THE PAINTED BIRD/NABARVENÉ PTÁCE ★★★★☆
Directed by Václav Marhoul. Starring Petr Kotlár, Nina Shunevych, Alla Sokolova, Udo Kier, Michaela Doležalová, Lech Dyblik, Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands, Barry Pepper. Limited release/VOD, 169 min
Detailing a Jewish boy's passage across an unnamed European country during the second World War, this adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski's novel sees gouged-out eyes fed to the family cat, the hero attacked by crows, endless episodes of sexual molestation and too many hangings to count. It's hard work, but The Painted Bird deals in visual poetry that compels attention even as it wallows in unkindness. Should definitely be seen once (though you may want to leave it at that). DC
KOKO-DI KOKO-DA ★★★★★
Directed by Johannes Nyholm. Starring Leif Edlund, Peter Belli, Ylva Gallon, Katarina Jakobson, Morad Baloo Khatchadorian, Peter Belli. BFI Player, 87 min
Surreal, unsettling, imaginative drama concerning a couple taking a camping trip after the death of their child. Temporal looping has never been so discombobulating. Nyholm's script cleverly incorporates grief without overworking its allegorical aspects. Simon Ohlsson and Olof Cornéer's score is unceasingly creepy. The production design – from the rooster shadow-play to the decorated music box – is glorious. Belli's bowler-hatted singing "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy" will haunt your dreams. Even the nursery rhyme-derived title shouts Euro-folk horror. TB
MAX RICHTER'S SLEEP ★★★☆☆
Directed by Natalie Johns. Featuring Max Richter, Yulia Mahr. Limited release, 100 min
Appropriately soothing documentary concerning an LA performance of Max Richter's 8.5-hour composition Sleep. Beds were provided and attendees were invited to curl up as the low-frequency drones spread calm about the downtown. (One wonders if anybody stormed up to the box office in the morning and complained about paying $80 and not dozing off for a minute.) The talking heads are unstoppably laudatory, but these lovely 100 minutes remain an ideal accompaniment to the recorded version. DC
SAVAGE ★★★☆☆
Directed by Sam Kelly. Starring Jake Ryan, John Tui, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Alex Raivaru, Olly Presling, James Matamua, Haanz. Limited release, 100 min
Here's a ough Kiwi street-gang drama. New Zealand is so commonly depicted as islands of rolling verdant groves presided over by a chilled Covid-defeating government that it's easy to overlook that country's racist colonial history and the underclass depicted in Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors and now Savage. The triptych structure is a little fiddly ,but Savage is never less than powerful. Writer-director Kelly consulted with former gang members and street cast to give the film an air of authenticity. TB
