LFF 2018 Highlights Part 2

With another BFI London Film Festival reaching its conclusion tonight, there have been some fantastic films this year. The best films of the first week of the festival can be viewed here. Below are some LFF 2018 highlights from the second half of the festival…

LFF 2018 highlights – Unmissable

If Beale Street Could Talk

Barry Jenkins has created one of the best films of the year with the beguiling If Beale Street Could Talk. The film is powerful viewing. Despite the age of the source material, If Beale Street Could Talk is incredibly resonant today. READ MORE

The Favourite

Yorgos Lanthimos hits the target once more with the brilliant The Favourite. The film is Lanthimos’ most enjoyable to date. The Favourite is a world away from other period romps. The film is hilarious, consuming, and at times touching. READ MORE

Sunset

László Nemes’ Sunset is a captivating watch. The director’s sophomore feature is an entrancing mystery drama.  Part of the film’s beauty is that it maintains this mystery throughout the duration. Coupled with this ambiguity is a constant sense of unease. READ MORE

LFF 2018 Highlights – The Best Of The Rest

United Skates

Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown’s United Skates is a thoroughly entertaining documentary. The film is a very impressive debut from the directors. What the filmmakers do is tell a story incredibly well; generating interest, emotion and occasionally amusement. READ MORE

The Sisters Brothers

Jacques Audiard’s The Sisters Brothers is a reflective western. By subverting some of the genre tropes, Audiard has created an interesting addition to the field. The tonal shifts that occur during the film are never jarring, but instead enhance the overall picture. READ MORE

Suspiria

Luca Guadagnino’s remake of Suspiria is a sway which builds to a cacophony. It is quite the cinematic experience. The film relies on an understated fear rather than going for the jugular. It is hard not to get caught up in the film’s turbulent rhythm. READ MORE

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Marielle Heller’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? is an enjoyable comedy drama. The film is often funny, and at times moving.  Dialogue is superb, as are the contents of some of the forged letters. READ MORE

The Breaker Upperers

Jackie van Beek and Madeleine Sami’s comedy The Breaker Upperers is a sprightly and amiable affair. The first third is brilliant; the film establishes the main characters swiftly, and there are a lot of laughs to be had. READ MORE

The BFI London Film Festival ran from 10th-21st October 2018.

Film Review: United Skates

Dyana Winkler and Tina Brown’s United Skates is a thoroughly entertaining documentary. The film is a very impressive debut from the directors.

Roller skating is a popular subculture in the African-American community across the United States. The film explores the history and culture of skating, and highlights why rinks are now under threat… 

First time directors Winkler and Brown have pulled off quite an accomplishment with United Skates. They have created a documentary which finely balances entertainment and education. United Skates will teach viewers a lot about the culture of skating, whilst also entertaining them immensely. 

The narrative that the filmmakers weave is most impressive. The film engages with a well-constructed story. The initial discussion of why skating is so important is an astute introduction to proceedings. Speaking to well-known artists such as Salt-N-Pepa and Coolio, United Skates underlines why skating is more than just a past-time for participants. The film goes on to entwine various different aspects from the past and present to elucidate the significance of the subculture. Winkler and Brown circle back to each of the various elements, each time painting a little bit more of the picture. It is adept and assured work. 

One of the most significant aspects of the documentary is its emphasis on the history of the skating rink for black people in America. Winkler and Brown offer a great overview on the role of segregation, protests, and the sad situation of coding as the new segregation, with ‘adult nights’ and superfluous rules. 

This history, of course, has an impact on the state of rinks and availability today in the US. The filmmakers explore this in sufficient detail, interviewing rink owners as they offer explanations as to why rinks have closed at such a rate. The film does not lay out a dominant hypothesis, instead letting viewers speculate the various aspects at play. It is a better film for offering a multi-faceted approach.   

Winkler and Brown may not do anything innovative in its format. United Skates intersperses interviews, archival footage, photographs, and video of skating. But what the filmmakers do is tell a story incredibly well; generating interest, emotion and occasionally amusement.

United Skates is being screened at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2018.