All articles by Philip Kemp

Reviews

Winners: an optimistic Iranian cinephile drama

Though its largely sunny story strains credibility, this love letter to Iranian cinema refuses to wear rose-tinted glasses when examining the way the nation’s movie stars are ultimately recognised.

By Philip Kemp

Winners: an optimistic Iranian cinephile drama
Reviews

Creature: Asif Kapadia’s ballet film is impressive but impenetrable

By Philip Kemp

Creature: Asif Kapadia’s ballet film is impressive but impenetrable
What to watch at LFF

Living: a remake that can stand with the original

By Philip Kemp

Living: a remake that can stand with the original
Reviews

Strawberry Mansion: a delightful satire good enough to eat

By Philip Kemp

Strawberry Mansion: a delightful satire good enough to eat
Reviews

See How They Run: a campy cat-and-mouse caper

By Philip Kemp

See How They Run: a campy cat-and-mouse caper
Reviews

Fall: a vivid, vertiginous thriller

By Philip Kemp

Fall: a vivid, vertiginous thriller
Reviews

The Gray Man: short on grey matter

By Philip Kemp

The Gray Man: short on grey matter
Reviews

Prizefighter: a biopic on the ropes

By Philip Kemp

Prizefighter: a biopic on the ropes
Features

The last duel: the ending of Sanjuro

By Philip Kemp

The last duel: the ending of Sanjuro
Reviews

All My Friends Hate Me: a potent entry in the cinema of paranoia

By Philip Kemp

All My Friends Hate Me: a potent entry in the cinema of paranoia
Reviews

Flag Day brings emotional intensity to the real-life story of an American con-man

By Philip Kemp

Flag Day brings emotional intensity to the real-life story of an American con-man
Reviews

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain puts cats centre stage in a film that’s filled with eccentric charm

By Philip Kemp

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain puts cats centre stage in a film that’s filled with eccentric charm
Reviews

Being the Ricardos is a clunky but engaging look behind-the-scenes of 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy

By Philip Kemp

Being the Ricardos is a clunky but engaging look behind-the-scenes of 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy
Reviews

The Story of Film: A New Generation takes viewers on an enriching journey through a decade of cinema

By Philip Kemp

The Story of Film: A New Generation takes viewers on an enriching journey through a decade of cinema
Reviews

Dune succeeds by avoiding excessive fidelity to the original novel

By Philip Kemp

Dune succeeds by avoiding excessive fidelity to the original novel
Reviews

Frankie takes a siesta in the Portuguese sun

By Philip Kemp

Frankie takes a siesta in the Portuguese sun
Reviews

Homeward sends a father and son on a Crimean pilgrimage

By Philip Kemp

Homeward sends a father and son on a Crimean pilgrimage
Reviews

Man in Room 301 is a Nordic drama that sees a simmering family feud boil over

By Philip Kemp

Man in Room 301 is a Nordic drama that sees a simmering family feud boil over
Reviews

Minari puts faith in the verdant fields of a Korean family’s Arkansas farm

By Philip Kemp

Minari puts faith in the verdant fields of a Korean family’s Arkansas farm
Reviews

The Mauritanian is a frighteningly convincing tale of Guantánamo internment

By Philip Kemp

The Mauritanian is a frighteningly convincing tale of Guantánamo internment
Reviews

My Father and Me is a tender snapshot of a working-class photographer’s life

By Philip Kemp

My Father and Me is a tender snapshot of a working-class photographer’s life
Reviews

Blithe Spirit unbuttons Noël Coward’s marital farce

By Philip Kemp

Blithe Spirit unbuttons Noël Coward’s marital farce
Reviews

Let Him Go showcases a battle royale of two matriarch titans

By Philip Kemp

Let Him Go showcases a battle royale of two matriarch titans
Reviews

Patrick lays bare grief in a nudist threnody for a missing hammer

By Philip Kemp

Patrick lays bare grief in a nudist threnody for a missing hammer
From the Sight and Sound archive

Satire with tweezers: Alexander Mackendrick’s The Ladykillers

By Philip Kemp

Satire with tweezers: Alexander Mackendrick’s The Ladykillers
Reviews

Koko-di Koko-da review: animals, nursery rhymes and murders

By Philip Kemp

Koko-di Koko-da review: animals, nursery rhymes and murders
Lists

Forgotten treasures of the multiplex

By Ryan Gilbey, Nick James and others

Forgotten treasures of the multiplex
The best of 2020

Tenet: Christopher Nolan throws time for a loop

By Philip Kemp

Tenet: Christopher Nolan throws time for a loop
Reviews

A White, White Day review: grief in the mist

By Philip Kemp

A White, White Day review: grief in the mist
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