Features and reviews
Discover the latest from the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image.
Belfast is Kenneth Branagh’s flawed but moving portrait of the Troubles
Branagh takes a monochrome-tinted view of the rising tensions in Belfast, 1969, as seen through the eyes of a young boy (Jude Hill) and set to the sounds of Van Morrison.
By Trevor Johnston
The Matrix: Resurrections is a welcome antidote to generic blockbusters
By Adam Nayman
Licorice Pizza: a meandering trip beneath the California sun
By Ben Nicholson
Friends and Strangers uses a fragmented narrative to explore the dark side of Australia’s history
By Carmen Gray
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain puts cats centre stage in a film that’s filled with eccentric charm
By Philip Kemp
The Tragedy of Macbeth forgoes medieval dankness for a stark and claustrophobic adaptation
By Nicolas Rapold
Don’t Look Up is a crass, scattergun comedy that somehow works
By Anton Bitel
Being the Ricardos is a clunky but engaging look behind-the-scenes of 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy
By Philip Kemp
The Story of Film: A New Generation takes viewers on an enriching journey through a decade of cinema
By Philip Kemp
Spider-Man: No Way Home offers a satisfying trip through the multiverse
By Kim Newman
The Lost Daughter explores the dark side of motherhood with a risky drama that feels closer to a thriller
By Pamela Hutchinson
West Side Story is a musical reboot that’s tinged with melancholy
By Guy Lodge
Hope addresses the realities of cancer with great sensitivity
By Nikki Baughan
Lamb delivers a slice of Icelandic-weird that tips into unabashed folk-horror
By Anne Billson
The Hand of God leaves viewers to sort autobiography from fabrication
By Anton Bitel
The Beatles: Get Back is a tender portrait of a band on the brink of change
By Jonathan Romney
Encounter takes unexpected turns on an apocalyptic sci-fi road trip
By Carmen Gray
Hellbound challenges ideas about faith and free will in six harrowing episodes
By Trevor Johnston
House of Gucci is a tragi-comic triumph of operatic proportions
By Rebecca Harrison
Anne at 13,000 ft follows a troubled protagonist in free fall
By Elena Lazic
Pirates is a debut feature from Reggie Yates that revels in 90s nostalgia
By Alex Ramon
Natural Light is a film begrimed with the collective guilt of moral cowardice
By Pamela Hutchinson
tick, tick… BOOM! proves a moving tribute to composer Jonathan Larson
By Leila Latif
The Power of the Dog draws out the instability of the American West’s handed-down myths
By Nicolas Rapold
Cry Macho shows an ambivalence towards traditional masculinity
By Jonathan Rosenbaum
No Sudden Move is a sharp, gritty crime thriller from Steven Soderbergh
By Leigh Singer
The Last Duel is a historical epic that’s committed to nuanced storytelling
By John Bleasdale
Eternals is the strangest Marvel film to date
By Guy Lodge
The Card Counter is a triumph for Oscar Isaac
By Jonathan Romney