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...

  Pictured : Sood's cornered. Modern-day scrooge Eshaan Sood ( Kunal Sayyar ) fixes London's Christmas decorations with a steely glare in a scene from ' Christmas Karma ', adapted from Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' by writer-director Gurinder Chadha . Still courtesy of True Brit Entertainment . I never really liked Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’, the story of a mean and miserly man visited by four ghosts who collectively teach him to use his wealth for the betterment of others. Where is the sequel when his generosity is exploited by individuals even meaner than he is? The turnaround in Ebenezer Scrooge is achieved not through wisdom, rather fear. He is offered a glimpse of life after his death and is shocked to discover how little he is thought of. Dickens’ narrative was ingenious for its time and spoke to a world filled with grinding poverty. However, these days, its ‘feel good’ ending doesn’t ring true. It would take more than a night visit by...

  Pictured : Nonagenarians Bessie ( Rita Zohar , left) and Eleanor ( June Squibb , right) have breakfast in a scene from the American comedy-drama, ' Eleanor The Great ', written by Tory Kamen and directed by Scarlett Johansson . Still courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics . Cultural appropriation – to tell a story that does not belong to you – has existed since the birth of literature. Both the Old and New Testament were transcribed from other people’s histories. Man has, apparently, related the word of a creator, an act – or series of acts – that could represent the largest hubris of all. Nowadays, individuals have the means to tell their own stories, from the ‘tell-all’ autobiography to the curation of a digital archive shared online. However, they are not always the best narrators of their own stories, lacking vocabulary, insight, even time, as well as being prone to self-censorship. An intermediary is helpful, be it a ghost writer, a playwright or an actor, someone sensitive...

  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...

  Pictured : The couple Grace ( Jennifer Lawrence ) and Jackson ( Robert Pattinson ) celebrate their child's first six months in a scene from the film, ' Die My Love ', adapted from Ariana Harwicz 's 2017 novel by co-writers Alice Birch , Enda Walsh and co-writer-director Lynne Ramsay . Still courtesy of Mubi (photo credit: Kimberley French) Ariana Harwicz’s 2017 novel, Die My Love has been Americanized and brought to the screen by producer-star Jennifer Lawrence and co-writer-director Lynne Ramsay, via co-writers Alice Birch and Enda Walsh, as well as Martin Scorsese, whose Sikelia Productions is also involved. It is a tough watch, one hundred and eighteen minutes in the company of an unstable young mother, Grace (Lawrence), a writer who places her baby, boyfriend and herself in jeopardy. You watch it in a state of constant anxiety, clenching your buttocks and feel the need to change your underwear afterwards. Harwicz’s novel is set in France. Ramsay’s film, shot b...