Jonathan Romney

All articles by Jonathan Romney

Reviews

The New Boy: realism is undercut by magic in Warwick Thornton’s Outback fable

A young indigenous boy with perplexing powers is forcibly brought to a Christian orphanage led by the alcoholic Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett) in Warwick Thornton’s sketchy, fragmented drama.

By Jonathan Romney

The New Boy: realism is undercut by magic in Warwick Thornton’s Outback fable
Reviews

Four Daughters: the facts and fictions of a Tunisian family’s history blur in this fascinating hybrid documentary

By Jonathan Romney

Four Daughters: the facts and fictions of a Tunisian family’s history blur in this fascinating hybrid documentary
Festivals

Pepe: Pablo Escobar’s philosophical hippo takes viewers on a radically inventive journey

By Jonathan Romney

Pepe: Pablo Escobar’s philosophical hippo takes viewers on a radically inventive journey
Reviews

Napoleon: Ridley Scott’s confident biopic confirms his own status as a cinematic general

By Jonathan Romney

Napoleon: Ridley Scott’s confident biopic confirms his own status as a cinematic general
3 to see

3 to see at LFF: French films

By Jonathan Romney

3 to see at LFF: French films
Reviews

Paris Memories: an ambitious but flawed drama

By Jonathan Romney

Paris Memories: an ambitious but flawed drama
Reviews

Oppenheimer: Nolan’s dazzling expressionistic flourishes bring this sombre chamber drama to life

By Jonathan Romney

Oppenheimer: Nolan’s dazzling expressionistic flourishes bring this sombre chamber drama to life
Reviews

Pamfir: an otherworldly Ukrainian gangster movie

By Jonathan Romney

Pamfir: an otherworldly Ukrainian gangster movie
From the Sight and Sound archive

The first slacker film noir: The Big Lebowski reviewed in 1998

By Jonathan Romney

The first slacker film noir: The Big Lebowski reviewed in 1998
Festivals

Le formiche di Mida: an eccentric essay in Marxist animism

By Jonathan Romney

Le formiche di Mida: an eccentric essay in Marxist animism
Festivals

Thiiird: this portrait of an elderly Beirut mechanic is rich, strange and profound

By Jonathan Romney

Thiiird: this portrait of an elderly Beirut mechanic is rich, strange and profound
Festivals

Luka: an airless, hermetic slice of black-and-white Europudding

By Jonathan Romney

Luka: an airless, hermetic slice of black-and-white Europudding
Reviews

January: a Beckettian Bulgarian chamber piece

By Jonathan Romney

January: a Beckettian Bulgarian chamber piece
Reviews

The Fabelmans: Spielberg’s candid autofiction is disappointingly schematic

By Jonathan Romney

The Fabelmans: Spielberg’s candid autofiction is disappointingly schematic
Festivals

The Kiev Trial: another chilling war-crimes documentary from Sergei Loznitsa

By Jonathan Romney

The Kiev Trial: another chilling war-crimes documentary from Sergei Loznitsa
What to watch at LFF

Nezouh: a dreamy picture of life under siege

By Jonathan Romney

Nezouh: a dreamy picture of life under siege
Features

Ukrainian cinema in focus

By Jonathan Romney

Ukrainian cinema in focus
What to watch at LFF

What to watch at LFF: French cinema’s new generation

By Jonathan Romney

What to watch at LFF: French cinema’s new generation
Reviews

Flux Gourmet: Peter Strickland’s latest slice of fanciful formalism

By Jonathan Romney

Flux Gourmet: Peter Strickland’s latest slice of fanciful formalism
Reviews

Blonde: shock snapshots of a star’s martyrdom on the altar of showbiz patriarchy

By Jonathan Romney

Blonde: shock snapshots of a star’s martyrdom on the altar of showbiz patriarchy
Festivals

L’Immensità: a heartfelt but overly insistent drama

By Jonathan Romney

L’Immensità: a heartfelt but overly insistent drama
Reviews

The Forgiven: a caustic tale of Western decadence in Morocco

By Jonathan Romney

The Forgiven: a caustic tale of Western decadence in Morocco
Reviews

Official Competition: a delectable, riotous farce

By Jonathan Romney

Official Competition: a delectable, riotous farce
Reviews

A Chiara review: an expressionistic coming-of-age drama

By Jonathan Romney

A Chiara review: an expressionistic coming-of-age drama
Reviews

The Afterlight: a film of immortals en route to oblivion

By Jonathan Romney

The Afterlight: a film of immortals en route to oblivion
Reviews

The Velvet Queen takes viewers on a quasi-mystical, indulgent search for a snow leopard

By Jonathan Romney

The Velvet Queen takes viewers on a quasi-mystical, indulgent search for a snow leopard
Interviews

“She just set the screen alight”: Laura Wandel on Playground and its child star

By Jonathan Romney

“She just set the screen alight”: Laura Wandel on Playground and its child star
Reviews

The Ipcress File series digs deep into the backstory of Harry Palmer

By Jonathan Romney

The Ipcress File series digs deep into the backstory of Harry Palmer
Festivals

Flux Gourmet: Strickland’s conceptual feast plays up a comically heightened Englishness

By Jonathan Romney

Flux Gourmet: Strickland’s conceptual feast plays up a comically heightened Englishness
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