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Gaza Climate Crisis Workers' rights Austerity Far right Labour
Maria Duarte
round up
Cinema / 3 April 2025
Film round-up: April 3, 2025
3 April 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Sebastian, Four Mothers, Restless, and The Most Precious of Cargoes
fotw
Film of the week / 3 April 2025
Drop the accent, boyo
3 April 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a drama that explores the formative years of Richard Burton’s life
FOTW
Film of the week / 13 March 2025
Mid wife crisis
13 March 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a deliciously dark thriller that explores the complex loyalties within a marriage
round up
Cinema / 13 February 2025
Film round-up: February 13, 2025
13 February 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE review Cottontail, Memoir of a Snail, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, and Captain America: Brave New World
home
Film of the Week: / 13 February 2025
No direction home
13 February 2025
MARIA DUARTE recommends a tense thriller that uses Palestinian characters to explore the predicament of migrants in Europe
round up
Cinema / 7 February 2025
Film round-up: February 7, 2025
7 February 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews September 5, The Fire Inside, Bring Them Down, and Love Hurts
fig
Film of the Week: / 6 February 2025
Iranian thriller, to be handled with care
6 February 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE is enthralled by a complex thriller, but advises caution in accepting its depiction of reality
round up
Cinema / 30 January 2025
Film round-up: January 30, 2025
30 January 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Companion, Saturday Night, The Tasting, and The Colours Within
hard truths
Film of the week / 30 January 2025
Genius at work
30 January 2025
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE is dazzled by an extraordinary performance in a classic Mike Leigh film
JL as TH
Film of the week / 19 December 2024
A thriller with a chilling political relevance
19 December 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an edge-of-your-seat film exposing uncomfortable truths
round up
Cinema / 12 December 2024
Film round-up: December 13, 2024
12 December 2024
Hallucinogenic homosexuality, a quantum thriller, airport shenanigans and feminist Tolkein: MARIA DUARTE reviews Queer, The Universal Theory, Carry On and Lord of the Rings: The War of The Rohirrim
round up
Cinema / 5 December 2024
Film round-up: December 5, 2024
5 December 2024
Horror for young mothers and Western presidents, a one-legged wrestler and weaponised art; the Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Nightbitch, Rumours, Unstoppable and Porcelain War
fotw
Film of the week / 5 December 2024
A Fascist with a moral compass - who knew?
5 December 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE is moved by a real-life story of rescue at sea that upturns easy assumptions about political motivations in times of war
Round up
Cinema / 28 November 2024
Film round-up: November 28, 2024
28 November 2024
Papal tiffs, Reality TV torture, volleyball feminism and a monster in the closet; The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Conclave, The Contestant, Power Alley and Your Monster
FOTW
Film of the week / 28 November 2024
Inspiring anti-apartheid thriller
28 November 2024
MARIA DUARTE recommends a documentary that reconstructs the part played by white activists in the struggle against apartheid
round up
Cinema / 14 November 2024
Film round up: November 15, 2024
14 November 2024
Emotional repression in Hong Kong, emotional repression in the UK, swords and sandals and a forgettable family reunion: reviews of The Last Dance, Silent Men, Gladiator II and Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point
fotw
Film of the week / 7 November 2024
The crimes of Israeli apartheid
7 November 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends an unlikely tale of friendship between an Israeli and a Palestinian in the midst of West Bank ethnic cleansing
film round up
Cinema / 17 October 2024
Film round-up: October 17, 2024
17 October 2024
Serial killer dating; courtroom charm; synaesthetic inspiration and jungle book robotics - The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Woman of the Hour, The Crime is Mine, A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things and The Wild Robot
FOTW
Film of the week / 17 October 2024
Trump’s pact with the devil
17 October 2024
MARIA DUARTE recommends a biopic of the US presidential candidate that explores his relationship with gay communist-basher Roy Cohn
film
Cinema / 3 October 2024
Film round-up: October 3, 2024
3 October 2024
Healthcare evangelism; Rajneesh child-abuse; an unwanted musical; and an un-Elephant man: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story, Children of the Cult, Joker: Folie A Deux, and A Different Man
fotw
Film of the Week: / 3 October 2024
Whose land is it anyway?
3 October 2024
Racial injustice, British colonialism and the climate crisis intersect to create the perfect storm in a new documentary, says MARIA DUARTE
Film round up
Cinema / 26 September 2024
Film round-up: September 26, 2024
26 September 2024
Decline and fall of the US empire, rehab in Orkney, the younger self, and lone wolves
accuse
Film of the week / 19 September 2024
J’accuse
19 September 2024
MARIA DUARTE recommends a gripping courtroom drama
round up
Cinema / 5 September 2024
Film round-up: September 6, 2024
5 September 2024
Yorkshire chills, tangled in the dark web, pregnancy diaries and brackish juice: MARIA DUARTE reviews Starve Acre, Red Rooms, My First Film and Beetlejuice
sing sing
Cinema / 29 August 2024
Film round-up: August 29, 2024
29 August 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Sing Sing, Mandoob (Night Courier), Close To You, and The Count of Monte Cristo
train
Film of the Week / 29 August 2024
Remembrance of things past
29 August 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a moving 'Proustian' tale of a search for a lost past and a forsaken love
IRAP
Film of the week / 22 August 2024
IRAP
22 August 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE salutes a frenetic and funny political comedy drama whose battleground is Belfast and where the weapons are words
film round up
Cinema / 18 July 2024
Film round up: July 18, 2024
18 July 2024
US Gran-dram, Turkish Trans-dram, UK Band-dram, and predictable tornadoes: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Thelma, Crossing, Blur: to the end, and Twisters
fotw
Film of the week / 18 July 2024
Bedroom Farsi
18 July 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a quietly powerful drama that examines an Iranian mother and daughter who escape domestic abuse
war daddy
Film of the Week: / 11 July 2024
What did you do in the war, Daddy?
11 July 2024
MARIA DUARTE is chilled by a documentary that brings together the son of Rudolf Hoss with a Jewish Auschwitz survivor
Film round up
Cinema / 4 July 2024
Film round-up: July 4, 2024
4 July 2024
Trans perspectives, opposites attract, washed-out noir and white-knuckle fridging: the Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Orlando, My Political Biography, The Nature of Love, What Remains, and Kill
fotw
Film of the week / 4 July 2024
The Gaysian crying game
4 July 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a refreshing perspective on sexual fluidity and the cultural pressures on Indian gay men
FOTW
Cinema / 13 June 2024
Film round up: June 13, 2024
13 June 2024
Posh environmentalism, Moroccan lumpenproletariat, US survivalism and cartoon adolescence
FOTW
Film of the week / 6 June 2024
Why their profit affects your health
6 June 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a US documentary that shines a light on the ill effects of corporate profiteering in the food industry
round up
Cinema / 30 May 2024
Film round-up: May 30, 2024
30 May 2024
Channel swimming, forgetting the ex-bf, therapeutic cycling and scary spiders: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Young Woman and the Sea, The Beast, Hard Miles, and Sting
tripping
Film of the week / 9 May 2024
Tripping in the afterlife
9 May 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE recommends a wild foray into magic realism 
round up
Cinema / 18 April 2024
Film round-up: April 18, 2024
18 April 2024
Vegan sermons, undercut snobs, fake messiahs and mash-up horror. The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews I Could Never Go Vegan, Jeanne Du Barry, The Book of Clarence, and Abigail
round up
Cinema / 29 February 2024
Film round-up: February 29, 2024
29 February 2024
Rebel messiahs, radicalised daughters, talking spiders, and troublesome mothers: The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Dune: Part Two (★★★★), Four Daughters (★★★), Spaceman (★★★), and Driving Mum (★★★)
child soldier
Film of the week / 29 February 2024
Child soldier on trial
29 February 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE is compelled by the moral complexity of the ICC case against a Ugandan child press-ganged by Joseph Kony
film round up
Cinema / 22 February 2024
Film round-up: February 22, 2024
22 February 2024
Cleaning toilets, troubled souls, Mexican gun-crime and women swearing badly: MARIA DUARTE reviews of Perfect Days (★★★★), Memory (★★★★), A Wolfpack Called Ernesto (★★★), and Wicked Little Letters (★★★)
mandatory
Film of the week / 22 February 2024
Once upon a time in Palestine
22 February 2024
MARIA DUARTE finds a contemporary resonance in a love story that explores the origins of zionist violence in British-occupied Palestine
round up
Cinema / 15 February 2024
Film round-up: February 15, 2024
15 February 2024
Hideous violence, food porn, funk legends and incomprehensible trips; MARIA DUARTE reviews The Promised Land, The Taste of Things, Getting it Back: the story of Cymande, and Eureka
Marley
Film of the week / 8 February 2024
Revolutionary for sale
8 February 2024
MARIA DUARTE salutes a new biopic of Bob Marley, but is this the ghetto kid who dreamed of Che Guevara and the Black Panthers?
round up
Cinema / 8 February 2024
Film round-up: February 8, 2024
8 February 2024
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews The Settlers, Occupied City, The Iron Claw and Gassed Up
hoss
Film of the Week: / 1 February 2024
A clear-cut warning from history
1 February 2024
MARIA DUARTE recommends a chilling reconstruction of the Nazis' deceptive 'ordinariness'
intersex
Film of the Week: / 14 December 2023
Your body, your choice
14 December 2023
MARIA DUARTE welcomes a campaigning film that aims to raise awareness of intersex people
peasants
Film of the week / 7 December 2023
Feuds and feudalism
7 December 2023
MARIA DUARTE is captivated by an epic tale about the hardship of peasant life in Poland in the late 19th century
queendom
Film of the week / 30 November 2023
Making a spectacle
30 November 2023
MARIA DUARTE is impressed by the portrait of a radical queer activist in Putin’s Russia
girl
Film of the Week: / 23 November 2023
Ama of the Scots
23 November 2023
Never mind the blockbusters says MARIA DUARTE, this unique and intimate study of  immigrant experience in the UK is the film to see
golda
Film of the week / 5 October 2023
Mirren Mirren, on the war
5 October 2023
MARIA DUARTE respects an extraordinary performance by Helen Mirren in a highly partisan account of the Golda Meir premiership
film round up
Cinema / 28 September 2023
Film round up: September 28, 2023
28 September 2023
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews The Creator, Flora and Son, The Retirement Plan, and Where The Wind Blows
fotw
Film of the Week: / 21 September 2023
Fleecing the Wall Street Croesuses
21 September 2023
MARIA DUARTE is left in high spirits by a film that charts an extraordinary case of the poor beating the rich at their own game
scrapper
Film of the Week: / 24 August 2023
Attachment issues
24 August 2023
MARIA DUARTE is delighted by a coming of age story, that goes in reverse
lawand
Film of the Week / 6 July 2023
Vital signing
6 July 2023
MARIA DUARTE is inspired by a documentary that follows the blossoming of a young deaf Kurdish migrant
sunlight
Cinema / 15 June 2023
Film round-up: June 15, 2023
15 June 2023
MARIA DUARTE reviews of Sunlight, You Can Live Forever, Inland and Greatest Days
film of the week
Film of the Week / 1 June 2023
Reality Check
1 June 2023
MARIA DUARTE recommends a startling and original drama derived entirely from FBI transcripts
film
Cinema / 25 May 2023
Film round-up: May 25, 2023
25 May 2023
Maria Duarte reviews of Sisu, Master Gardener, Hypnotic and The Little Mermaid
film of the week
Film of the Week: / 25 May 2023
Troublesome beauty spot
25 May 2023
MARIA DUARTE recommends a thought-provoking documentary about developing tourism and exploiting nature in socialist Vietnam
Alan Frank pic
Obituary / 23 May 2023
Alan Frank - 1937-2023
23 May 2023
MARIA DUARTE remembers Alan Frank, connoisseur of horror films and longtime Morning Star film critic
film round up
Culture / 27 April 2023
Film Round-up: April 28 2023
27 April 2023
MARIA DUARTE reviews Little Richard, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, Rodeo and Polite Society
film of the week
Film of the Week / 27 April 2023
What the Roma do for us
27 April 2023
MARIA DUARTE recommends the inside story of what happens when Roma people are rescued from discrimination
film round up
Cinema / 6 April 2023
Film round-up: April 6, 2023
6 April 2023
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Godland, Leonor Will Never Die, Ride On, and Lola
film of the week
Film of the Week: / 6 April 2023
Adman shoedram
6 April 2023
MARIA DUARTE is surprised to find herself swept up in the drama of marketing an over-priced shoe
film
Cinema / 30 March 2023
Film round-up: March 30, 2023
30 March 2023
MARIA DUARTE reviews of Riotsville USA, God’s Creatures, Law of Tehran and Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman
film
Film / 23 March 2023
Racked with Spain
23 March 2023
MARIA DUARTE is gripped by a complex thriller set amidst the rural beauties and resentments of Spanish Galicia
film
Cinema / 2 March 2023
Film round-up with MARIA DUARTE: March 2, 2023
2 March 2023
Reviews of Close, I'm fine (thanks for asking), Electric Malady and Creed III
film
Film of the week / 2 March 2023
Shock frocks
2 March 2023
MARIA DUARTE is fascinated by a documentary that pulls back the curtain on how our clothes are made
AH
Film of the Week / 16 February 2023
Fission chaps
16 February 2023
MARIA DUARTE applauds the ambition of a film that contributes an unpopular voice to the climate debate
protest
Cinema / 26 January 2023
Film round-up: January 27, 2023
26 January 2023
The Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews All The Beauty and The Bloodshed, The Fabelmans, January, Unwelcome
earth
Film of the Week / 26 January 2023
Thrilling Chinese sci-fi
26 January 2023
MARIA DUARTE recommends that you catch this action-packed, high octane eco-armageddon on the the big screen
bab
Film of the Week / 19 January 2023
Hot mess
19 January 2023
MARIA DUARTE endures three hours of overblown Hollywood narcissism and, strangely, recommends it
suplente
Cinema / 19 January 2023
Film round-up: January 19, 2023
19 January 2023
MARIA DUARTE reviews Holy Spider, Alice, Darling, The Substitute, More Than Ever
TH
Cinema / 5 January 2023
Film round-up: January 6, 2023
5 January 2023
MARIA DUARTE reviews of A Man Called Otto, Piggy and The Enforcer
CS
Film of the Week / 8 December 2022
Remarkable artist's life cut short by Nazis
8 December 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a superb but heartbreaking animation, telling the story of groundbreaking artist Charlotte Salomon, who embarked on a race against time to complete her masterpiece
She Said
Film of the Week / 24 November 2022
Truth to power
24 November 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a powerful and moving dramatisation of two journalists’ efforts to uncover the predatory truth about Harvey Weinstein, which kickstarted the Me Too movement
Bardo
Film of the Week: / 17 November 2022
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
17 November 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a visually arresting and intimate portrayal of one man’s return to his roots
Emily
Cinema / 13 October 2022
Film round-up: October 13, 2022
13 October 2022
Maria Duarte reviews of Emily, Rosaline, All Is Vanity, and Halloween Ends
All That Breathes
Film of the Week / 13 October 2022
Wings of hope
13 October 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a film about two brothers from New Delhi, who have devoted their lives to rescuing the black kites that fall daily from the skies
The Cordillera of Dreams
Film of the Week / 6 October 2022
Into the high mountains
6 October 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a powerful documentary about the crimes of Pinochet’s Chile, and the contemplative power of the country’s snow-covered peaks
Sidney Poitier
Film of the Week / 22 September 2022
Memories of a trailblazer
22 September 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a powerful film exploring the life and work of Sidney Poitier, the first ever black man to win an Oscar for best actor
Saoirse Ronan plays Constable Stalker in See How They Run
Cinema / 8 September 2022
Film round-up: September 8, 2022
8 September 2022
The Star's critic Maria Duarte reviews See How They Run, Both Sides of the Blade, The Score and Bodies Bodies Bodies
Viggo Mortensen
Film Of The Week: / 8 September 2022
‘Surgery is the new sex’
8 September 2022
MARIA DUARTE braces herself for a bizarre and graphic sci-fi about human evolution, organs and plastic waste
amazon
Film of the Week: / 1 September 2022
Burning the lungs of the planet
1 September 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a documentary feature that vividly portrays the horror of Amazon forest's destruction under the Bolsonaro government
Official Competition
Film Reviews / 25 August 2022
Film round-up with Maria Duarte
25 August 2022
Reviews of Official Competition, Black Mail, Mr Malcolm's List and Beast
MOS
Cinema / 18 August 2022
Film round-up: August 18, 2022
18 August 2022
The Star's critic Maria Duarte reviews My Old School, Fisherman’s Friends: One and All, Anais in Love, and The Feast
interview
Film Of The Week: / 18 August 2022
When racist assumptions replace scrupulous investigation
18 August 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a documentary that exposes moral corruption within the US (in)justice system
Brian and Charles
Cinema / 7 July 2022
Film round-up: July 8, 2022
7 July 2022
MARIA DUARTE reviews Brian and Charles, Thor: Love and Thunder, Rubikon and How to please a Woman
Still from Futura
Cinema / 7 July 2022
Futura is an insightful portrait of Italy's young people today
7 July 2022
Daryl McCormack and Emma Thompson
Film Of The Week / 16 June 2022
Better liberated late than never
16 June 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a much overdue film about a middle-aged woman who learns to love her body and herself, with the help of a sex worker
Lucia Moniz and Maisie Sly in Listen
Film of the Week: / 9 June 2022
Listen
9 June 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a harrowing film exploring the traumatic world of forced adoptions
Benediction
Culture / 19 May 2022
Film of the Week: Benediction
19 May 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a touching biopic of poet Siegfried Sassoon, whose life was forever changed by the horrors of the first world war
The Quiet Girl
Cinema / 12 May 2022
Film round-up: May 13, 2022
12 May 2022
MARIA DUARTE reviews The Quiet Girl, Father Stu, The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson and Vortex
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Film of the Week: / 12 May 2022
Everything Everywhere All At Once
12 May 2022
MARIA DUARTE is awestruck by a psychedelic sci-fi adventure about a Chinese-American immigrant trying to keep body and soul together as she goes about saving the world
Film poster MSCSL
Film of the Week: / 5 May 2022
My So-Called Selfish Life
5 May 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a timely exploration of the pressures faced by women who choose not to have children
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
Cinema / 28 April 2022
Film round-up: April 29, 2022
28 April 2022
MARIA DUARTE of Downton Abbey: A New Era, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, and Your Mum and Dad: A Devastating Truth
Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Cinema / 21 April 2022
Film round-up: April 24, 2022
21 April 2022
Maria Duarte reviews Ennio, Happening, Firebird and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
A screenshot from Laura Wandel's film, Playground
Film of the Week: / 21 April 2022
First day nerves
21 April 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a challenging but honest portrayal of school life and the cruelties of children
Film round-up: April 19, 2022
Culture / 14 April 2022
Film round-up: April 19, 2022
14 April 2022
Maria Duarte reviews The Northman, The Lost City, Benedetta, and The Great Movement
Ruth Wilson
Cinema / 31 March 2022
Film round-up: March 31, 2022
31 March 2022
The Star's critic Maria Duarte reviews True Things, The Novice, Coppelia, and Morbius
BBC Extinction Rebellion
Film Of The Week / 31 March 2022
Rebels with a cause
31 March 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a compelling behind-the-scenes documentary about the founding of Extinction Rebellion and its summer of mass protests in 2019
A scene from Young Plato
Cinema / 10 March 2022
Film round-up: March 11, 2022
10 March 2022
The Star's critic Maria Duarte review Great Freedom, Young Plato, Turning Red, The Adam Project and Sideshow
Red Rocket
Film Of The Week: / 10 March 2022
Narcissist-in-Chief
10 March 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a dark comedy set in a blue collar US town on the cusp of the Trump era
Jim Broadbent
Film of the Week / 24 February 2022
A licence to heist
24 February 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a film celebrating the man who stole a masterpiece from the National Gallery in his campaign for free TV licences for the elderly
Charlie Chaplin
Film of the Week / 17 February 2022
The Real Charlie Chaplin
17 February 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a documentary exploring the rags-to-riches transformation of Charlie Chaplin into a global superstar — a brilliant but troubled performer, with a dark side.
Eyes of Tammy Faye
Film Of The Week: / 3 February 2022
Eyes of Tammy Faye
3 February 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a biopic charting the extraordinary rise and fall of televangelists Tammy Faye Bakker and her husband Jim, who championed tolerance and had a devoted following
Parallel Mothers
Film of the Week / 27 January 2022
Parallel Mothers
27 January 2022
MARIA DUARTE recommends a subtle and compelling drama about motherhood and the missing thousands executed by Franco’s forces, buried in unmarked graves
belfast
BFI London Film Festival 2021 / 20 October 2021
No reel surprises at the London Film Festival
20 October 2021
Away from the awards razzmatazz The Tragedy of Macbeth, Belfast, The Hand of Dog, The French Dispatch and Benediction deliver beyond expectations, days MARIA DUARTE
Eating Our Way To Extinction
Film Of The Week: / 16 September 2021
Eating Our Way To Extinction
16 September 2021
MARIA DUARTE recommends a shocking documentary about the ecological devastation caused by the intensive agriculture which feeds our desire for meat and dairy products
Herself
FILM OF THE WEEK: / 9 September 2021
Herself
9 September 2021
MARIA DUARTE recommends a shocking and turbulent film about a mother’s struggle to escape her abusive husband and build a new home for her family
Souad
Film of the Week / 26 August 2021
Souad
26 August 2021
MARIA DUARTE recommends a fascinating insight into the private and public lives of teenage Egyptian girls 
sabaya
FILM OF THE WEEK / 18 August 2021
Daesh odious slave trade exposed
18 August 2021
MARIA DUARTE is shattered by a documentary that exposes the repugnant inhumanity of Isis
Riders of Justice
FILM OF THE WEEK / 21 July 2021
Down a rabbit hole of retribution
21 July 2021
MARIA DUARTE recommends a decidedly offbeat revenge thriller
Black Widow
FILM OF THE WEEK / 8 July 2021
Black Widow
8 July 2021
MARIA DUARTE welcomes the first solo film for Marvel's Black Widow
Jon M Chu's In the Heights
FILM OF THE WEEK / 17 June 2021
In the Heights
17 June 2021
MARIA DUARTE is inspired by an uplifting musical about Hispanic immigrants making a home for themselves in New York City
SENDING A MESSAGE: Dan Edelstyn and Hilary Powell
FILM OF THE WEEK / 26 May 2021
Just the job
26 May 2021
MARIA DUARTE recommends a timely exposé of the insidious financial practice of buying and selling debts
ALL ABOUT HISTORY: From left: Israel’s then prime minister
FILM OF THE WEEK / 20 May 2021
The Human Factor
20 May 2021
MARIA DUARTE recommends a behind-the-scenes look at the decades-long involvement of US diplomats in the Middle East
OUTSTANDING: Ivan Trojan in Charlatan
FILM OF THE WEEK / 6 May 2021
A fortune out of spent pennies
6 May 2021
MARIA DUARTE is intrigued by the fascinating tale of a Czech herbal healer who diagnosed his patients by examining their urine
ggjgj
FILM OF THE WEEK / 29 April 2021
Powerful tale of a wandering soul
29 April 2021
MARIA DUARTE recommends an understated drama about a woman who loses everything and becomes a van-dwelling nomad in the American West
AFFECTING: Sequin in a Blue Room
FILM OF THE WEEK / 8 April 2021
Sex and social media in the frame
8 April 2021
MARIA DUARTE is mesmerised by an arresting, queer coming-of-age story from Down Under
Ammonite
Film Of The Week: / 25 March 2021
Ammonite
25 March 2021
MARIA DUARTE is intrigued by the life of Mary Anning, a palaeontologist and fossil collector, whose discoveries were either overlooked or appropriated by her male peers
Mio Corpo (12A), directed by Michele Pennetta
Film of the Week / 10 December 2020
Mio Corpo
10 December 2020
A poignant docudrama about two young Sicilians leading parallel, impoverished lives
Overseas Directed by Sung-A Yoon
Film of the Week / 26 November 2020
Overseas
26 November 2020
Maria Duarte is moved by a harrowing documentary about Filipino overseas domestic workers, far from home and their families, who face appalling treatment at the hands of their employers
Film Of The Week / 12 November 2020
Hillbilly Elegy
12 November 2020
Maria Duarte recommends a touching portrayal of a troubled Appalachian childhood
BFI
FILM FESTIVAL / 12 October 2020
Reel-world reminders
12 October 2020
MARIA DUARTE samples some hard-hitting offerings at this year's 64th BFI London Film Festival
Film round-up: September 10, 2020
CINEMA / 9 September 2020
Film round-up
9 September 2020
Reviews of Real, Savage, The Broken Hearts Gallery, Max Richter’s Sleep, The Painted Bird, Memories of Murder and The Unfamiliar
Film round-up: September 3, 2020
CINEMA / 3 September 2020
Film round-up
3 September 2020
Reviews of Les Miserables, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Mulan and Koko-di, Koko-da
Film round-up: August 27, 2020
CINEMA / 26 August 2020
Film round-up
26 August 2020
Reviews of Tenet, The Lost Prince, Centigrade, Love You Forever and Get Duked!
Film round-up: August 21, 2020
CINEMA / 19 August 2020
Film round-up: August 21, 2020
19 August 2020
Reviews of Perfumes, Yes God Yes, Chemical Hearts, The One and Only Ivan and Chemical Hearts
Film round-up: August 6, 2020
CINEMA / 5 August 2020
Film round-up
5 August 2020
Reviews of Young Ahmed, An American Pickle, Perfect, The Snow Queen: Mirrorlands and Flash Gordon
Film The Fight
FILM OF THE WEEK / 29 July 2020
A sorry state of lawlessnes
29 July 2020
MARIA DUARTE recommends a documentary on the disintegration of civil liberties during the Trump administration
azaza
CINEMA / 29 July 2020
Film round-up
29 July 2020
Reviews of Infamous, The Vigil, Make Up, Summerland and Proxima
Film round-up: July 23, 2020
CINEMA / 22 July 2020
Film round-up: July 23, 2020
22 July 2020
Reviews of Saint Frances, Stage Mother, The Traitor, American Fighter and CoinCoin and the Extra-Humans
Film round-up: July 16, 2020
CINEMA / 16 July 2020
Film round-up: July 16, 2020
16 July 2020
Reviews of Ghosts of War, Masters of Love, Dreambuilders and Arkansas
Litigante
Film Of The Week / 9 July 2020
Family misfortunes
9 July 2020
The struggles of a single working parent and her fractious relationship with her mother are the focus of Franco Lolli's poignant drama
Film round-up: July 10, 2020
CINEMA / 9 July 2020
Film round-up: July 10, 2020
9 July 2020
The Star's critics review Finding the Way Back, Black Water: Abyss, SCOOB!, Love Sarah, The Beach House, Spaceship Earth
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CINEMA / 1 July 2020
Film round-up
1 July 2020
Reviews of Cleanin' Up The Town: Remembering Ghostbusters; Hamilton; Inheritance; Burden, and Family Romance, LLC
Film round-up: June 25, 2020
CINEMA / 24 June 2020
Film round-up: June 25, 2020
24 June 2020
Reviews of On the Record, Ride Like a Girl, The Booksellers, Just Don't Think I'll Scream and The Spy
Film Round-up: June 18, 2020
Culture / 18 June 2020
Film Round-up: June 18, 2020
18 June 2020
The Star's film critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Resistance, On a Magical Night, The Day After I’m Gone, 7500, The Ascent, The Ground Beneath My Feet, and The Wishmas Tree
Lise Leplat Prudhomme
Film Of The Week / 18 June 2020
Youthful determination
18 June 2020
Lise Leplat Prudhomme excels in her second outing as the Maid of Orleans, says MARIA DUARTE
Film round-up: June 11, 2020
CINEMA / 10 June 2020
Film round-up: June 11, 2020
10 June 2020
Reviews of The Australian Dream, Artemis Fowl, Citizens of the World, Banana Split, You Don’t Nomi and Virus Tropical
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CINEMA / 3 June 2020
Film round-up
3 June 2020
Film round-up: May 28, 2020
CINEMA / 27 May 2020
Film round-up: May 28, 2020
27 May 2020
Maria Duarte reviews of Only the Animals, Mike Wallace Is Here, Screened Out, The High Note, The Last Full Measure and Around the World When You Were My Age
Film round-up: May 7, 2020
CINEMA / 7 May 2020
Film round-up
7 May 2020
Reviews of Camino Skies, In Search of Greatness, The Shed and The Wretched
Misbehaviour
FILM OF THE WEEK / 11 March 2020
World shattering
11 March 2020
MARIA DUARTE recommends a film on the women whose actions triggered the demise of the global beauty-contest industry
Greed
Film Of The Week / 20 February 2020
Greed gets its comeuppance
20 February 2020
MARIA DUARTE enjoys the ridiculing of Philip Green's of capitalism
Tatiana Maslany
Film Of The Week / 11 December 2019
Love in vain
11 December 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends a warts-and-all story of a tempestuous relationship
Year round-up / 9 December 2019
Best of 2019: Film
9 December 2019
https://youtu.be/ysjwg-MnZao
Film Of The Week / 30 October 2019
On message for December 12
30 October 2019
Ken Loach's film on the obscenity of the gig economy is a vital reminder of what's at stake in the coming election, says MARIA DUARTE
https://youtu.be/V3vIYy38Fys
Film Of The Week / 16 October 2019
Top Gun
16 October 2019
Keira Knightley is superb as the GCHQ whistleblower who breached the Official Secrets Act in the run-up to the 2003 Iraq war, says MARIA DUARTE
https://youtu.be/tPxGkNkDvBg
Film Of The Week / 9 October 2019
Blue-collar blues
9 October 2019
MARIA DUARTE sees a gripping drama of a working-class woman struggling to keep her head above water in small-town America
https://youtu.be/IndzithIMzg
Film Of The Week / 2 October 2019
War damage
2 October 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends a gripping thriller on the terrible dilemma faced by a young Jewish girl in nazi-occupied Norway during WWII
https://youtu.be/S6g2VMnmFRk
Film Of The Week / 25 September 2019
Skin-deep significance
25 September 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends a hard-hitting film on how a white supremacist sees the error of his ways
https://youtu.be/TTOiVivEmwo
Film Of The Week / 28 August 2019
True to life Lowry
28 August 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends a fascinating insight into the work of an iconic artist and his close relationship with an overbearing mother
https://youtu.be/f1YFA_J5JBU
Film Of The Week / 8 August 2019
Bitter truth sweetened by light-hearted humour
8 August 2019
MARIA DUARTE is uplifted by a comedy that tackles racism head on
https://youtu.be/u2Yy1WVup34
Film Of The Week / 5 August 2019
Stirring portrait of corruption
5 August 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends a gripping Spanish political thriller that will resonate with anybody interested in local politics
https://youtu.be/hSntj-yfdBU
Film Of The Week / 18 July 2019
Horrific home truths
18 July 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends the disturbing narrative of a family struggling against the odds in the wilds of 19th-century Snowdonia
https://youtu.be/FjfUPLEKZtI
Film Of The Week / 10 July 2019
Low-down on a low-life
10 July 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends a chronicle of Steve Bannon's quest to turn his controversial brand of extreme nationalism into a global movement
https://youtu.be/Nt9L1jCKGnE
Film Review / 28 June 2019
Spider-Man: Far From Home
28 June 2019
XY Manning
Culture / 22 May 2019
Woes of a whistleblower
22 May 2019
A new documentary details the trials and tribulations of Chelsea Manning — and they're still not over, says MARIA DUARTE
https://youtu.be/QV0uWf72ZQw
Film Of The Week / 15 May 2019
Weeded out
15 May 2019
Birds of Passage powerfully illustrates how the cannabis trade is wiping out one of Colombia's indigenous peoples, says MARIA DUARTE
https://youtu.be/AtOwfo1ypOw
Film Of The Week / 8 May 2019
Disappearing up its own black hole
8 May 2019
MARIA DUARTE sees an initially intriguing space drama disintegrate into cliche
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2v3_jHrvBQ
Film Of The Week / 2 May 2019
Extinction rebellion in Iceland
2 May 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends an entertaining yet instructive eco drama
https://youtu.be/l_Ths6k7qXk
Film Of The Week / 15 April 2019
Impressive ‘three chords and the truth’
15 April 2019
MARIA DUARTE is taken by the awesome acting in this nuanced story of working-class aspiration
Van Gogh
Film of the week / 27 March 2019
At Eternity's Gate (12A, directed by Julian Schnabel)
27 March 2019
An impressionistic biography draws an outstanding performance from Willem Dafoe as Vincent van Gogh
https://youtu.be/24YrEAGF32M
Film Of The Week / 20 March 2019
Five Feet Apart (12A), directed by Justin Baldoni
20 March 2019
An emotive drama about young lovers stricken with cystic fibrosis
https://youtu.be/QMs28A1s1OA
Film Of The Week / 6 March 2019
Bordering on the brilliant
6 March 2019
MARIA DUARTE sees a breathtakingly surreal Scandi-noir fantasy
https://youtu.be/Rc3e0m6SpXo
Film Of The Week / 27 February 2019
Aftermath of disappointment
27 February 2019
There's a much more fascinating and complex film hidden away in a romantic melodrama set in post-war Germany, says MARIA DUARTE
https://youtu.be/ULUo0048xZE
Culture / 21 February 2019
Film round-up: February 22, 2019
21 February 2019
The Star's critics review Capernaum, Fighting With My Family, Old Boys, On the Basis of Sex, and Cold Pursuit
https://youtu.be/Mqdyyk-iOvY
Film Of The Week / 9 January 2019
Colette's rousing call to arms
9 January 2019
MARIA DUARTE recommends a biopic on the legendary French writer's struggle against sexism
https://youtu.be/W6dy7xQ8NeE
Film Of The Week / 3 January 2019
The resurrection of Mark Hogancamp
3 January 2019
MARIA DUARTE is taken by this story of self-worth, moral courage and determination in overcoming the effects of violent homophobic prejudice
https://youtu.be/om6xGJ4S3LY
Culture / 13 December 2018
Film review: An Elephant Sitting Still
13 December 2018
PIC CAP Sublime: The Shape of Water
Culture / 9 December 2018
Best (and worst) of 2018: Film
9 December 2018
by MARIA DUARTE
https://youtu.be/BY6QKRl56Ok
Film Of The Week / 14 November 2018
Systemic shocker
14 November 2018
MARIA DUARTE is scared witless by the remake of horror classic Suspiria
https://youtu.be/nN2yBBSRC78
Film Of The Week / 7 November 2018
Winning widows
7 November 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a ground-breaking heist thriller with women to the fore
https://youtu.be/mgF83LnQOOA
Film Of The Week / 25 October 2018
Utoya: surviving hell
25 October 2018
MARIA DUARTE believes the singular focus on the resilience of the victims is both edifying and a blow to fascists
Bad Times
Film Of The Week / 10 October 2018
Right Royale romp
10 October 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a zany US thriller set in a hotel where the guests all have something to hide
Star born
Film Of The Week / 3 October 2018
Going Gaga
3 October 2018
MARIA DUARTE sees the pop star give a tremendous performance in A Star is Born
Black 47
Film Of The Week / 26 September 2018
The Irish questions
26 September 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a thought-provoking revenge story interrogating the causes and consequences of the 1847 great famine
Wajib (15)
Film Of The Week / 13 September 2018
Knotty nuptials in Nazareth
13 September 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a rousing Palestinian drama exploring the conflict between the old and the new in the run-up to a wedding
The King
Culture / 22 August 2018
Film round-up with Maria Duarte
22 August 2018
Film of the Week
Film Of The Week / 9 August 2018
Wenders offers hagiography
9 August 2018
The director's undoubted cinematic achievement is lessened by his undue reverence for Pope Francis which leaves too many vital questions unanswered, writes MARIA DUARTE
Mary Shelly
Film of the week / 4 July 2018
Monstrous error
4 July 2018
MARIA DUARTE sees an entertaining biopic of Frankenstein creator Mary Shelley which plays down her significance as a groundbreaking woman writer
Adrift
Film Of The Week / 28 June 2018
A storming tale
28 June 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a nail-biting narrative of a couple battling the odds in the eye of a hurricane
In the Fade (18)
Film Of The Week / 20 June 2018
Timely tale of terror
20 June 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends an acutely contemporary film on the consequences of a neonazi atrocity
McQueen film
Film Of The Week / 6 June 2018
Stylishly done
6 June 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a beautifully crafted tribute to an iconic fashion designer
L’Amant Double
Film Of The Week / 30 May 2018
Double trouble
30 May 2018
MARIA DUARTE sees Francois Ozon craft a dark thriller out of the story of a fraught young woman who embarks on love affairs with identical twins
Solo Squib
Film of the week / 24 May 2018
Solo squib
24 May 2018
The latest in the Star Wars franchise disappoints MARIA DUARTE
Israel 10/5/18
Film Of The Week / 10 May 2018
Feminist thriller loses the plot
10 May 2018
Coralie Fargeat's genre-breaking film is marred by a lack of credibility, says MARIA DUARTE
New town
Film Of The Week / 2 May 2018
Utopia undone
2 May 2018
Christopher Ian Smith's powerful documentary charts the rise and fall of the visionary project that was Basildon new town, says MARIA DUARTE
The Deminer
Film of the week / 25 April 2018
Explosive impact
25 April 2018
An extraordinary documentary on a Kurdish bomb-disposal expert in Iraq makes a devastating impression on MARIA DUARTE
Funny Cow
Film Of The Week / 18 April 2018
Painfully funny
18 April 2018
Maxine Peake is explosive as a female comic battling a violent husband and sexism in working men's clubs, says MARIA DUARTE
Ready Player One 27/3/18
Film Of The Week / 28 March 2018
Virtually brilliant
28 March 2018
Steven Spielberg's exhilarating sci-fi fantasy has his hallmark stamped all over it, says MARIA DUARTE
Wrinkle in Time 26/3/18
Film of the week / 21 March 2018
Tween treat Time
21 March 2018
MARIA DUARTE sees a sci-fi fantasy that ticks all the boxes for its target audience
Mom and Dad 8/3/18
Film Of The Week / 8 March 2018
Don't try this at home
8 March 2018
Mom and Dad is a perversely enjoyable satire about domestic violence at its most extreme, says MARIA DUARTE
Game Night Trailer
Film Of The Week / 1 March 2018
Killing joke
1 March 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a quirky comedy about a games night with murderous consequences
Dark River 23/2/18
Film Of The Week / 22 February 2018
Cold comfort farm
22 February 2018
MARIA DUARTE sees a drama about a fraught rural family that's raw, visceral and relentlessly bleak
The Shape of Water
Film Of The Week / 14 February 2018
Shaping up to greatness
14 February 2018
Guillermo del Toro's surreal love story marks him out as a film-maker on the road to outstanding achievement, says MARIA DUARTE
Nothing Factory 8/2/18
Film Of The Week / 8 February 2018
Something might come of Nothing
8 February 2018
MARIA DUARTE sees an unusual film about the class consciousness that develops among a group of Lisbon workers faced with the destruction of their livelihoods
Journey's End
Film Of The Week / 1 February 2018
Film of the week: Generational genocide
1 February 2018
The horrors of a futile conflict which wiped out millions in WWI are captured to devastating effect in Journey's End, says MARIA DUARTE
Downsizing 25/1/18
Film Of The Week / 25 January 2018
Small isn't necessarily the beautiful solution
25 January 2018
MARIA DUARTE remains unconvinced by a sci-fi satire positing miniaturisation as the answer to global overpopulation
The Post
Film Of The Week / 18 January 2018
Urgent message in The Post
18 January 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a resonant film on how the US government attempted to gag the press during the Vietnam war
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Jan 11 2018
Film Of The Week / 10 January 2018
Plea for justice writ large
10 January 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a resonant film on a woman who, seeking redress for her daughter's murder, gets her message across on the billboards
Film of the week / 3 January 2018
Ace hand from Aaron Sorkin
3 January 2018
MARIA DUARTE recommends a gripping tale about high-stakes poker from a first-time director
Lady Macbeth
2017 Round-up / 17 December 2017
Maria Duarte's best (and worst) films of the year
17 December 2017
Film of the week / 11 October 2017
Elite evisceration
11 October 2017
Sally Potter's The Party is a razor-sharp satire on the Establishment, says MARIA DUARTE
Film of the week / 4 October 2017
Blade in safe hands
4 October 2017
Blade Runner 2049 (15) Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Film review / 1 September 2017
Stratton (15)
1 September 2017