MARIA DUARTE recommends a remarkable study of the friendship between a Palestinian and a Pakistani, broken by a hostile state
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Film round up
MATTHEW HAWKINS rakes through un-fancy words and flair-free summaries to find who and what might be flamboyant
PETER MASON is exhilarated by an exciting, well-considered and historically minded tribute to the great Trinidadian instrument
Reducing historical lives to ‘male’ and ‘female’ roles, we lose the nuance of those lives and a clearer understanding of past societies, suggests CLAIRE ISABELLA GILMOUR
CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album
Sicario (15)
Directed by Dennis Villeneuve
4/5
WHEN you learn from the opening credits that “sicario” is Mexican drug-cartel slang for “hitman,” your heart might sink at the prospect of yet another US lawmen versus murderous Mexican narcotics gangsters action thriller.
Fortuitously, such expectations are unfounded. Unsentimental direction and a cynical but terrifyingly credible screenplay by Taylor Sheridan and ideally cast players are free from the predictably patronising narrative and character cliches of similar genre thrillers.
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DAVID RABY explains the background of the recent upheavals in Mexico