The cycle continues

Harpya (1979)

Written & directed by Raoul Servais this film stars Will Spoor, Fran Waller Zeper and Sjoert Schwibethus. Upon hearing the cries of a woman a man saves her life but gets more than he bargained for.

Strange but fun this black comedy has a simple plot that is pretty entertaining. With a style that echoes the silent era nicely the images keep you as entertained as the story. There is certainly plenty to this short and it is well worth a watch.

4/5

Was it real or not?

Me and Kaminski (2015)

Directed by Wolfgang Becker this film based on the novel of the same name stars Daniel Bruhl, Jesper Christensen and Amira Casar. An ambitious journalist wants to make his mark by writing a biography about an ageing painter in the hopes he dies soon so the book is a big success.

There is a lot of fun in this semi serious film and the charm certainly comes from the characters. Looking at art and ageing I found this to be an interesting film well worth a watch. There is some pretty good make up to age some of the actors and in general the film keeps a good tone through out.

4/5

Love across the street

George and Rosemary (1987)

Directed by Alison Snowden and David Fine this cartoon is narrated by Cec Linder. An single old man pines for the old lady across the street who also lives alone.

This is a quaint little love story about two older people who it turns out are both nervous about making a move on the other. While the story is basic it does have some charm to it. The animation and narration both fit the story adding to the gentle charm of the piece.

3/5

A nearly modern fable

American Fable (2016)

Written & directed by Anne Hamilton this film stars Peton Kennedy, Richard Schiff, Kip Pardue and Gavin MacIntosh. During the Reagan era an 11 year girl living on her family's farm finds a man trapped in a disused grain silo.

As a coming of age tail this is a pretty nice little effort that mixes in a few fairy tale elements with a more realistic, grounded story. While I enjoyed the film the protagonist did seem a little old and I wish the ending was a little less ambiguous on what happened to the girl's family. The film is well made and acted, a very good debut from Anne Hamilton.

3/5

An island unto herself

Iona (2015)

Written & directed by Scott Graham this film stars Ruth Negga, Ben Gallagher, Douglas Henshall and Tom Brooke. A woman travels with her teenage son back to the remote Scottish island she grew up on.

While a little on the short side this is still an interesting little independent film about small communities and the relationships between the people living in them. There is a lot to enjoy here in this simple drama built around people failing to share things with each other. I also really enjoyed some of the shots of the landscape as well as the director's confidence in using silence.

4/5

A failed spin

The Last Dance (2016)

Written & directed by Amanda Sharp this film also known as “Sticky Notes” stars Rose Leslie and Ray Liotta. A dancer struggling to find success in LA has to head home to help her immature father who has cancer.

For most of the film this is a fairly bland cancer film that works fine but the “twist” in the finale does not work and then tries to rub itself in your face. Without the final miss step this would have been an average film but the “twist” is a real off note you can not ignore. There are decent performances from the cast but there is not a great deal of depth to the story.

2/5

Puff piece padre

Flying Padre (1951)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick this is a short documentary. A Catholic priest in rural New Mexico tends to his flock by flying round in a small plane.

While you always expect big things from Kubrick this early effort is a very straight forward and simplistic piece. There is not really much narrative or insight here and this is your classic short news piece of the time. You might not have expected a puff piece from Kubrick but that's what we have.

3/5