17 December 2012-12-17

Out in the UK this week

The Snows of Kilimanjaro (Cinefile, cert 15, DVD)

Tonally similar to his Marius et Jeannette from 1997, Robert Guédiguian’s latest drama, about a Marseilles union official questioning his principles after he’s violently burgled by a comrade, is warm-hearted and delightful, Ken Loach in French and with added sunshine.

The Snows of Kilimanjaro – at Amazon

When the Lights Went Out (Revolver, cert 15, Blu-ray/DVD)

A poltergeist monsters a 1970s council-house – avocado bathroom suite, twin-bar electric fire and all – in this British genre horror done with polish, style and gut-puckering sound design.

When the Lights Went Out – at Amazon

The Killing Series 3 (Arrow, cert 15, DVD)

Death, politics and Sofie Grabøl’s knitwear – the three vital elements are all here in the thrilling final series of the Danish cop show which proved that quality trumps subtitle-phobia.

The Killing Season 3 – at Amazon

Yossi (Peccadillo, cert 15, DVD)

Ten years after Yossi & Jagger, a tender sequel, following gay Israeli doctor Yossi, now middle aged and tentatively exiting the closet, in the direction of a buff young conscript. Death in Venice is the template, hence the lashings of Mahler on the swoonsome soundtrack.

Yossi – at Amazon

The Colditz Story Special Edition (StudioCanal, cert U, Blu-ray/DVD)

Restored and reissued to commemorate Pat Reid’s daring escape from the notorious German PoW camp 70 years ago, Guy Hamilton’s classic of casual jingoism, stiff upper lip and dogged heroism is the archetypal British war film.

The Colditz Story – at Amazon

Shock Head Soul (Soda, cert 12, DVD)

File this one under “interesting if flawed”, a strange biography part-funded by the Wellcome Trust, charting the descent into madness of a judge in 1890s Germany, a mix of drama-doc, modern-day expert testimony and extracts from Judge Schreber’s obsessively kept diary.

Shock Head Soul – at Amazon

English Vinglish (Eros, cert PG, DVD)

The comeback of Indian megastar Sridevi tells the story of a sari-wearing woman in the fleshpots of New York. Sugary, slow and toe-curling it can be, but it’s revealing to see the East/West interface from the other side.

English Vinglish – at Amazon




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© Steve Morrissey 2012