Dir: Oliver Hermanus | Drama 2025 127′

The History of Sound is a slow-burning gay love story about two men who make country music with a focus on singing and recording in the early 1920s Kentucky.

With its sober look and drab colour palette this latest drama from Oliver Hermanus (Moffie) feels conventional and often laborious but with its attention to detail and thoughtful performances from two of contemporary cinema’s top stars it will certainly do well in the box office and appeal to a niche audience who appreciate the tentative unfolding of a missed opportunity involving misinterpreted feelings.

Kentucky, Rome, Boston and eventually Oxford and the Lake District lend a calm and contemplative canvas for this South African director to paint his nuanced portrait of gay love. Paul Mescal plays Lionel, a decent Kentucky country boy who grew up on a farm and has few ambitions and little to offer the world apart from a singing voice with perfect pitch which will eventually take him to the Boston conservatory with apparent ease.

Despite his humble background Lionel manages to be surprisingly dapper and well-turned out in every immaculately staged scene. Quiet and deliberate he is certainly no tortured artist striving to succeed. But what he does yearn for is a closer relationship with another, more confident, singer called David (Josh O’Connor) who he meets along the way. Of course it takes him time to realise all this and by the time he does the world has moved on.

Through their shared love of music Lionel and David develop a close bond of friendship that eventually turns sexual but David remains a sketchy, enigmatic character, even when we discover more about him at the end. All this latent sense of feeling between the two men is never fully developed merely suggested in a brief scene in bed and Lionel’s wanton glances in a railway station but that subtlety is probably the film’s most valuable takeaway along with the elegantly framed settings – unless of course you have an interest in the development of early 20th century sound recording. @MeredithTaylor

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL | COMPETITION

Dir: Stéphane Demoustier | Cast: Claes Bang, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Xavier Dolan, Swann Arlaud | France, Drama 101′

The devil is in the detail

It’s 1983. An architect who loves modern churches and has designed four of them wins a big competition in the centre of Paris. It will be the death of him, according to this classically told arthouse drama from Stephane Demoustier (brother of Anais).

‘La Grande Arche de la Defense’ was set to be the flagship of Francois Mitterand’s term in office. And the Danes are well known for their design precision and flair. So who better to create this strategic building set to align the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe but 53 year old Dane, Johan Otto von Spreckelsen (1929-87), a relatively unknown architect from Viborg.

Claes Bang, speaking fluent French, plays him with suave conviction alongside the french-speaking Sidse Babett Knudsen his sharp and discerning French-speaking wife. Swann Arlaud plays the French architect Paul Andreu (who designed the Charles de Gaulle airport), and Xavier Dolan, the unlikeable official Subilon determined to stick to the ‘rules’.

For his fifth feature, Demoustier adapts Laurence Cossé’s 2016 novel to direct The Great Arch one of those arthouse films that’s both gripping and highly intelligent. Crucially Demoustier doesn’t shy away from the intricacies of the subject while offering a deeply affecting expose of a man whose creative dream – his life’s work -was thwarted by infighting and officialdom.

Predictably, artistic differences soon derail the project because the Danish architect is simply not satisfied with inferior quality of the craftsmanship offered by the French contractor Bouygues,  but, of course, the French insist on using their own contractor, rather than a Danish one who can deliver the requisite precision. And to make matters worse French bureaucracy stands in the way of a perfect solution especially when Mitterand, who supports von Spreckelsen, loses the election and finance minister Alain Juppé takes over.

There are echoes of Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist but the focus here is the struggle  between the architect’s creative vision and detail for his ‘cube’ and naturally his desire to serve the wishes of his client Mitterand (whose sensitivity stands out in Michel Fau’s thoughtful turn), and the government’s rush to complete a building, that will stand for the rest of time, as soon as possible and to a tighter budget than originally agreed. But then Mitterand loses the reigns of power and the incoming government put forward other plans for the famous cube.

A engrossing film that exposes government red tape and strictures at its most intractable – and well done to a French man for bringing the lesser known facts of the case to a wider audience in this tribute to pioneer of Danish design and vision. @MeredithTaylor

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2025 |

Dir/Wri: Ari Aster | Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Michael Ward, Clifton Collins Jr., William Belleau, Amélie Hoeferle, Cameron Mann, Matt Gomez Hidaka | US 149′

Eddington, a dark neo-western comedy from Ari Aster, extracts all the deranged madness from the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown and coughs it up like putrid pus exploding onto the screen for two and a half hours.

The film, that rambles on incoherently with a few laugh out loud moments, seems to represent the nation’s collective trauma during that bizarre time. There are some topical themes at play: white supremacy, Black Lives Matter, the sanctimonious liberalism that has spread like a disease throughout the world, and the disinformation that sees young and old seize upon any old social media soundbite and regurgitate it endlessly without the faintest grasp of the issues at play. Everyone is entitled to an opinion but not every opinion counts.

Joaquin Phoenix is Joe Cross an asthmatic sheriff who refuses to wear a mask in a small enclave in New Mexico where the residents, bereft of their cosy community, resort to the skewed psychosis of social media and rally in protests despite the curfews. The result is a complete meltdown that sees friend turn to enemy and families in crisis. Joaquin certainly deserves an Oscar for his outlandish performance – a decent family forced to live with his neurotic mother in law, who finally loses it in the film’s extraordinary ending.

Pitted against Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal), a mayor seeking re-election. Joe has multiple reasons for disliking the mayor. Ted is working to allow a massive artificial intelligence data centre to bring wealth and jobs to the region. Many locals are opposed on the grounds of stretched resources, but Joe has personal issues involving his wife (Emma Stone) to reject the mayor and the project.

So this is a film with really laudable ideas and corrosive set pieces that worked on the drawing board but fails abysmally in the execution. You’ve got to see it to believe it. And it’s certainly worth a watch. @MeredithTaylor

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL | IN COMPETITION.

Dir/Wri: Yann Gozlan | France, thriller 2025

When Clarissa, a successful writer, accepts a residency at the state of the art Ludovico Institute in Paris the future looks bright. Dalloway her AI assistant takes care of everything in the swanky apartment, from a ‘beachside’ bedroom lulled by the sound of waves, to making morning coffee, and even offering hints to help with Clarissa’s writing block. But this idyll soon turns into a nightmare when Dalloway starts to take over in Yann Gozlan’s glossy futuristic thriller.

Unsettled by Dalloway’s intrusions, and the Ludovico’s sinister manager DeWinter (Mouglalis), Clarissa’s fellow resident Mathias (Mikkelsen) then nudges her fears into overdrive by exposing the clandestine motives behind the institute and its tech company founder. Doubts soon submerge the divorced writer as she down-spirals into grief reflecting on the tragic death of her son.

Gozlan’s brilliantly intelligent thriller takes AI a step further imagining how the creative personality is particularly suggestible to being highjacked by AI due its unique capacity to share feelings and bear emotions. Clarissa suspects that this seemingly perfect situation is in fact a trap for tapping and downloading the creative heart and mind, so making artists redundant.

Much more that a sci-fi thriller Gozlan’s latest is a slick, relatable and visually refreshing drama that has body and soul rather than just technical prowess. We feel for Clarissa and the enigmatic Mathias. Lead by Cecile de France and an eclectic cast of Anna Mouglalis and Lars Mikkelsen this is one of highlights of this year’s CANNES FILM FESTIVAL.

CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2025 | MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS 2025

Dir/Wri: Arab and Tarzan Nasser | Cast: Nader Abd Alhay- Ramzi Maqdisi and Majd Eid | 90’

Trump’s words about making a riviera of Gaza holds a great deal of weight if you stop to really consider the social and financial benefits to this beleaguered region.

A fabulous climate lush vegetation and white sandy beaches and jobs for the people. What not to like?. What’s not to like is Hamas and its negative impact on a population and country it has dominated for decades.

Once Upon a Time Gaza, takes us back to 2007 where Yahia, a young student, forges a friendship with Osama, a charismatic restaurant owner with a big heart. Together, they start peddling drugs while delivering falafel sandwiches, but they are soon forced to grapple with a corrupt cop and his oversized ego. Meanwhile as Hamas tightens its control Yahia is for forced to seek vengeance for his friend Ossama’s murder.

Arab and Tarzan Nasser are best known for their multi-award winning second feature Gaza Mon Amour (2019), a poetic romance between two sexagenarians. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 and was selected to represent Palestine in the 2021 Oscars race.

Here they take full control of writing and directing duties to create a gripping and persuasive thriller that unfolds in the streets of Gaza city and remains captivating throughout. @MeredithTaylor

UN CERTAIN REGARD 2025 | CANNES FILM FESTIVAL

Dir/Wri: Pedro Pinho | Docudrama Portuguese 221’

Transport The Shining to the arid desert of West Africa and you’ve got the gist of this captivating feature that often drifts into eco docudrama territory. There are also echoes of Lucretia Martel’s Zama. A man arrives in a distant territory and battles to survive.

The film also plays out as a potted socio economic picture of a contemporary African nation and formal Portuguese colony that sees a stranger gradually submitting to the circumstances that gradually envelope him. 

Sergio, an environmental engineer, accepts an ecological mission in Guinea Bissau where he develops complex relationships with the intractable locals while trying to fathom out what happened to his predecessor Leonardo who disappeared after failing to deliver his final report. Sergio wonders whether the same fate awaits him in this mysterious country.

Surrender to the intoxicating spell of this three and a half hour film and one thing’s for sure by the end of this slow burner, driven forward by its beguiling soundtrack, you’re likely to have a working knowledge of Portuguese.

The team are Portuguese but the environment is totally foreign and while Sergio tries to get to grips with their exotic languorous ways he is captivated by the rhythms and local customs and the locals’ disgruntlement with the lack of public services and basic provisions, such as fresh water, in this third world nation.

Sergio is an enigmatic emotionally unstable man who seems confused and unsure of his sexuality and this is compounded by the polyamorous and contradictory behaviour of the inhabitants who question the progress of the West and only see workers’ blood spilt in constructing majestic cathedrals, museums and public buildings to serve first world prétentions. 

The film also touches on other themes such as women’s rights and misogyny in a narrative that turns on an ongoing conflict of interest between locals and outside agencies.

After an injury working in deep mud Sergio (Sergio Coragem) becomes increasingly disoriented and perplexed when he is offered a large amount of money to bring his own report to an early close. His friends GUI (Jonathan Guilherme) and Diara (Cleo Diara) give him mixed messages. Sergio feels he’s being tricked or mislead by Diara’s beguiling ways and these scenes are sexually explicit and involve anal intercourse.

A journey up river broadens the narrative into wider more general concerns and provides enchanting exposure to the local flora and fauna. Here in the depths of the jungle far away from the city that Sergio meets a woman who seems content with her life which provides everything she needs. In contrast a local man claims the construction of roads into the capital Bissau would provide for the young to work and stay in the village.

This is an enchanting and satisfying film full of questions and contradictions about a country resisting but also welcoming change, about those who work towards progress but others who reject it. Pinho crafts a deep and engrossing study of a nation in flux. @MeredithTaylor .

UN CERTAIN REGARD |  CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2025

Dir: Romane Bohringer. France, Drama 92’

Tell Her I Love Her, directed by Romane Bohringer and based on a book by Clementine Austin, is a satisfying drama that explores love, family and dynamics between parent and child, showcasing the complexities of this primal relationship. Each character shares their deeply personal experiences as they speak directly to the screen to create a real sense of connection with the viewer. 

The story takes its time to unfold gracefully as the camera moves from one protagonist to the next building a tangible picture of each family relationship as the pieces gradually fit together. This unhurried pacing gives a sense of context allowing us to fully flesh out each person and invest in their journey, their struggles and triumphs.

Visually and tonally, the film evokes a warmness and a heartfelt frankness that avoids sentimentality but also faces up to personal trauma without drifting into sensationalism or melodrama in a relatable way that allows the audience to mull over personal experiences of love.

A satisfying and enjoyable film from this well-known actor, director and costume designer who, according to wiki, was named after Roman Polanski! @MeredithTaylor  

SPECIAL SCREENINGS | CANNES FILM FESTIVAL 2025

Dir: Julia Kuwalski | Polish/French 98’

In a remote French village strange goings on for a Polish family of dairy farmers in this impressive drama playing in this year’s Quinzaine Selection at Cannes Film Festival

A cow dies after ingesting a mysterious mushroom. The young daughter Nawojka (Maria Wrobel) experiences nighttime fits and inexplicable urges her father suggests she should wear a Christian symbol to ward off evil spirits. But when an unknown French woman Sandra moves in next door with her provocative behaviour and bizarre appearance things really take a turn for the worst. It’s the classic trope of strange newcomer arriving and inspecting the status quo.

A sinister soundscape and the dour surroundings of the French countryside in early winter only add to a creeping sense of dread that pervades this enigmatic thriller that scratches on the edges of horror with its selection of unsavoury characters, that inhabit Kowalski’s sophomore feature that explores the experience of integration in a close knit Polish family trying to make a new life in a foreign land  @MeredithTaylor 

DIRECTORS FORTNIGHT 2025