American auteur,  Chloë  Zhao . Still courtesy of Focus Features . Between Friday 21 February 2025 and Sunday 8 February 2026, I have watched and reflected on a further fifty-two feature films directed by women. The challenge just to watch the films – not to review them – was set by Melissa Silverstein, founder and publisher of ‘Women in Hollywood’, in 2015. I consciously select feature films and not documentaries and only those intended for cinema, that is, commercial release. My rationale is these films are made to compete in a global marketplace. By demonstrating their artistic worth and commercial appeal, these films advocate for more films from women directors to be greenlit, addressing prejudice. Many of these films I watch at festivals. In the case of this volume, at Berlin, Brussels, ...

  Pictured : British High Commissioner Wauchope ( Jeremy Irons , centre) launches Radio Palestine in a scene from writer-director Annemarie Jacir 's historical drama, ' Palestine 36 '. Still courtesy of British Film Institute / Curzon (UK) Ambitious and necessary, writer-director Annemarie Jacir’s passion project, Palestine 36 , experienced such a troubled production history than even Apocalypse Now helmer Francis Coppola would say, ‘that’s not for me’. A historical drama that charts the encroachment on Palestinian land by Jewish settlers, the film had to suspend production following Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. Israel struck back carrying out a military campaign in Gaza that killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, including children, and displaced hundreds of thousands more. The press was not spared in Israel’s campaign either; some 248 journalists covering the conflict have been killed. A review is not the place to discuss Israel’s reaction. Jacir’s film...