Here’s our pick of some of the best films around, that are currently available for streaming. Our selection includes recent releases, old favourites that we’ve screened at Phoenix over the years, and some lesser-known gems that you might not have seen before.
★★★★ – Guardian. With sell-out previews at Phoenix last October, this heartfelt love story set in 1840s Lyme Regis now enjoys a virtual release. Self-taught paleontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone, hunting for fossils to sell to wealthy tourists. When she is introduced to Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan) their lives are changed forever. Available now on all main digital platforms.
★★★★★ – Close Up Film. This delightful and snappy French comedy from director Caroline Vignal follows school teacher Antoinette, who is embroiled in a passionate affair with the father of one of her pupils. When their plans for a romantic getaway are foiled by an unexpected family trip, Antoinette decides to follow him to the mountains… by donkey!
“★★★★ – Riz Ahmed delivers a blistering performance” – Observer. British Pakistani rapper Zed (Emmy Award winner Riz Ahmed) is a rising star on the cusp of his first world tour. But, struck down by an illness that threatens to derail his big break, he’s forced to confront his past, his family, and the uncertainty of his legacy. A bold and electrifying exploration of heritage and identity.
“★★★★ – a fantastically scabrous collection” – Guardian. An Oscar nominee for best international feature in 2015, this Argentinian film comprising six short stories of violent revenge is as funny as it is twisted. For anyone who’s ever had to curtail bloodcurdling rage with a few deep breaths, this delightfully dark and brilliantly bonkers portmanteau movie is the cathartic release you need.
★★★★ – Evening Standard. Based on the real life experiences of Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi, this legal thriller tackles the fallout of 9/11 and the battle between defending liberty and curtailing civil rights. After years spent in detention without charge for Slahi (Tahar Rahim, BBC’s The Serpent), his attorney finds an unlikely ally that may finally see him have his day in court.
“★★★★ – stellar male midlife crisis comedy gets steadily darker” – Guardian. On a hedonistic Greek island, a lonely middle-aged doctor becomes obsessed with a young tourist who lets him tag along with her group of hard partying friends after he treats her following an accident. A sad tale of sexual obsession, superbly directed by Argyris Papadimitropoulos.
“★★★★ – A deeply felt portrait of an audacious talent” – Empire. Tina Turner didn’t just break the glass ceiling for female African American artists, she shattered it. Her extraordinary life and career are recounted in this absorbing and inspirational documentary, filled with rare and never-before-seen footage.
Available now on Sky Documentaries
“★★★★ – Sinewy, seductive and beautifully strange” – Observer. After years spent carving out a successful career as a neurosurgeon in America, Márta plans to return home to Budapest and start the rest of her life with her new found love, János. When he fails to meet her at the Liberty Bridge Márta seeks him out, only to be told that he has no memory of ever meeting her.
“★★★★★ – an insurgent filmic uproar to match the uproar in the world” – Guardian. Academy Award winner Spike Lee’s latest is the story of four African-American Vietnam veterans who return to the country to search for the remains of their revered former squad leader. But their journey into the past opens wounds and unleashes emotional agonies – about the Vietnam War, race, Empire, and the many black lives lost in battle in America’s name.
“★★★★ – one of the most eye-opening documentaries you’ll see” – Telegraph. Pieced together from theologian John Hull’s audio diaries, this visually stunning documentary offers a personal and profound insight into his experience of slowly losing his eyesight, and blends aesthetics and narrative to produce a visceral, almost religious experience.
★★★★ – Telegraph. Keira Knightley and Dominic West star as literary couple Colette and Willy, whose relationship rewrote social and gender rules. Transplanted from rural France to avant-garde Paris, Colette enjoys affairs with men and women, before battling her husband over creative ownership of the best-selling novels she penned under his name.
★★★★ – Empire. Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) stars as Kit, a British Vietnamese man returning to Saigon for the first time in over 30 years, after his family fled during the Vietnam War. No longer familiar with this country and unable to speak his native language, Kit journeys from Saigon to Hanoi in search of a place to scatter his parents’ ashes.