A glorious Oscar winning documentary rediscovering Detroit based folk singer Sixto Rodriguez, Michael R. Roskam's compelling tale of greed, power, temptation and revenge and a Danish drama with all the elements of a Greek tragedy make for interesting and enjoyable viewing.

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

Lars von Trier and the Cannes Film Festival need one another. He may have been persona non grata at Cannes last year and missed this years submission deadline for Nymphomaniac filmed as two full length features that follows Charlotte Gainsbourg as a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac from youth to middle age, but...

WELCOME

Director: Philippe Lioret Cast : Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi, Audrey Dana Genre : Drama Country of Origin : France 2009 Language : French, Kurdish, Turkish with English subtitles and English 110 mins. Rating : ****

With UKIP joy, Tory jitters and...

SIGHTSEERS

Director : Ben Wheatley Cast : Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies Genre : Comedy Country of Origin : UK 2012 Language : English 88 mins. Rating : ****

Unsettling, distinctive, creepy and very funny with touches of Alan Bennett and Mike Leigh.

SEVEN PSYCOPATHS

Director : Martin McDonagh Cast : Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken Genre : Comedy/Crime Country of Origin : USA 2012 Language : English 110 mins. Rating : ****

Writer-director Martin McDonagh's highly acclaimed 2008 directorial feature debut, In Bruges was...

THE HUNT

Director : Thomas Vinterberg Cast : Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Annika Wedderkopp. Mads Mikkelsen Winner Best Actor Cannes 2012 Genre : Drama Country of Origin: Denmark 2012 Language : Danish with English subtitles 115 mins. Rating : *****
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Baroness Thatcher, the UK's first woman Prime Minister certainly made her mark, not only by being a woman but by radical changes. An economy crippled by strikes and works-to-rule needed a strong leader and a revolutionary approach. Thatcherism shook a complacent inward looking society and forced it to confront the...

When Bushra, a 19 year old mother of two crossed from Syria to Tripoli she became the one millionth refugee. That's a worrying figure for Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

That doesn't account for the estimated two million children in Syria living in abject conditions. Jordan's King Abdullah...

Government ministers come in for some stick and Michael Gove, the Education Secretary is no exception. High standards can be achieved and where better to begin to lay the foundations than in the primary schools.

To suggest that primary schools should be fined if students from...

The low budget independent production Beasts of the Southern Wild nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Benh Zeitlin) and Best Actress (Quvenzhane Wallis) at the Oscars is a fantasy fable, post-Katrina ecological parable that amazes, stuns and delights.

Co-written by Benh Zeitlin and Lucy Allbar whose play Juicy and...

With another week of 'interesting' headlines I had to revisit Holy Motors, Leos Carax's bizarre and hypnotic 2012 Cannes entry that wowed the critics. Bizarre !! - we're all tucking into horse meat, the unbelievable Chris Huhne and Vicky Price farce continues, Ed Miliband puffs out his chest and gives...

Movies touch our hearts, and awaken our vision, and change the way we see things

At 09:00 Tuesday 12 February the international press sit down in the Berlinale Palast to view Closed Curtain, the Iranian director Jafar Panahi's eagerly anticipated Competition entry in the 63rd Berlin...