Author: Rosalynn Try-Hane

The cinematography is the best part about this thinly scripted film that just tries too hard to be atmospheric, moody and with an economic use of language that fails to engage.

Hinterland is the story of Lola and Harvey. Lola the free travelling spirit and Harvey the serious and more earnest of the two. They were childhood friends who grew up together in the country and may or may not have been romantically involved at some point. The film follows them on their road trip on a February weekend to Harvey’s mother’s cottage on the Cornish Coast and their nostalgic meander of their old haunts as they tap into emotions and feelings they didn’t realise were there.

The film is beautifully shot showcasing the impressive British countryside and coastal landscape. The cinematography had me wanting to jump into my car and retrace Lola and Harvey’s road trip but cinematography can only do so much. Whilst it is a given that the mark of a great script is to show and not tell the audience there still needs to be a central core of dialogue that engages the viewer and makes them care about the characters which Harry Macqueen’s debut feature lacks.

Hinterland is on general release on 27 February 2014.

What happens when love turns to hate could sum up Serena. It’s a sweeping love story set in depression stricken America that fails to sweep the viewer in.

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper reunite once again to tell the story of George Pemberton, logging barron, and Serena. Within the first 5 minutes of the film George tells Serena: “I think we should be married”. Even by Hollywood standards this line was clunky and was followed by a pastiche sequence of clichés: lots of kissing, dinner, hot sex, travel rounded off by marriage. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh at how ridiculous it all looked or think that maybe this fulfils every girl’s romantic ideal of Prince Charming sweeping them off their feet.

The film then does an about turn to show how progressive George is by announcing to his chief advisor Buchanan that he should not see Serena as his wife but as a partner. This a strange turn of events given the film is set in 1929. Who is this woman, tamer of eagles, that has bewitched my friend is what Buchanan and the viewer are left thinking. Although slightly avant garde the pace of the film is achingly slow and the ending seems to be a complete anti-climax.

There are stellar performances by Jennifer Lawrence as the mysterious femme-fatale and Bradley Cooper as the stoic logging baron but they fail to lift this film. Rhys Ifans gives the performance of the film and is mesmerising.

Serena will be released on dvd in the UK on 23 February 2015.

The Lunchbox is a simmering multi-layered tiffin box of emotions set in modern day Mumbai that should be watched and feasted upon.

Each day Ila, seeking to reignite passion with her husband, prepares his lunchbox comprising of many tiffin boxes which is collected by the enormous lunchbox service to be delivered to his work. However the lunchbox service delivers to the whole of Mumbai. Each night she awaits compliments from her husband but soon discovers that her lunchbox is being delivered to someone else. An unlikely friendship starts between Ila and Saajan who receives her lunchbox through letters left in the tiffin box which lead both of them unexpected realisations about what they actually want for their lives and where they are heading.

The film also gives a realistic portrait of everyday busy, bustling Mumbai life and touches on universal truths including: love, friendship, loneliness, betrayal, hope, despair which are at times spicy and at times mild.

Don’t let this tiffin box of a love story pass you by – it should be experienced by all – a visual feast for the heart and eyes.

Lonely housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) decides to try adding some spice to her stale marriage by preparing a special lunch for her neglectful husband. Unfortunately, the delivery goes astray and winds up in the hands of Saajan (Irrfan Khan), an irritable widower. Curious about her husband’s lack of response, Ila adds a note to the next day’s lunchbox, and thus begins an unusual friendship in which Saajan and Ila can talk about their joys and sorrows without ever meeting in person.

The film follows a period of about 6 years of Vera Brittain’s life and it takes its’ name from that of her best selling memoir. The film starts at an end of sorts – Armistice Day 1918 and it also makes a beginning for the 24 year old Vera in her life as a lifelong and vocal pacifist.

Alicia Vikander is outstanding in the lead role of Vera Brittain and manages to convey that mixture of heady youthful stubbornness and a very spirited Vera in Edwardian Britain where women were expected to look pretty, play piano and marry well. We follow Vera’s growth and her battles to be treated equally as her beloved brother Edward to try to gain a place at Oxford, and then to drop out to nurse the wounded. The men in her life, the already mentioned brother Edward, played by Taron Egerton, and the complicity between the actors translates beautifully on screen. Roland Leighton, Vera’s first love and the romantic love that conquers her heart is played by Kit Harington who gives a nuanced performance as the alpha male Roland. The other major male figure is Victor played by Colin Morgan. The first part of the film is shot in soft focus capturing the youthful and innocent exuberance of the main characters and as the tragedy and loss mounts the focus becomes clearer.

James Kent who has a documentary film background directs this film. This experience is never more evident than in the war scenes and the exceptionally haunting scene where Vera consumed by grief slips off her shoes and sinks into the Yorkshire mud to feel what those whom she has loved and lost must have felt as they lay dying in the trenches.

The screenwriter, Juliette Towhidi explained in an interview that whilst Vera Brittain’s memoir provided the DNA for the screenplay: “You don’t get to hide behind chronology, necessarily; you want to be true to the essence of something. In order to capture that essence, sometimes you have to play with facts a bit.”  This was done in the scenes where Vera is shown nursing her brother in France when in reality she nursed him in London after he was injured fighting in France.  However, the changes were made to give coherence to the story.

Despite exceptional performances, the film remains a biopic by numbers film: overcoming battles small and large, love, loss and then finding her voice and becoming the great icon of the 20th century.  There are no secrets in the film – all the moments of tragedy and passion are self-evident before the scene appears on screen and the actors have uttered their lines. The saccharine ladened soundtrack doesn’t help matters either. Yet, the power of the film lies in how it makes you feel and the questions it raises: love and loss, the futility of war, speaking up even if the opinion is an unpopular one and 100 years after the Great War have we in fact learnt anything?

Those who enjoy a biopic will enjoy this film. Also, those who like a good period drama – the attention to detail and faithful recreation of Edwardian Britain will delight and educate in equal measure.

Testament of Youth opens in cinemas everywhere this Friday 16 January with a running time of 130 minutes.

Did you know that the world’s smallest actor was only 2 foot 9 inches tall and called Weng Weng? No, well you do now and he came from the Philippines. Andrew Leavold was so affected by the world’s smallest actor, Weng Weng, after seeing For Your Height Only that he set off on a quest to find out what became of Weng Weng.

Seven years later and interviews with all the major players of Filipino cinema of the 1970s and early 1980s including Imelda Marcos and what we see is a tale of exploitation, corruption, greed and the way in which those with disabilities were and still are treated by the Philippines.

Weng Weng we learn during the course of the documentary was born Ernesto de la Cruz into a poor family. He was “discovered” by Peter and Cora Caballes who set out to make him a star. He did indeed become the biggest star in Filipinio cinema in the late 70s to early 80s, playing the role of 00 of influenced by James Bond 007, including a visit to the Cannes Film Festival in 1981. However the darker side of this tale is the exploitation that Weng Weng suffered. He never received any of the money he made and died destitute.

Andrew Leavold’s film is moving, funny, touching, sometimes clumsy but above all passionate about discovering the fate of Weng Weng. Imelda Marcos despite being in her 80s steals the documentary film from Weng Weng. She quite literally puts in a star turn and her birthday party is painful to watch but I was transfixed. I almost wanted to see more about her. I do hope he makes a film about her next maybe called – after the shoes are gone!

This documentary film has echoes of the Oscar winning Searching For Sugarman in its’ quest to find out the truth behind the enigma in this case – Weng Weng.  It is an enjoyable, interesting and informative documentary about Weng Weng and the Filipino film industry and a must watch for anyone interested in learning more about this part of the world or just seeing the results of a 7 year quest by a passionate cinephile.