There are minor spoilers for Lynn + Lucy and for A Prophet which are hidden. To reveal them, highlight the black bars.

It’ll be a shame if my least favourite film of the week is Untouchable (2012). This is because the film isn’t bad at all. I’ve just had a good set of films. It’s in that Driving Miss Daisy/Green Book sort of genre of unlikely buddy film.

An old rich man called Phillipe can’t feel or move below his neck. He starts interviewing for a new carer. All of the candidates are interchangable boring people, then in comes Driss who is only there because he needs to interview for his benefits. Driss is from a poor background and lives with his mother and six siblings in a small flat. Anyhow, for some reason unbeknown to the audience, Phillipe hires Driss who gets to live in the mansion.

The rest of the film is a classic buddy film as Driss learns to take responsibility and believe in himself while Phillipe learns to have more fun and stand up for himself. You know, you’ve probably seen this sort of film a lot of times.

Sure, the film doesn’t have anything special about it, it’s emotional moments can feel superficial and they start off with a flash forward which would’ve been a much better pay-off later on. However, the film made me smile and was generally fun.

A classic easy Friday night film, Untouchable is a solid 3.5 star film which is available on Amazon Prime.

Remaining in France, I also watched A Prophet (2009) (Un Prophete), a prison drama in which we follow Malik over his six years behind bars. When we meet him, he is entering the prison. We know nothing about how he’s gotten there, so is a clean slate. Malik soon finds there is a racial divide in the prison between the Corsicans and the Muslims. Despite his Algerian heritage, he is recruited by the Corsicans to undertake a murder of a witness in the prison. From here, we see him gain confidence, go up the ranks and try to become the top person in the prison.

The whole thing isn’t really a gang drama. Most of it takes place behind bars, however it does have lots of gang tropes. The cinematography was great. The colours of the prison were dull, with Malik suffering in relative darkness with his inner demons when alone, compared to when he was in more light with the leader of the Corsicans Luciani. Each character is somewhat unique and are not interchangable. They all have their own motives and remain interesting throughout.

The film isn’t as awfully gritty as it could be, but its not light either. Especially near the beginning there are some tense painful scenes. One such scene is when he’s trying to hide a razor in his gums and teeth where the pain is apparent. My biggest problem with the film is how little we know the characters. We can empaphise with them somewhat, but Malik’s motivations are somewhat clouded as he kept a closed off demeanour, alas in an environment which requires so.

The film was really good and if you enjoy crime dramas, you will like this film. I thought it was worthy of four stars and is available for free with a BFI Player Subscription.

If you haven’t read about my cinematic voyage, then what’s wrong with you. Needless to say, you can redeem yourself by reading about it here. The film I watched upon my return was in fact Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk (2017). Based on a true story, Dunkirk looks at the story of how Britain rescued most of it’s 400,000 soldiers from France. Despite only hoping to save 30,000 in the end they saved over 300,000 in what was a miracle.

Cinematically, this was a great film to return to. The shots are big and wonderful. The sound editing was top notch and Hans Zimmer’s score, which ticked like a clock was as good a soundtrack as there is with dissonance between the instruments boosting the tension throughout. On the big screen, I found the whole thing engrossing. The acting on the whole was fine. I was glad when they killed off one character though as he was annoying me. Cillian Murphy was the best part of the film.

What a year 2017 was for film. Three Billboards, Shape of Water, Ladybird, Get Out and The Florida Project. This film was really good, but probably wouldn’t stack up against these as a home viewing experience. For the cinematic experience, I’d give it 4.5 stars, although it would probably be lower if I were watching it on a laptop. If you want to watch it at home, its available on Netflix, the streaming service where all the cool kids are at.

While you may not have heard of it, Wadjda (2012) is a historically significant film. The fact it exists is something to celebrate as it’s the first ever film directed by a Saudi Arabian woman. What a way to start. The film follows a 10 year old girl Wadjda, living in Riyadh. Each day she walks to school and her friend, a boy, cycles ahead of her. She becomes determined to get a bike by any means necessary.

The film is a really sweet family film. Wadjda herself is a character you can root for who wears different shoes to the other girls. She wants freedom and individuality despite the place she lives in not allowing that for women. The music and shots really give you a feel of a country you never hear much about and the reality for some people in those countries.

The director Haifaa al-Mansour doesn’t shy away from the issues either. While the biggest issue for Wadjda is that she’s told “Women don’t ride bikes”, we see a public shaming of sinners, we hear a twelve year old girl say she’s been married off to a twenty year old man and we see a man look for another bride as his wife can no longer produce him a son amongst other things. These don’t take centre stage and very much happen around Wadjda. It’s the sort of film which opens discussion instead of providing answers and allows us to look at the horrific sexism that is faced by Saudi women, but in a way where you can discuss it with your children who will predominantly see a girl who wants a bike.

This is such a smart film, looking at the problems of such a conservative society, focussing on a girl who wants to be an individual while remaining a film for the family to watch together. It’s 4.5 star worthy and is also available on Netflix and MUBI.

Film Of The Week

This week I actually went for a recent release which sadly went straight to streaming; the independent gem Lynn + Lucy (2019). Lynn and Lucy are childhood best friends. They’ve known one another for years and even now live across the road from one another in Essex (Both with strong regional dialects). Lynn was a teenage mum and Lucy has recently become a mother, so they’re back on the same page. However, after an incident happens leading to the death of Lucy’s baby, this begins to tear at their friendship as Lynn begins to question whether Lucy was at fault for the incident.

The film itself is quite an understated low budget piece. Shot in a 4:3 ratio, it means we may feel trapped within our community. It also means that the shots of Lynn and Lucy’s faces take the whole screen, showing how much they mean to one another. The acting is also incredible. Nichola Burley is great as Lucy but Roxanne Scrimshaw in her debut as Lynn steals the show.

An intimate, understated piece which feels very similar to Fish Tank in it’s style, Fyzal Boulifa’s debut film Lynn + Lucy is one of the best of the year so far, dealing with guilt, friendship and grief. It deserves at least 4.5 stars and is available for subscribers on BFI Player.

Her suspicions are raised by the community around her, whether it be her husband, daughter or new co-workers who seem to enjoy the story more than Lynn’s friendship. Even as a viewer, you never quite know how much Lucy is telling the truth and start to doubt her. Meanwhile, you also hope Lynn can begin to find herself as she seems to be making some bad company. In some ways, this film reminds me of Burning, but as less of a thriller.

The film itself is quite an understated low budget piece. Shot in a 4:3 ratio, it means we may feel trapped within our community. It also means that the shots of Lynn and Lucy’s faces take the whole screen, showing how much they mean to one another. The acting is also incredible. Nichola Burley is great as Lucy but Roxanne Scrimshaw in her debut as Lynn steals the show.

An intimate, understated piece which feels very similar to Fish Tank in it’s style, Fyzal Boulifa’s debut film Lynn + Lucy is one of the best of the year so far, dealing with guilt, friendship and grief. It deserves at least 4.5 stars and is available for subscribers on BFI Player.