Wild Foxes (15)
Directed by Valery Carnoy
★★★☆☆

 

SET in a sports boarding school, Valery Carnoy’s impressive directorial debut feature about a teenage boxer examines toxic masculinity and the pressure of not showing weakness in this patriarchal environment. 

The film centres on Camille (Samuel Kircher), a promising young boxer, who survives a deadly accident when his best friend Matteo (Faycal Anaflous) comes to the rescue. After he recovers he finds himself plagued by a mysterious pain in his arm which threatens to jeopardise his boxing career. His teammates believe he is just seeking attention, while his trainers think it is all in his head and he needs to push through the pain.  

Whether it is real or not, it is traumatises Camille and affects his fighting. His classmates poke fun at him and he becomes the victim of intense bullying at their hands. Even Matteo turns against him. There is no room for vulnerability or demonstrating emotion in this uber macho sport. 

The film examines how young men are conditioned to be aggressive and to hide their mental health issues. Camille is in anguish and desperately needs help but is totally ignored and is told there is nothing wrong with him. His only solace is going into the nearby woods and feeding the foxes, as well as his growing friendship with Yas (Anna Heckel), another student who stands up to her male counterparts. 

Featuring fine performances from its young cast the film deals with complex issues with  sensitivity and realism. 
MD
In cinemas May 1

Hokum (15)  
Directed by Damian McCarthy   
★★★★☆

 

WRITER-DIRECTOR Damian McCarthy takes the classic haunted house story and breathes terrifying new life into it in this deliciously dark, supernatural horror set in Ireland. It is full of genuine jump scares. 

The film follows American writer Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott, Severance) who travels to a remote Irish hotel to scatter his parents’ ashes and finish his novel. He soon discovers that the establishment, full of odd characters, is haunted by a witch. When a member of staff disappears the plot thickens. 

Shot in West Cork, this is a slow burner in which Bauman starts off as an unlikeable and obnoxious figure but, by the end, wins you over as you learn why he is the way he is. Scott gives an outstanding performance, particularly in the bone chilling finale set in the haunted honeymoon suite. 

McCarthy’s skill at ramping up the tension is masterful, and coupled with stunningly creepy visuals by his cinematographer Colm Hogan makes this independent flick punch above its weight.

The best horror film of the year so far.   
MD
In cinemas May 1

I’ve Seen All I Need to See (15)
Directed by Zeshaan Younus
★★☆☆☆

 

ABOUT 34 minutes into this mind-baffling drama, apparently about grief and loss, the film’s title flashes up on the screen and frankly I had seen all I needed to see by then. 

Actors looking pensively into the distance, or in close up saying very little but trying to be meaningful, in this non-linear drama written and directed by Zeshaan Younus, is anything but. I applaud ingenuity and filmmakers who attempt to push the envelope; but when you are none the wiser as to what is unfolding before your eyes that isn’t clever. It’s just frustrating and in this case uber pretentious.  

It follows Parker (Renee Agner), an actor in Los Angeles, who returns to her hometown following the sudden death of her estranged sister (Rosie McDonald). However, it is hard to tell what is real and what isn’t in this mess of a film. Avoid at all costs.  
MD
In cinemas May 1

Ada: My Mother the Architect (12A)
Directed by Yael Melamede
★☆☆☆☆

IF you want an example of “art-washing” the international reputation of Israel, this is it.

Daughter/director Yael Melamede makes a tentative study of her mother, Ada Karmi-Melamede, a successful Israeli architect and co-designer of the Supreme Court building, Ben Gurion University and other prestigious projects, about whom little or nothing is known outside Israel.

Ada comes from a family cartel of bourgeois architects, along with her father Dov Karmi and her brother Ram Karmi who, between them, employ modernist aesthetics to “build Israel” and to demonstrate how the country is “rooted” in the land. Of the fact that the land was stolen from Palestinians no mention is ever made in this largely Hebrew-language portrait.

She is depicted watching the 2023 protests against judicial reform, curtailing the powers of the Supreme Court, but she doesn’t join them. Whatever her professional competence and personal sacrifice, the comprador ambiguity, the blinkered zionism, and the sins of historical omission make this a queasy, painful watch.
AR
In select cinemas May 1