Recent cultural highlights

A month of movies

January is often a month of many new film releases, so, not surprisingly, I have seen quite a few films this month, both at the cinema and on the small screen. Consequently, and with an eye on the forthcoming Oscars ceremony in March as well as next month’s BAFTAs, this month’s Recent cultural highlights concentrates on my month of movies.

Sentimental Value

(L-R Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve. and Stellan Skarsgård. Image: Everett Collection)

I really enjoyed Joachim Trier’s latest film Sentimental Value. It features excellent performances headed by Renate Reinsve and Stellan Skarsgård as troubled actress (Nora) and her erratic director father (Gustav Borg). Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas as Nora’s sister (Agnes) and Elle Fanning (as Rachel Kemp, a Hollywood superstar) are also very good (both are Oscar nominees for best supporting actress). The Oslo house and family home is also a star turn and features brilliantly including in the opening shots. Both Reinsve and Skarsgård are also Oscar and BAFTA nominees (best actress and best supporting actor respectively). Skarsgård would be a worthy winner but so would Sean Penn who is nominated for One Battle After Another (which I wrote about here). I can’t see anyone beating Jessie Buckley for best actress for her performance in Hamnet (see below). Sentimental Value has been nominated for the best film Oscar but I think this is likely to go to One Battle After Another and its director Paul Thomas Anderson is another likely winner.

Marty Supreme

(Timothée Chalamet in Marty Supreme)

Marty Supreme has also been nominated for the best film Oscar and it is very good indeed. The drive and determination of the lead character are as relentless as the pace of the film which left me exhausted. Timothée Chalamet (nominated for best actor Oscar and BAFTA) is terrific as the single-minded table-tennis player, but so too are Gwyneth Paltrow and Odessa A’zion in supporting roles. I also liked the use of a 1980s soundtrack to the film’s 1950s setting.

Hamnet

(Jessie Buckley (centre) in Hamnet. Photo credit: Agata Grzybowska)

Another Oscar nominee for best film is Hamnet and I was very moved by Chloé Zhao’s film of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel. I have read the book (which is outstanding) and I also saw the RSC’s stage adaptation (which was good but not as powerful as either the book or film). This is a very good adaptation of the novel and Jesse Buckley will be worthy of the best actress Oscar that I am sure she will win. I also really liked the cinematography (Łukasz Żal) but the film is not Oscar nominated in this category.

The Voice of Hind Rajab

(Still from The Voice of Hind Rajab. Image Credit: Willa)

I may see many films this year but I probably won’t see one as urgent or important as Kaouther Ben Hania’s The Voice of Hind Rajab. It’s a tough but very necessary watch about a young girl who was killed in 2024 by IDF in Gaza along with six relatives and two paramedics. I urge you to see it. It would be a deserved winner of the best international feature Oscar for which it has been nominated along with Sentimental Value and It Was Just an Accident (which I wrote about here).

The Ballad of Wallis Island

(L-R Tom Basden, Tim Key and Carey Mulligan)

The Ballad of Wallis Island is a gem of a film. There are pitch perfect performances from Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan (BAFTA nominee for supporting actress) in this lovely story (script by Key and Basden) about the power of music. It is both funny and poignant. I laughed and I cried. It is directed by James Griffiths and I highly recommend it. It has received a BAFTA nomination for outstanding British film.

Pillion

(L-R Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård)

I also really enjoyed Pillion, a feature film debut from director Harry Lighton, which has also received a BAFTA outstanding British film nomination. It’s not your traditional Christmas film, although there is something of a Christmas theme, and features a graphic portrayal of BDSM biker subculture. Harry Melling (as Colin) and Alexander Skarsgård (as the biker he strikes up a relationship with) are excellent leads. Douglas Hodge and Lesley Sharp as Colin’s parents will make you melt.

Left-Handed Girl

(Still from Left-Handed Girl)

Left-Handed Girl, Shih-Ching Tsou’s solo directorial debut and remarkably shot entirely on i-Phones is a wonderful film. It examines responsibility, secrets and shame through the relationships of a Taiwanese family focusing on a mum and two daughters (all terrifically acted). It is available on Netflix.

And finally…more Lollipop

I wrote last year about Lollipop being a “firecracker of a film” and Posy Sterling’s phenomenal performance as Molly, a single mum negotiating a dysfunctional social services system (see here). Sterling is a nominee for BAFTA’s Rising Star Award. What’s more, Lollipop is now available to watch on BBC iPlayer. I watched it again. If I was giving out Oscars or BAFTAs it would be a winner.