list.co.uk/film REVIEWS | FILM
ROMANTIC DRAMA TELL IT TO THE BEES (TBC) 108min ●●●●● DRAMA TRANSIT (12A) 102min ●●●●●
DOCUMENTARY HAIL SATAN? (TBC) 95min ●●●●●
Love is the great healer in this elegantly crafted, quietly touching adaptation of Fiona Shaw's novel. The Scotland of 1952 provides a suitably dreich, oppressive setting for a tale in which narrow minds are prised open, prejudices are defied, and young and old alike seem to learn valuable lessons and grow.
The story unfolds through the innocent eyes of schoolboy Charlie, played by scene-stealing screen natural Gregor Selkirk. Charlie’s English mother Lydia (Holliday Grainger) is a stranded outsider in a tight-knit Scottish community. Abandoned by her philandering husband (Emun Elliott), she struggles to pay the rent and put food on the table. A chance encounter with local doctor and beekeeper Jean (Anna Paquin) is the start of a friendship that blossoms into a scandalous romance.
Tell It to the Bees may be a little too cautious and restrained in places but there is a tender, convincing chemistry between the two leads that helps to carry the story. The consequences of closed minds and blind prejudices add some grit to a mild-mannered but persuasive tale that marks a welcome return to filmmaking for Annabel Jankel, directing her first cinema feature since Super Mario Bros back in 1993. (Allan Hunter) ■ General release from Fri 26 Jul.
With Nazi troops entering Paris, German refugee Georg (charismatic, Joaquin Phoenix-alike Franz Rogowski) flees for Marseille. He’s in possession of transit papers belonging to a writer, Weidel, who has just committed suicide. Since only those who can prove they’re able to leave are allowed into the port town, Georg assumes Weidel’s identity. While awaiting his passage, Georg meets the mysterious Marie (Paula Beer) and falls in love. The problem is, she’s Weidel’s wife. If the premise for Anna Seghers’ 1942 novel
isn’t intriguing enough, German director Christian Petzold lends it considerable resonance by setting the action in the present day and stripping away most of the WWII context. The result is an unusual drama, out of time, capturing the terrible limbo in which refugees find themselves, whatever the conflicts that created them. One of today’s most coolly cerebral directors, Petzold’s films feature characters wrestling with identity amid reunification (Yella), the Cold War (Barbara) and global conflict (Phoenix). While he doesn’t fully exploit the love story’s emotional possibilities – this is more Kafka than Casablanca – it’s another elegantly shot and thought-provoking experience. (Demetrios Matheou) ■ Selected release from Fri 16 Aug.
It might sound scary but, with a rising membership and a mission ‘to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people’, The Satanic Temple – founded by Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jarry in 2013 – is certainly worthy of examination. In this documentary, director Penny Lane (Nuts!) introduces us to a diverse bunch of members from different chapters across the US and UK, who have found a welcoming home in Satan’s arms. As they rebel against state corruption and call out
religious hypocrisy, the Temple’s early tactics amount to media stunts, conducted with a knowing smirk on their faces. But it’s difficult to argue with their stance as they take a stand against the Westboro Baptist Church, infamous for its use of hate speech.
Lane’s reaction as she interviews Greaves is one
of delighted fascination. She spends time with Detroit chapter head Jex Blackmore, who, exasperated at Trump’s America, begins to diverge from the group’s peaceful message. The filmmaker follows Blackmore’s story to its unfortunate conclusion and, in doing so, displays an aptitude for rigorous investigation. Despite dabbling in dark material, Hail Satan? provides a humorous beacon of hope in our troubled times. (Katherine McLaughlin) ■ Selected release from Fri 23 Aug.
DRAMA PAIN AND GLORY (15) 113min ●●●●●
A reclusive film director reflects on the moments that made him in the latest from movie maestro Pedro Almodóvar. Although unmistakable in its autobiographic elements and visual vibrancy, Pain and Glory finds the flamboyant filmmaker in subdued, melancholic form, as his alter-ego plunders his past to reinvigorate his present. When his 32-year-old movie ‘Sabor’ is treated to a restoration
in a nod to its now-classic status, retired director Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas) returns to the limelight. Suffering from various maladies and reluctant to re-enter the filmmaking fray, it becomes all about his mother (Penélope Cruz’s indomitable matriarch Jacinta), as his daydreams take him back to her. Meanwhile, in the present day, he’s reunited with his actor nemesis Federico (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and ex Alberto (Asier Etxeandia).
Although it threatens to unleash quintessential Almodóvar qualities like farce, melodrama and passion, Pain and Glory tends to stop short, while the suspenseful score suggests Hitchcockian intrigue that the narrative fails to deliver on. The various reunions and discoveries are beautifully played, but such scenes never flower into raw, palpable emotion – its protagonist’s despondency dictating the film’s slightly standoffish tone.
Nevertheless, Almodóvar’s sense of cinema remains undiminished. Working with regular cinematographer José Luis Alcaine, they flood the screen with colour in the shape of clashing prints, courageous fashion choices and an enviable, art-filled interior that acts as Salvador’s sanctuary. And, while hardly the director’s most emotionally honest work, it’s a story that speaks compellingly, if a touch reticently, about the patchwork nature of our lives. (Emma Simmonds) ■ General release from Fri 23 Aug
1 Jun–31 Aug 2019 THE LIST 93