9 December 2022. By Neptune It seems this week you’ll have a lot of movie-going, for there are four good ones coming out – all with 3 stars, which means ‘very good’. So depending on your inclinations, you’ve got choices galore! MOTHER TERESA AND ME (Kavita & Teresa) *** This film is the story of […]

2 December 2022. By Neptune GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE ( Mes rendezvous avec Leo) **** It never fails with Emma Thompson. Any character she portrays shines with authenticity – from a judge in “The Children Act”, a German wife in “Alone in Berlin”, an Austen damsel in “Sense and Sensibility”, or a lonely […]

18 November 2022. By Neptune RESTE UN PEU  ***1/2   (vo French)  Gad Elmaleh is a popular French comedian and actor who with this second film as director has created quite a furore, even before its release. And the reason is that this tender comedy involving his family is actually about his wanting to convert […]

By Neptune It is 1968 and a Chicago housewife is looking forward to having her baby until she finds out the birth will be seriously hazardous to her health. As a medical abortion is refused her by a panel of male doctors, she desperately looks for an alternative solution. She falls upon a group of […]

28 October 2022. By Neptune BOY FROM HEAVEN (LA CONSPIRATION DU CAIRE) **** (vo Arabic) This gripping, eye-opener of a thriller, by the Swedish/Egyptian Tarik Saleh, takes you into the most important stronghold of Sunni Islamic theology, Cairo’s prestigious Al-Azhar University. Saleh’s spinning of this tale of both religious fervor and hypocrisy is impressive in […]

14 October 2022. By Neptune ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT **** (vo German) All quiet on the western front/Im Westen Nichts Neues/A l’ouest, rien de nouveau. This is the classic based on Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel, ‘Im Westen nichts Neues’, remade anew and as powerful and brilliant as ever. Its first version, an […]

16 September 2022. By Neptune Let’s concentrate on the GRÜTLI Cinemas this week – lots going on there. Check out their program and schedules on their site. Two key films – one to run to, the other to avoid! HOLY SPIDER  (Les nuits de Mashhad)   ****   (vo Farsi)  A man is on a […]

9 September 2022. By Neptune THE APPLE DAY  ***1/2   (vo Farsi)  This warm and touching Iranian film starts off with a father and his small son picking apples in their village to sell in the city. They transport the apples in the little van that the father drives. Later we see the young children […]

5 August 2022. By Neptune I’m off to the Locarno film festival which goes from 3-13 August.  BULLET TRAIN, the opening film shown on the their famous Piazza Grande, which holds up to 8000 spectators nightly under the stars, is also being released this week in the Suisse Romande. Starring Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, […]

29 July 2022. By Neptune Dear Cinephiles,The one worthwhile release this week – great director Silvio Soldini’s IL GIARDINO DEL REY – will have to be reviewed next week, as I was in Verbier for its press screening.In the meantime, catch up with these excellent ones still on our screens, if you have not yet […]