Varda by Agnes (15)
Directed by Agnes Varda
★★★★★

ONE of the most grossly over-used critical cop-outs employed when writing about film-makers is to describe them as an auteur, the major creative force in a film.

That said, this riveting documentary about the life and work of the late and legendary Belgium-born film-maker Agnes Varda, written, directed and starring herself, eloquently proves that she has earned the right to be hailed as such.

Using a series of lectures given by the veteran film-maker — still making films at 90 — to a rightly appreciative audience, Varda by Agnes is a fascinating and understandably self-centred journey through a unique career.

She began in 1941 as a photographer before segueing into motion pictures in 1954 with La Pointe Courte and going on to create a memorable treasury of films, including the acclaimed Cleo de 5 a 7.

Among the fascinating cast of players she guided were Jean Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Sandrine Bonnaire and, amusingly over-emoting as ever, Robert De Niro.

The result, even for Varda virgins, is an unmissable journey into the stuff of cinematic fable.

Alan Frank

The Lion King (PG)
Directed by Jon Favreau
★★★

THIS is the latest Disney animated classic to get the live-action treatment but can it really be described thus when it is photo-real CGI from beginning to end?

That said, it is a stunning piece of cinema as it transports audiences  to the African savannah and its wildlife residents. It’s impossible to tell them apart from the real thing and that’s fine, apart from the animals being able to talk, which may confuse the youngest of children.

The film opens with the Circle of Life as Simba, who’s the most adorable lion cub you have ever seen. Voiced by JD McCray and Donald Glover, he’s being introduced to society in a showstopping opening number which takes the breath away.

Yet the ensuing narrative doesn’t match up to the sumptuous visuals. Scene by scene and almost word for word, Jon Favreau’s direction and Jeff Nathanson’s screenplay stick pretty closely to the much-liked 1994 animated version but without quite capturing the magic or the heart of its predecessor.

Again, this version features an eclectic voice cast which ranges from singing royalty — Beyonce —to comic actors such as Seth Rogen belting out Tim Rice and Elton John’s much-loved songs.

Rogen, who gets a singing credit alongside Beyonce, and Billy Eichner completely steal the film as the hilarious double-act of Pumbaa and Timon as they provide the film’s light relief.

So while there’s no need for a Lion King remake, Disney has raised the bar once again in animation terms. But technical excellence alone isn’t enough.

Do they care? Hakuna Matata my friends, as they race to global box-office gold.

Maria Duarte

Tell it to the Bees (15)
Directed by Annabel Jankel
★★★

WHEN Dr Jean Markham (Anna Paquin) returns to take over her late father’s medical practice in the small Scottish town she left as a teenager, she inadvertently sets this melodrama in motion by telling young patient Charlie (Gregor Selkirk) to follow her example and tell his secrets to the bees living in the hives in her garden.

But the bee-keeping medic’s friendship with the youngster brings his factory worker mother Lydia (Holliday Grainger) and Markham together in a lesbian affair that, inevitably in 1950s Britain, ends in emotional misfortune.

In synopsis, Tell it to the Bees would seem to provide all the dramatic ingredients necessary for a potent adult-aimed character-based drama.

Scripted by Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth from Fiona Shaw’s best-selling novel, directed competently enough by Annabel Jankel and performed with commendable sincerity by its key players, in the final analysis the film lacks credible emotional buzz.

As it goes through its melodramatic paces it resembles nothing so much as a revamp of the once ubiquitous British B-movie, complete with former Oscar-winner Paquin — who gives her role rather more than it’s worth  — as the traditional imported Hollywood star to provide this homegrown product overseas appeal.

AF

Making Noise Quietly (15)
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole
★★

FOLLOWING three different conflicts, strangers meet to discuss the effects of war in this adaptation of Robert Holman’s acclaimed play.

The first takes place place in 1944 in Kent between a conscientious objector (Luke Thompson) and an itinerant gay artist (Matthew Tennyson) as the doodlebugs fly overhead, the second in Redcar in 1982, when a bereaved mother receives a visit from a naval officer to inform her of her son’s death in the Malvinas war.

The final narrative unfolds in 1996 in the Black Forest, where a Holocaust survivor (Deborah Findlay) aims to bring peace to a disturbed young boy (Orton O’Brien) and his violent stepfather (Trystan Gravelle) who was in the Iraq war.

Dominic Dromgoole’s debut feature is an interesting study of the effects and the scars of war but the main problem is that it feels more theatrical than cinematic.

There’s a disconnect between all three stories which I suspect would probably work best on stage. And there isn’t enough time to care for any of these characters, who at times seem two-dimensional.

Best wait for the DVD or digital download.

MD