Author: James Partridge

Synopsis: Paris 1880, Auguste Rodin aged 40, finally receives his first State commission: he creates The Gates of Hell, composed of figurines. Some of these will become his most famous works, such as The Kiss and The Thinker. He shares his life with Rose, his lifelong partner, when he meets the young Camille Claudel. His most gifted student, she quickly becomes his assistant, then his mistress. A decade of passion, mutual admiration, and complicity ensues. Following their break up, Rodin continues to work relentlessly. He faces both rejection and enthusiasm provoked by the sensuality of his sculptures, and with...

Synopsis: After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Constantine Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through the city’s underworld in an increasingly desperate – and dangerous -attempt to get his brother out of jail. Over the course of one adrenalised night, Constantine finds himself on a mad descent into violence and mayhem as he races against the clock to save his brother and himself, knowing their lives hang in the balance. Thoughts: Robert Pattinson proves once again his Twilight days are well and truly behind him – like The Lost City of Z and The...

Synopsis: The story unfolds during the Civil War, at a Southern girls’ boarding school. Its sheltered young women take in an injured enemy soldier. As they provide refuge and tend to his wounds, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries, and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events. Thoughts: This remake of the 1971 film of the same name, starring Clint Eastwood, does a great job at drawing you in and keeping you on your toes as to the direction things will ultimately take. But it’s the unintentional comedic moments that take you...

Synopsis: Steven, a charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behaviour of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister. Thoughts: It’s hard to find the words to describe just how much I loved this film. It’s stunning, chilling, and unlike anything you’ll see in the cinema this year. I don’t want to say much, it’s best going in as clean as possible. Rating:...

Synopsis: Paris 1967, Jean-Luc Godard, the leading filmmaker of his generation, is shooting La Chinoise with the woman he love, Anne Wiazemsky, 20 years his junior. They are happy, attractive, in love, they marry. But the film’s reception unleashes a profound self-examination in Jean-Luc. The events of May ’68 will amplify this process, and the crisis that shakes the filmmaker will transform him profoundly, from a star cineaste to a Maoist artist entirely outside the system, as misunderstood as he is incomprehensible. Thoughts: Godard fans will not have much to rejoice in here. The film is feels more of...