Nora Twomey

Comments

The Night of the Hunter

Charles Laughton's singular vision of good and evil. A dreamlike voyage through childhood, so beautifully evoked.

Casablanca

It still holds audiences in the palm of the hand - perfectly pitched performances against such an evocative backdrop of war and loss.

All about Eve

Something about the self-referencing quality of fading stars and ruthless upstarts makes this compelling to the last.

Great Expectations

This particular take on Dicken's brilliant work is so evocative, particularly the tragedy of Ms Havisham, which is so devastatingly portrayed.

WANPAKU OJI NO OROCHITAIJI

I know that not many audiences outside of Japan will know this but it's such an influential, epic, beautiful film it deserves full attention.

My Neighbour Totoro

Deceptively simple, brilliantly told. This film exists between a veiled reality and the huge imaginations of children who need to believe in magic.

Pan's Labyrinth

From the very opening moments this perfect film captivates audiences in such a way that I know it will be talked about in 50 years time, if we're still around.

Brief Encounter

This film, although very much of its time, is tremendously evocative. It exudes a sense of sacrifice, loss, longing and duty that could only be created by a filmmaker, cast and crew at the top of their game.

La Tortue Rouge

I watched this beautiful film by Michaël Dudok de Wit with a bunch of children. Though there is no dialogue in the film, the children gave a live commentary, reducing to a hushed silence during the climactic moments. Films that allow audiences to participate at such a level are rare and precious gifts.

Archipelago

Joanna Hogg's playful, beautifully timed, comedic film makes me appreciate every silence, every awkwardly placed human as this privileged family attempt to stitch meaning into their fraught existences.