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
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The jury's out
The top film at the Berlin Film Festival wasn't met with universal acclaim, reports RITA DI SANTO, but others fared better
Provocative: Touch Me Not
CHRIS SEARLE relishes the genius of pianist Alexander Hawkins, his many ensembles, and his new album
New releases from The Mountains Goats, Ed O’Brien, and YHWH Nailgun
ANGUS REID, ANDY HEDGECOCK and MARIA DUARTE review On The Sea, A Useful Ghost, Brunello: The Gracious Visionary, and Pinocchio Unstrung
RON JACOBS enjoys a great tale, told by a US communist, of the lives of working-class New Yorkers
BRENT CUTLER searches a new history of contemporary Iran for an understanding of the Islamic Republic, finding both interesting detail and glaring omissions
MARIA DUARTE recommends the true story of the remarkable woman who sued Donald Trump for sexual assault not once, but twice
THE GOLDEN Bear, top prize at the Berlin Film Festival, went to Adina Pintilie’s Touch Me Not, a jury decision that did not go down well with the press.
The first feature from the Romanian artist and film-maker, it's a provocative film about sexuality that follows the journey of three people as they explore their need for, and issues with, physical intimacy.
A tale of sexual obsession, portentous and ultimately unsatisfactory, it features long stretches of graphic nudity and makes for a very long two hours.
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