Cinema in the 2020s has been defined by disruption: streaming upended theatrical habits, the pandemic forced a rethink of what a film release even means, and audiences have increasingly embraced subtitled films like How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies alongside big animation and documentary work. Macca's reviews from the decade reflect that breadth. Browse what he's made of it below.
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Nine minutes is barely any time at all to win someone over, yet Sweet Bitter Sweet, Nicolee Tsin's charming short film, manages it with room to spare. I caught it at the BFI London Film Festival and came out grinning, which is really the whole review in a
Country Afghanistan
I went into Super Afghan Gym, Shahrbanoo Sadat's short film, wanting very much to like it. Sadat is a real talent, the woman behind Wolf and Sheep and The Orphanage, and this comes out of Cate Blanchett's Displacement Film Fund, a genuinely worthwhile scheme giving displaced
Country Norway
Some short films set themselves a question so large that you almost feel the running time straining against it, and Stolen Memories, Anders Davidsen's Norwegian short film, is one of those. I caught it through the BFI London Film Festival, and while I admired its restraint and its
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There is a clever idea buried inside The Sorrows of Young Charlotte, Shir Ariya's dark comedy short film, which I caught in the BFI London Film Festival's Land of Hope and Gory strand. The title alone tells you the game, a gender-flipped riff on Goethe,
Country Ukraine
I always want to meet a film like this halfway, and I tried hard with Rotation, Maryna Er Gorbach's experimental short film, which I caught at the BFI London Film Festival. Gorbach made the quietly devastating Klondike a few years ago, so there is real pedigree here, and
Country Sweden
There is a particular kind of magic to stop motion when it is done with real care, and Please, Anna Mantzaris's latest short film, has it in abundance. I came to it through the BFI London Film Festival knowing her earlier work, the gloriously deadpan But Milk Is
Country United Kingdom
There is a particular kind of documentary I have a real soft spot for: the one that sets out with a clear mission, only to discover, in the making, that the film has quietly become about something else entirely. Sid Elbadawi's (Failing to Make) A Documentary About My
Country Japan
I came to Sumo: Spirit Weighs Nothing with a passing fondness for the sport and left it quietly amazed, both by what these athletes put their bodies through and by how beautifully Erik Shirai has captured it. This is a rich, intimate and genuinely illuminating documentary, one that gets further
Country Ireland
There was, by all accounts, a ripple of delighted applause in the room when the words "directed by Saoirse Ronan" appeared on screen, and I understand it completely, she is one of the finest actors of her generation and the goodwill towards her is enormous. I only wish
Country United Kingdom
There is a particular pleasure in stumbling on a film almost nobody has seen yet and finding it is the real thing. Carlo Milillo's Bundle has barely registered anywhere so far, and that feels like an oversight, because this is a genuinely accomplished short: an aggressive, symbolic and
Country United Kingdom
There is a very particular kind of spiral that anyone who has ever made an impulsive decision in front of a mirror will recognise instantly, and Micro Bangs nails it in just five sharp minutes. Iris Breward's short is a neat, funny and surprisingly truthful little piece about
Country United States Of America
Some of the most affecting films work on you like a held breath, and Listen is one of those. Taliesin Black-Brown's short documentary is a quiet, aching and genuinely beautiful piece about memory, love and the sounds that tether us to who we are, and in barely
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