Cambridge Film Festival

Latest reviews

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  Family Romance LLC

  Review preview for Family Romance LLC

  The situations highlight a sense of existential loneliness in the modern world that might come with specifically Japanese trappings but which many elsewhere will recognise the emotional truth of.

  Docudrama about a company which hires out people to pretend to be family members.
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  Judy And Punch

  Review preview for Judy And Punch

  There's layer upon layer of clever artifice here, yet the result is something that feels fresh and sexy.

  Puppeteers Judy and Punch are trying to resurrect their marionette show. The show is a hit due to Judy's superior puppeteering but Punch's driving ambition and penchant for whisky lead to a inevitable tragedy that Judy must avenge.
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  Fire Will Come

  Review preview for Fire Will Come

  In terms of basic plotting, there might not seem to be much here, but emotions crackle beneath the surface and the mood burns deep.

  A convicted arsonist returns to his rural home.
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  And Then We Danced

  Review preview for And Then We Danced

  A passionate energy courses beneath the surface of Levan Akin's tale of love and repression

  A dancer falls in love with his fiercest rival.
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  Meeting Gorbachev

  Review preview for Meeting Gorbachev

  Herzog's film does not follow the documentary conventions - would you expect anything different from him?

  Werner Herzog interviews Mikhail Gorbachev and captures the human side of a world leader as he recalls his relationships with Reagan and Thatcher, his beloved wife Raisa and his dashed dream of lasting change.
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  By The Grace Of God

  Review preview for By The Grace Of God

  Ozon does not smooth over the rough edges and the icy roads stay icy.

  When Alexandre learns that the priest who abused him as a boy is still working with children, he and other victims take action against the perpetrator.
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  Rocks

  Review preview for Rocks

  The camera is, literally, down with the kids, at their eye level, drinking in their mayhem, their laughter and their viewpoint.

  A young girl is determined to keep the fact that there mother has left her and her younger brother alone from the authorities, through fear of being separated from him.
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  Brief Story From The Green Planet

  Review preview for Brief Story From The Green Planet

  Whatever you expected to happen is not about to do so.

  When Tania finds out that her grandma has spent her final years in the caring company of a cute purple alien, she embarks on a journey through small-town Argentina with two close friends to deliver the creature back to its origins.
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  Why Don't You Just Die

  Review preview for Why Don't You Just Die

  The characters are beautifully drawn and the performances finely balanced in a film with a lot more going on upstairs than its preoccupation with violence might suggest.

  A dark action comedy about a group of people brought together in the apartment of police detective Andrei: his resentful daughter, an angry thug and a cheated cop. Each one of them have a reason to want revenge.
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  Zero Impunity

  Review preview for Zero Impunity

  Western documentary regulars may feel as though they are in familiar territory at the start of the film, which begins by focusing on Syria - but soon the violence considered will come a lot closer to home.

  Hybrid documentary exploring the use of rape and sexual violence in global conflict.

A–Z of Cambridge Film Festival 2019 reviews →

Features

• Diversity Rocks
  Sarah Gavron and Theresa Ikoko on capturing the teenage spirit and pushing the industry forward
• Celebrating sisterhood
  Theresa Ikoko and Sarah Gavron on developing Rocks
• Dressing up
  Joanna Hogg, Tilda Swinton and Honor Swinton Byrne on the costumes in The Souvenir
• Capturing a life behind the camera
  Kim Longinotto and Ollie Huddleston on Shooting The Mafia
• Let's dance
  We look back at the partnership of dance and film and forward to the Dance:Film Festival