A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night

(Ana Lily Amirpour/2014/USA)

I loved every minute of this, a Persian language film shot entirely in California and a great debut from Amirpour. Set in fictional Iranian back water Bad City she mashes up spaghetti western vibes with modern day vampirism. Shot in black and white, because it’s cooler, we follow Ashram as he works for a wealthy family by day and takes care of his heroin addicted father by night. We also see the titular girl as she wanders the streets at night. The two meet and some kind of crazy love blossoms in this hip, genre bending, Tarantino does Persepolis flick. The skate scene is one of the coolest things I’ve seen on screen in a long time.

(4/5)

Standby

(Ronan and Rob Burke/2014/Ireland)

Standby is a predictable but weirdly off beat rom-com film that efficiently ticks boxes but falters in pacing and the charm stakes. I just never believed that Brian Gleeson was getting anywhere near Jessica Paré, ever. And that’s not to do with anything as superficial as looks, his self deprecating wit edges into glum misery too much and frustrated rather than beguiled this viewer. The film also takes too long getting round to the venting of past misdemeanors that will lead the pair to the inevitable hook up. This is due mostly to their night out in Dublin which incorporates pints, dinner, a wander around the streets, an accidental locking out on a hotel roof, a wedding afters, more dinner, an impromptu skiffle gig in The George, a northside Dublin house party and a crack of dawn footpath chat whilst waiting for a taxi home. I thought time had slowed down to a creep. Too much goes on and some of the comedy misses the mark, especially the hackneyed “straight folk in a gay bar” gags. What do stand out are the shots of Dublin both interior and exterior. They are deliberately kept a bit dark and gloomy but it somehow suits the tone of the film and each setting feels right. A weak full length debut from the Burke brothers then, who cut their teeth with various film shorts and TV directing slots. Oh and for the record, no northside house party ever in the history of northside house parties was broken up by the guards bursting in the front door and chasing people. They would have knocked first and then have been told to “fook off ourra tha ya bollix” and most probably would have done so too.

(2/5)

Passengers

(Morten Tydlum/2016/USA)

A Trojan horse of a film; rubbish rom-com dressed up as sci-fi. It’s visually lavish but soulless and at best a pathetic Hollywood justification for creepy, stalker like behaviour by men.

(1/5)

Romantics Anonymous

 (Jean-Pierre Ameris/2010/Belgium & France)

A love story hinged around the shyness of the two main characters that’s not at all flippant and genuinely touching in its portrayal of the condition. Its sincerity is due no doubt to the fact that both the director and the female lead, Isabelle Carre, have admitted to suffering from debilitating shyness themselves. By turns funny, romantic and heartfelt it’s the first film I’ve seen Benoit Poelvoorde in since Man Bites Dog! With natural scenery the realism shines through and adds to the authenticity of the performances and the story. Love and chocolate – very French, very Belgian, a great mix. 

(3.5/5)