film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Rosalynn Try-Hane

  • Review: Under The Shadow

    What are you afraid of?
    Them.
    Who?
    Didn’t you see them?
    No
    Ghosts?
    Don’t be silly they don’t exist.
    But you said you saw the lady too.

    That final line is what elevates Under The Shadow from a simple, stylistic supernatural story into a tight psychological supernatural thriller set in the 1980s during the height of the Iran Iraq war. Sideh is a modern woman and with her husband they have a little girl called Dorsa. They met at university when they were both studying medicine, but then then Sideh got involved in politics. The cultural revolution happened and now she is trying to gain her place back at uni to finish her studies but fails to do so. Her husband a doctor is conscripted to the front line. She decides to stay in Tehran despite her husband’s pleading that she go stay with his parents. A missile hits the apartment block, her neighbour’s start to flee and as soon as decides to do the same her daughter can’t find her beloved doll. She promises her daughter they will leave just as soon as she finds the doll and then things go bump in the night…!

    What makes Under The Shadow so powerful is that it plays to real life fears of; other people, neighbours, grief, loss, insomnia, maternal love. Fear is multi layered here – fear of the independent woman (she’s stopped by the religious police and told we have morals now not like before), ostracised as a radical from university, then neighbour’s fear her as she’s modern and her husband treats her as an equal and then there is fear of others – we are not the same. All is this shot against a backdrop of a war – fear of others in a national sense. Fear of war itself. What’s interesting is even though this is set in the 1980s it’s social commentary is rooted firmly in the 21st century; fear your neighbour, the foreigner, the stranger amongst us. Horror in the 1970s – Salem’s Lot, Children of the Corn Field was all demonic but a reflection of the destruction of the family unit. The 1980s the modern, independent woman was painted as the slut and slashed and then the 1990s well just not feeling safe. And now this is brought up to date – we’re just simply afraid and afraid of others neighbour’s, individuals, because they are different. Post Brexit this is all very thought provoking. Throw into the mix the little details in the film such as those living in war zones sleep fully dressed in case the sirens sound during the night and they have to flee. This film shocks and provokes at every level.

    This film holds its nerve and builds the suspense. The shocks will have you peering through your interlaced fingers or knocking knees with the person sitting next to you – well that’s how I watched most of it. The last 20 mins descends into a 1970s pastiche of horror but the ending – oh the very last 5 minutes – makes the previous final 20 minutes worth it.

    This is a must see and shows Iranian filmmaking just keeps producing excellent, thought provoking films. A proper psychological supernatural thriller with a good narrative and under 1hr 30 mins in length. How you see it depends on your perspective and we all have our own truths. Is seeing believing or is it all in the mind?

    Under The Shadow is released in cinemas across the UK on Friday 30 September.

  • Review: The Brother

    The Brother is a very stylish British thriller echoes of Layer Cake that draws you into a murky world leaving you time to think what is this all about: family; crime; both or something altogether different.

    The opening scenes provide a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. The narrative is sparse. The scenes give minimal information – Reuben is a terrible man and someone Jack has spent the last 18 month in a Colombian Jail. “The future’s unwritten they say son, your past will always be following you.” What’s the point so is this the sins of the father on the sons or is it Cain and Abel?

    With Reuben being jealous of Richard and yet it was Richard who always saved Reuben. Adam, the brother, we learn at the beginning of the film is a cloakroom attendant but it slowly transpires that he withdrew from the family business. The other brother, Eli, a musical genius – a sort of fingers. This is one of the clichés in the film. The violence and it does come is brutal a sort of shot of adrenaline – the type of clap by the ear that has you pull your jumper over your head. What all this means is you, the audience, have to engage your mind as well as your eyes and that is great.

    This is a far superior gangster flick – the sensory deprivation and use of music to show deafness is impressive and shows a certain level of mastery. Gangster films have come along way from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to last year’s film of North v South a retelling of Romeo vs Juliet in a gangster setting. This though feels far more superior and incredible to watch.

    Misdirection is a useful filmmaking tool but less is more and unfortunately in this film it was somewhat overused. It doesn’t detract from the film and what he sought to achieve but actually it wasn’t needed.

    The Brother opens in cinemas across the UK on Friday 16 September.

  • Interview: Ryan Bonder, Director Of The Brother

    The Brother will surprise you. As the name suggests it deals with fraternal issues encompassed in a crime thriller. It feels European and is mercifully free of cliches! I was lucky enough to interview the director, Ryan Bonder, of The Brother ahead of its UK release this Friday, 16 September. about the film, how he got such an awesome cast and what we can expect next.

    How did this project come about?

    I guess I’m interested in memory and the past and how it defines us. I also really like the French take of crime films, The Beat that my Heart Skipped etc…. I had been working on a very complicated meta script which completely cooked my brain and want to write something more character driven. I’m not sure how the idea landed, but I run a lot and when I run, ideas come and some times they stick. Usually, I work through the entire outline in my head while running. It must have been over a week but I felt I work it out. I then push it aside for a week. Usually by doing other work and when I come back to it, if it still excites me, I start writing. In the case, It burned very quickly and I wrote it in 10 days.

    I loved this line in the film “the less you know the better you’ll sleep” and come the end of the film we still know very little about Adam and the other characters. It works. Was this always the intention or did this happen during the post-editing process?

    A tricky question and I suppose in a way illustrates my fascination with memory. What was intended and what actually happened is very difficult to say at this point. However, it was my intention to create characters where the audience would have to invest or project there own notion of who they “are” on them. When you write, you hope you give lines to characters which hopefully have a deeper subtext, but a lot of that comes from my subconscious. When you try to be clever, you usually end up falling flat.

    You managed to get a great cast of actors. You’ve worked with the actor who played Eli before – was he the first on board and how did you attract Anthony Head?

    I did think of Jed early on as we have worked together previously… so I know he’s a great actor. He’s also a very accomplished pianist so it was very easy to write it for him. When we were casting for JACK, and Antony’s name came up, and it was one of those, “Of course, he’d be perfect”. He’s a great actor and incredibly versatile. We sent him the script. He responded to it. We had long conversation about the character and that was it. He came on board.

    There are lots of themes running through the film – dementia, love and a very slick retelling of Cain and Abel. What for you is the most important theme?

    How memory and our past inform our identity and how they are fluid and ever changing.

    The film has a great tempo making the violence when it does happen shocking, extreme and jolts the viewer. Did you ever think the violence was too graphic?

    I think we all have different levels of tolerance. It was my intention to jolt the viewer but I don’t view the violence as too graphic in comparison to a lot of other films. Perhaps because it does fly out unexpectedly, it’s feels more extreme…but no, I don’t feel it’s to graphic.

    On the subject of violence in the film – the sound editing was very important. Did you agonise over it getting it just right?

    I worked with Miguel Nunes on the sound. He’s great. We talked a lot about the feeling of the sound and then I let him go at it. For me, I hire people who I think are interesting and talented… we talk about what it should feel like, some times we talked in terms of colour or tones… and then I let him go it and he came up with a fantastic sounding film. I’d sit in and tweak a bit, but really it’s about collaboration.

    The ending of The Brother was interesting. Was that the original ending?

    Yes it was. We didn’t deviate a whole lot for the original structure of the script.

    It’s been seven years since you wrote and directed your last film Daydrift. Hopefully we won’t have to wait another 7 years – what’s next for you?

    You and me both. I am currently casting my next project BLACK FLAG which is the story of a father who travels to Syria to convince his recently converted son to leave ISIS and return home. I hope to be shooting that in early 2017. I also have a TV series which I am developing that could go in 2017 as well.

    The Brother opens in cinemas across the UK on Friday 16 September.

  • Empire Cinema To Host Harry Potter-Thon

    Empire Cinema To Host Harry Potter-Thon

    Empire Cinemas’ across the UK showing all eight Harry Potter films for eight consecutive weeks!

    Ahead of the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (18th November); the first part of an amazing new Potter spin-off series, Empire Cinemas has programmed an eight week Harry Potter-thon, showing in all 13 of their cinemas across the UK.

    The Potter marathon kicks off with showings of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on Sunday 11th September and continues every week, wrapping up on Sunday 30th October with the last instalment; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

    The film screenings will be shown Sundays at 12pm, as well as Tuesdays at 6pm. Potter fanatics will be pleased to hear that they can see all the movies at the fantastic, credit crunch busting Sav£rday price, on both days.

    Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them sees Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne seeking magical creatures in the many decades before Potter arrives at Hogwarts. ‘Magizoologist’ Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) embarks on his mission to catalogue the world’s magical creatures, encountering extraordinary characters along the way, including a wizard named Graves (Colin Farrell).

    Jon Nutton, Marketing Director of Empire Cinemas says, “We’re really excited to be hosting this Harry Potter-thon at our cinemas. There is a huge love for Harry Potter in the UK and with the exciting release of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them in November, this is the perfect time to get involved in some Pottermania.”

    For further ticketing information visit or call 08714 714 714.

  • SAFAR Film Festival 2016

    This will the third film festival in the bi-annual run. Overseen by three women , indeed The British Arab Centre is run by women – Nadia, Amani and Rosa, and the previous festivals were run in 2012, 2014 and now in 2016 to be held over 5 days from 14 to 18 September 2016. Talking to Communications and Events officer Rosa Perez, she explained the history to the festival and why this is needed at such a vital time to show contemporary Arab life:

    “The 1st edition in 2012 showcased classic films that were popular in the Arab world and that were an honest portrayal of Arab culture. In 2014 there was a celebration of popular Arab cinema plus an exhibition of original cinema posters from a Beirut artist that toured to Leceister and Stoke on Trent. The 2016 festival has a new look focusing on contemporary Arab cinema and a high profile curator [Rasha Salti who has curated the Middle Eastern and African film selection of the Toronto International Film Festival] – she’s chosen 8 long features plus a film shorts programme from leading Kuwati artist Monira Al Qadiri. All the selected films are from the last 12 months and all of of them except one will have its UK premiere at the festival. In the aftermath of the Arab Spring – people are paying more attention to films that go beyond the headlines to show every day life in Arab countries from a different angle.”

    A short montage of films to be screened at the festival were also shown and the gutsy and bold film Before I Close My Eyes grabbed my attention.
    What this festival will no doubt show is that life has to carry on regardless in between the bombs, the aftermath of the Arab Spring and constant turmoil.  They will stand as a reminder of the rich tapestry, humanity and life that remains strong and defiant.

    The films to be shown are:
    Before The Summer Crowds – Mohamed Khan, Eygpt (14 Sept)
    As I open My Eyes– Leyla Bouzid, Tunisia (17 Sept)
    Love, Theft And Other Entanglements – Muayad Alayan, Palestine (15 Sept)
    Let Them Come – Salem Brahimi, Algeria (16 Sept)
    Maverick from Kuwait: Close Encounter With Monira Al Qadiri (17 Sept) – shorts programme
    Borders Of Heaven – the first feature film by Fares Naanaa, Tunisia (17 Sept)
    Houses Without Doors – Avo Kapraelian,, Syria (18 Sept)
    This Little Father Obsession – Sélim Mourad, Lebanon (18 Sept)
    Starve Your Dog – Hicham Lasri, Morocco (18 Sept): the closing film

    SAFAR Film Festival runs from 14 to 18 September 2016 at the ICA in London, click here for more information.