Eight-year-old Zachary has, so far, enjoyed life as his father's favourite son, as the possessor of a gift for healing and as younger sibling to a tearaway, a jock and a bookworm, but this relatively idyllic childhood in Québec is cast under the shadow of his dad's suspicions when he is discovered wearing a dress. Seven years on it's 1975 and Zac is in thrall to Ziggy Stardust and his cousin's boyfriend, a confusing situation for him, made more complicated by a history of trying to satisfy his d find out more...

A young woman smuggling marijuana crash-lands her plane in Jamaica, but a local named Countryman rescues her and leads her away from the pursuing authorities. Features a fantastic soundtrack with the likes of Bob Marley 'Natural Mystic', Wally Badarou 'Obeah Man Dub' and Human Cargo with 'Carry Us Beyond'. find out more...

The BFI continues its successful strand of Archive Television releases with Ken Russell's classic documentary Elgar, which was first shown in 1962 as the 100th programme in the BBC's Monitor series. This partly dramatised account of the life of composer Sir Edward Elgar includes footage of Elgar at the Three Choirs Festival and a recording of the opening of Abbey Road Studios when 'Land Of Hope And Glory' was played. find out more...

This comedy drama from Jean Renoir chronicles the revival of Paris' most notorious dance as it tells the story of a theater producer who turns a humble washerwoman into a star at the Moulin Rouge. Jean Renoir's Technicolour masterpiece is a wonderful homage to fin de siecle Paris, drawing from the contemporary cafe culture of 1950s Paris and featuring some of the luminaries from that time including Edith Piaf and Patachou. This remastered version is available on both DVD and Bluray. 

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In Greendale, Neil Young has made what he calls a "musical novel," telling the story of a three generational family, a cop's inadvertent murder and the sociopolitical evolution of a girl named Sun Green. Not a concert film, Young directs actors on locations on his Northern California home turf to create his Greendale, a rural town microcosm of a world in crisis. He shot the film himself on a German Super 8 underwater camera he loves. Then it was blown up to 35mm, giving the film a rough-hewn, al find out more...

Brad Pitt is as superficially smooth as the suede of his name, obsessed by the shoes that fall to his feet at the start of the film and a sultry hedonistic girl. But in reality the man behind this cool, hip image must mature and decide what he wants out of life. find out more...

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Tense and engaging account of contemporary Parisian street life. The recriminations against the notorious police for an injured friend are realised by a documentary style of film making with voyeuristic undertones. Violently realistic and bitter drama. Excellent soundtrack. find out more...

Gus Van Sant's latest masterpiece is very much in a similar vein to his previous two films (Elephant and Gerry). Meditative, ambivalent and beautifully shot, Last Days is a loose retelling of the Kurt Cobain suicide. The dialogue is made up of mumbled non sequiturs and directionless enquiries. The cinematography, as in Elephant, is a mixture of pristine framing, expert use of natural light and patient static observation. Though the pace of the movie is arguably too testing for some viewers, the find out more...

Limbo is a wry and poignant observation of the refugee experience, set on a fictional remote Scottish island where a group of new arrivals await the results of their asylum claims. It centers on Omar (Amir El-Masry), a young Syrian musician who is burdened by his grandfather's oud, the king of Arabic music instruments, which he has carried all the way from his homeland. What an absolutely wonderful film this was, one of my favourites this year. It has a distinct Wes Anderson feeling to it wit find out more...