MARY CONWAY applauds the revival of a tense, and extremely funny, study of men, money and playing cards
Film round-up: March 27, 2025
The Star's critics BRETT GREGORY, JOHN GREEN, MICHAEL BONCZA and ANGUS REID review The Stimming Pool, Misericordia, La Cocina, Irena’s Vow, and The End
The Stimming Pool
MEHDI ACHOUCHE explores the constant fascination of cinema with Marxist alienation from Fritz Lang and Chaplin to Bong Joon Ho
FIONA O’CONNOR steps warily through a novel that skewers many of the exposed flanks of the over-privileged
MARY CONWAY applauds the study of a dysfunctional family set in an Ireland that could be anywhere
MICK MCSHANE is roused by a band whose socialism laces every line of every song with commitment and raw passion
New releases from Mountain, Soul Asylum and Michael McDermott
ALEX HALL is disgusted by the misuse of ‘emotional narratives’ to justify uninformed geo-political prejudice
The Stimming Pool (12A)
Directed by The Neurocultures Collective and Steven Eastwood
★★★★
SET in the south of England, this self-reflexive instance of cinematic “faction” follows five young adults as they travel through an hour-long narrative that offers up visions of what it is like to have autism: how it can motivate thoughts and feelings, inform dreams and creativity, as well as affect interpersonal behaviour and social positioning.
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ANGUS REID deconstructs a popular contemporary novel aimed at a ‘queer’ young adult readership
